Unlike other sequels, the ones that see our heroes march off into their next adventure, Villain, by Natalie Zina Walschots, is all about the aftermath. In Hench, the Auditor (Anna) became the right-hand woman of the supervillain Leviathan and discovered a talent for making the lives of superheroes absolute hell. The climax of that book changed everything: the Draft (the organization that recruits, trains, supports, and markets the superheroes) is scrambling, Leviathan is brooding, and the Auditor is supposed to be planning their next villainous move. Except, how do you move on when you’ve nearly died?
When we rejoin the Auditor, she is spinning her wheels. Physically, she’s mostly recovered from her battle with the Draft and Supercollider (their primary superhero). Emotionally, she’s a mess. Leviathan is not letting her capitalize on any of her new plans to continue their fight with the draft. Granted, Leviathan was captured and tortured by the Draft—but he’s a nearly indestructible supervillain. He should be used to this sort of thing. His reluctance to launch any new ventures gives the Draft the opportunity to regroup under the disturbingly cheerful leadership of a man called Mom. (He even has a World’s Best Mom mug, for crying out loud.) It’s clearly up to the Auditor to get the wicked ball rolling again.
Because Villain focuses so much on the aftermath of what happened in Hench, there is much more emotion and action for a lot of the book. I could feel the Auditor’s frustration with Leviathan. At times, it feels like she has to work against him as much as she has to fight against the Draft. Thankfully, the Auditor and her devilishly creative team are allowed to go back to work. I won’t say this is where the novel gets good, but I will say that it’s a relief when the plot turns. The first part of the book feels necessary. After all, the Auditor doesn’t have superhuman healing or regeneration. She had to have an eye replaced and now walks with a cane. Further, what she and Leviathan and their sometime ally, Decoherence, did in Hench really did change the world. There is no status quo to return to.
Readers who loved Hench will be delighted to see this sequel hit the shelves. And this reader particularly hopes that there will be another book after this because I very much want to see a final showdown between the Auditor and the Draft.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.