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Hench
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
A smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower--for good or ill--is a properly executed spreadsheet. Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn't glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy? As a temp, she's just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called "hero" leaves her badly injured. And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she's the lucky one. So, of course, then she gets laid off. With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks. Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing. And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance. It's not too long before she's employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world. A sharp, witty, modern debut, Hench explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics.
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JLaurenceCohen
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Mehso-so

Hench is really interesting but ultimately flawed feminist take on superheroes and villains. The opening act revolves around the Millennial desire for a healthy workplace, while the bulk of the story deploys familiar tropes about how heroes and villains have a shared past. I think the novel would've been much better if Quantum Entanglement, the main female superhero, had been a co-protagonist with Anna a.k.a. The Auditor.

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JLaurenceCohen
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Hench has a terrific premise: what is life like for the men and women who do data entry, tech support, and getaway driving for supervillains? Parts of it remind me of The Boys.

34 likes3 stack adds
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KristiAhlers
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

One of my co-workers recommended this read and I'm truly dealing with a book hangover but in a good way. This book is darker than I thought it would be and actually made me love it more. Anna was a character I truly wanted to take this journey with. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

49 likes2 stack adds
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TracyReadsBooks
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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#12BooksOf2022

Favorite book in August was Hench, a story about a low-level henchman just trying to make ends meet getting seriously injured in a villain-superhero battle. Laid up and pondering her choices, Anna wonders if the costs of a superhero saving the day outweighs the benefits so what does she do? She starts crunching the numbers vowing to show the world the true cost of superheroes. Impossible to put down, really fun story.

@Andrew65

MaleficentBookDragon This book is one of my 12 too. I‘m excited for the sequel coming out. 1y
Andrew65 Sounds a wonderful book. 1y
TracyReadsBooks @MaleficentBookDragon Likewise! Definitely excited we get to spend more time in this world with these characters. 1y
17 likes3 comments
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MaleficentBookDragon
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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On the 5th Day of Christmas I pick Hench as my favorite book of #May2022
#12booksof2022
I ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ this book, it is tied for my second favorite of 2022 and I can‘t wait for the next one.

Andrew65 Looks a good read. 1y
MaleficentBookDragon @Andrew65 it was so much fun. I‘ve always enjoyed the “villains” more than the heroes anyway. 1y
BookKenz I love Hench! It was my favorite book of the year last year! I can't wait till the second one comes out. 1y
48 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Kangaj1
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Bailedbailed

I thought I would love this one, and I stuck it out almost halfway before I admitted to myself I was done. Final #bookspin for 2022 @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks At least it's off the list!! 1y
24 likes1 comment
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erickahhh
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

I have been meaning to post about this for some time now, but convinced my book club to pick this for this month's read.

“A smart, imaginative , and evocative debut novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovered the greatest super power - for good or ill- is a properly executed spreadsheet“

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Soubhiville
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

I picked this up after it was recommended by someone in my bookclub.

Reading this felt like a cross between a superhero movie and The Boys. But with a smart and snarky female lead.

Anna is a temp. Yes with the annoying and boring and infuriating temp agency. But her skill set is unusual- she‘s a Hench. She essentially likes to do data entry and other tech work for villains.

On one of her jobs she gets injured by a Hero, and starts looking⬇️

Soubhiville Into the shady side of superheros, finding that the damage they do can be worse than a natural disaster. 1y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1y
60 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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CaitlinByTheBook
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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I‘m looking forward to reading this book after it came recommended by An Unlikely Story on their Indie Press List from the Currently Reading podcast! The thank you card was a nice touch 😊 #currentlyreadingpodcast #indiepresslist #indiebookstore

Ncostell That‘s one of my favorite podcasts. I just joined their Patreon community and am enjoying the bonus content. 2y
CaitlinByTheBook @Ncostell yes! I‘m a Patreon subscriber too. They have so much great content and I‘ve added lots of books to my TBR from listening to them! 2y
16 likes2 comments
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MaleficentBookDragon
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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I finished my beach read (👍🏻 Reckless Girls). I wasn‘t feeling my back up book right now. AND my flight is still 3 hours away. So…
#airportbook

Sharpeipup I‘m at the airport too. My flight was just delayed and I‘m not feeling my current book so I‘m trying to resist buying a new one… 2y
ReadingOver50 Hench was awesome 2y
MaleficentBookDragon @Sharpeipup did you resist? 😀 2y
66 likes3 comments
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Light_of_Aether
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Thank you very much, Melanie, for the book and candy! I'm looking forward to starting it tonight! And the candy is delicious! Happy Jolabokaflod! 📚🎄❄️ Merry Christmas!!

#JolabokaflodSwap

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mekenstedt
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots

"Self-deprecation has splash damage"

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Blueberry
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Superheroes fighting for #AbsolutePower.

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou

Klou Clever! Good job! 3y
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
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runswithscissors007
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

Helloooooooo!
In defence of the the tagged book this man was a super hero! I want to be in a book club with him.
Canada reads (survivor for books, canadian style) is the platform where he defended this book. It was not my favourite of the 6 (5?) books. But he was my favourite defender of all time! I want to be in a book club with him!

Oh my goodness!!! Edited to add this is Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Appa from Kim‘s Conveniwnce)

ShelleyBooksie I love him! He made Kim's Convenience. 3y
runswithscissors007 Ha! @ShelleyBooksie I forgot to say who he was!! 😬😬. 3y
21 likes2 comments
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Eggbeater
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

An unusual exploration of superheroes and villains that I thought bears some correlation to modern policing in this world. The book is gritty and snarky and I liked the imperfectness of the characters. I recommend the audio, the narrator is excellent. Spreadsheet nerds will also appreciate this book because the real hero analyizes data and numbers.

41 likes2 stack adds
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BookmarkTavern
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Mehso-so

One hench, injured by a superhero, decides to use her data analysis knowledge to change the world. By way of villainy.

This was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it. This was a fascinating story that managed to make me care about how the story ended without making me root for any of the characters.

And an examination of the collateral damage of super powered battles. Popular media doesn‘t usually address those types of consequences. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

64 likes1 stack add
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Literaturenut
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this book so much. I suspect if I were to ever become a supervillain, I would be very similar to The Auditor.

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BookmarkTavern
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Weeding, weeding, weeding. 😂

#AudioGardening

80 likes2 stack adds
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Itsmerachaelb
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
Pickpick

A beautiful exploration of the grey areas of morality.

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ilyssa.g
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

Such a unique book that kept me intrigued throughout its entirety! I love the focus on superheroes not being the best or most admirable people in the world. I loved reading a book that showed the "humanity" of villains. The book does a great job of showing that people are much more complex than just good or bad. The imagery is incredible. Their is a great diversity of characters. I would love to see this become a movie or show!

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cleoh
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Finally picking up the last of the Canada Reads 2021 shortlist, which I will hopefully be done in time for the debates next week! I‘ve enjoyed the other 4 picks, but this is the one I think I‘m the most excited about.

xicanti I‘m reading it right now and it‘s really good! 3y
cleoh @xicanti ooh so good to hear!! 3y
MsMelissa I started it last night 😊 3y
cleoh @MsMelissa great minds and all ☺️ 3y
69 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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sparrowssavvy
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Pickpick

This was such a fun and fantastic read! The concept of a book from the point of view of a henchman to a villain was delightful. It has quirky writing, relatable characters, and is full of action.

The concept of the damage caused by superheroes was really interesting and definitely raises some ethical questions. I also couldn‘t predict fully where this story was going, which was great.

13 likes1 stack add
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akaGingerK
Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots
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Mehso-so

I really love the premise & the LGBTQA rep - a bi MC! two characters who use they/them! a trans character who is never deadnamed! - and the author is really engaging in interview.

But for me, the book didn‘t quite stick the landing. I enjoyed it, but I don‘t whole-heartedly recommend it the way I‘d hoped.

akaGingerK The miss is similar to how I feel about several Marvel films - there‘s a high-concept conflict set up at the start, but the climatic final battle is very personal, so the higher concept conflict goes unaddressed. In this case, it‘s Anna‘s embrace of villainy. Do her ends justify the means in her mind? Since she‘s continuing to act at a remove, and since her emotional state is opaque to herself at the end, I‘m not entirely sure if she‘s all in. 4y
2 likes1 comment