Hench: A Novel
(OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen)
"This book is fast, furious, compelling, and angry as hell." — Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author
The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this 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.
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
Natalie Zina Walschots. (2020). Hench: A Novel. Unabridged HarperAudio.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Natalie Zina Walschots. 2020. Hench: A Novel. HarperAudio.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Natalie Zina Walschots, Hench: A Novel. HarperAudio, 2020.
MLA Citation (style guide)Natalie Zina Walschots. Hench: A Novel. Unabridged HarperAudio, 2020.
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 5 | 4 |
OverDrive Product Record
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img100.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img200.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/EDF/DB3/9E/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img150.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/EDF/DB3/9E/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img400.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- formats
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062978608
- name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
- id: audiobook-mp3
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062978608
- name: OverDrive Listen
- id: audiobook-overdrive
- identifiers:
- mediaType
- Audiobook
- primaryCreator
- role: Author
- name: Natalie Zina Walschots
- title
- Hench
- dateAdded
- 2020-09-18T19:45:00Z
- contentDetails
- href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=5168210
- type: text/html
- account:
- name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
- id: 1151
- sortTitle
- Hench A Novel
- crossRefId
- 5168210
- subtitle
- A Novel
- id
- EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D
- starRating
- 3.9
OverDrive MetaData
- isPublicDomain
- False
- formats
- fileName: Hench_9780062978608_5168210
- partCount: 14
- fileSize: 410422414
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062978608
- rights:
- type: PlayOnPC
- value: 1
- type: PlayOnPCCount
- value: -1
- type: BurnToCD
- value: 1
- type: BurnToCDCount
- value: -1
- type: PlayOnPM
- value: 1
- type: TransferToSDMI
- value: 1
- type: TransferToNonSDMI
- value: 1
- type: TransferCount
- value: -1
- type: CollaborativePlay
- value: 0
- type: PublicPerformance
- value: 0
- type: TranscodeToAAC
- value: 1
- name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
- id: audiobook-mp3
- onSaleDate: 09/22/2020
- samples:
- source: Part 1
- formatType: audiobook-mp3
- url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-425/0293-1/5168210-Hench.mp3
- source: From the book
- formatType: audiobook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=edfdb39e-274f-48a2-8a6b-bb8f3cd65d5d&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- fileName: HenchANovel-16106
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 410370500
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062978608
- name: OverDrive Listen
- id: audiobook-overdrive
- onSaleDate: 09/22/2020
- samples:
- source: Part 1
- formatType: audiobook-mp3
- url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-425/0293-1/5168210-Hench.mp3
- source: From the book
- formatType: audiobook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=edfdb39e-274f-48a2-8a6b-bb8f3cd65d5d&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- creators
- role: Author
- fileAs: Walschots, Natalie Zina
- bioText: Natalie Zina Walschots is a freelance writer, community manager and bailed academic based in Toronto. She writes everything from reviews of science fiction novels and interviews with heavy metal musicians to to in-depth feminist games criticism and pieces of long-form journalism. She is the author of two books of poetry. In her free time she has been exploring the poetic potential of the notes engine in the video game Bloodborne, writing a collection of polyamorous fairytales, developing interactive narrative classes and composing short text-based body horror games. She also plays a lot of D&D, participates in a lot of Nordic LARPs, watches a lot of horror movies and reads a lot of speculative fiction.
- name: Natalie Zina Walschots
- role: Narrator
- fileAs: McKenna, Alex
- name: Alex McKenna
- publishDate
- 2020-09-22T05:00:00+01:00
- edition
- Unabridged
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- Hench
- fullDescription
"This book is fast, furious, compelling, and angry as hell." — Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author
The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this 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.
- reviews
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
Starred review from May 11, 2020
Walschots (Doom) gleefully blurs the line between heroes and villains in this hilarious peek behind the scenes of supervillains’ lairs. Apathetic millennial Anna Tromedlov works through a temp agency for “henching gigs,” doing data entry for minor supervillains. But then a tumultuous gig with the Electric Eel leaves Anna hospitalized, fired from the temp agency, and newly furious about the state of the superpowered world, which is dominated by reckless superheroes who don’t care how many people they hurt in the name of saving the day. Luckily for her, the notorious, A-list villain Leviathan hires her as a hench. Her new position marks her first experience with supervillain field work, leading to a mind-altering run-in with the world’s most powerful superhero and a deteriorating personal life. Though the closest thing Anna has to a superpower is her ability to analyze data, that might be just what it takes to put an end to the hypocrisy of superheroes once and for all. Walschots playfully pokes at both office politics and comic book absurdity while offering gripping action and gut-wrenching body horror. The inventive premise, accessible heroine, and biting wit will have readers eager for more from this talented author. Agent: Ron Eckel, Cooke McDermid Literary.
- premium: True
- source:
- content: In a snarky style, Alex McKenna narrates this audiobook mash-up--think DC Comics meets "The Office." A "hench" is a clerk typist, secretary, valet, or chauffeur who serves a super villain. Somebody has to. When Anna, who is working as a data entry temp, gets thrown across a parking lot by a superhero named Supercollider, she decides to go to work for the dark side. McKenna has a fine time providing voices for the office nerds, tough guys, and, especially, the gravelly voiced super villain, Leviathan. And when the plot takes a truly wicked turn, McKenna's delivery turns no-nonsense to show that working for a "super man" (good or bad) isn't all fun and games. B.P. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
- popularity
- 2252
- links
- self:
- href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/edfdb39e-274f-48a2-8a6b-bb8f3cd65d5d/metadata
- type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
- self:
- id
- edfdb39e-274f-48a2-8a6b-bb8f3cd65d5d
- starRating
- 3.9
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img100.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img200.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/EDF/DB3/9E/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img150.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/EDF/DB3/9E/{EDFDB39E-274F-48A2-8A6B-BB8F3CD65D5D}Img400.jpg
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- isPublicPerformanceAllowed
- False
- languages
- code: en
- name: English
- subjects
- value: Fantasy
- value: Fiction
- value: Science Fiction
- value: Thriller
- publishDateText
- 09/22/2020
- otherFormatIdentifiers
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780063034594
- mediaType
- Audiobook
- shortDescription
"This book is fast, furious, compelling, and angry as hell." — Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author
The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this 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...
- sortTitle
- Hench A Novel
- crossRefId
- 5168210
- subtitle
- A Novel
- publisher
- HarperAudio
