Henchman by Apollo Villa-Real is about a guy named H, short for Henchman. He is an enforcer for the highest ranking Capo in the Las Vegas Underworld. He uses new magic as well as old. There was a murder of one of the candidates and his boss sends him to find out who did it. Apollo Villa-Real uses portals to go between times and dimensions for the henchman to catch the killer. How far will the henchman go to keep the peace among the Chambers to save the Universe? Will he lose his one love and even his life? He and his few allies use whatever magical powers they have to save the Universe. H learns the hard way who he can trust and it wasn’t who he thought.

Henchman by Apollo Villa-Real is an extremely fascinating story. The author has H use his cellphone to cast his spells! I loved how he mixed the old magic with new magic and used portals to go through time and dimensions. Apollo Villa-Real is amazing with his descriptions. I should give you a trigger warning: if you get grossed out easily, then you may not want to read this, that is how descriptive he is. And his world building is out of this world. I usually am pretty good at guessing the mystery, but thanks to a few twists and turns I was pleasantly surprised. I was only part right. I admit, I was a bit bummed there was one mystery left unanswered, so I hope this means that Apollo Villa-Real will be turning this into a series, or at least a trilogy.

Henchman is an inventive work of urban fantasy by author Apollo Villa-Real, set in a magical realism version of Las Vegas known as the Vegas Underworld. This existence works in parallel with the ordinary Vegas that we know, with the exception that in the Underworld everything is run and controlled by magic. Vegas, a convention capital in any universe, plays host to a magic convention, but when an assassination throws the gang system and the governing Syndicate into turmoil, it’s up to mob enforcer H to clear the Syndicate’s name. A long-standing peace in the magical community hangs in the balance, and a single henchman could be the difference between peace upheld and all out war.

Author Apollo Villa-Real has created a gritty, adult magical realism novel that is sure to satisfy grown up fans who desire something less traditional in the sci-fi and fantasy bracket. The Vegas Underworld, a place where closed down casinos are reborn from their graves, is a unique and fantastic playground for all sorts of dark magical hi-jinks to occur, and yet somehow it still fully captures the ethos and atmosphere of the actual Las Vegas we know and love. The writing is smooth and descriptive, involving us deeply in the political and social struggles of the Syndicate and the worldwide Chamber system, and the plot holds together tightly as H (and his super cool cell phone) moves through layers of intrigue and violence to reach its core. Overall, Henchman is a superbly original piece of urban fantasy to be read and enjoyed by all.