Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto: Review by Paul Di Filippo

Hammajang Luck, Makana Yamamoto (Harper Voyager‎ ‎ 978-0063430822, trade paperback, 368pp, $15.99) January 2025

My partner Deborah Newton proclaims that her favorite type of movie is the heist film. I suspect that there are many who share her affection for this genre. From Rififi to The Italian Job, from A Fish Called Wanda to Ocean’s 11, such highly entertaining and suspenseful stories span a huge range and are infinitely adaptable to host any kind of subplot.

Makana Yamamoto’s debut novel (and in fact ISFDB lists no prior publications of any sort for them), Hammajang Luck, is boldly labeled on its cover “A Sci-Fi Heist,” and it would in fact translate beautifully to the screen. It possesses all the sterling attributes of the classic heist narrative, and adds in romance elements, plus the topic of familial bonds. The resulting blend is wholly organic and effective.

Before delving into the substance of the book, though, I must make two ancillary observations. I find the book’s cover particularly striking and attractive. Its palette of colors is not often found in an SF title. I would like to credit an artist, but the copyright page merely states “Designed by Patrick Barry,” so he will have to shoulder the accolades.

Second, I am indebted to Yamamoto for teaching me a new word: “hammajang.” It’s Hawaiian for “shambolic” or “disorderly,” and in fact the narrator’s Hawaiian ethnicity is nicely interwoven into the tale.

This person is Edie Morikawa, a twenty-one-year-old dweller in the “Lower Wards” of the immense and ramified Kepler space station (found in a far-off star system). Edie has just exited prison when we meet them, after serving eight years for some larcenous doings. They were ratted out by the woman they assumed was their best friend, one Angel Huang, who was equally complicit in the original crime but got off scot-free. And now it eventuates that Angel facilitated Edie’s prison release in order to enlist Edie in another caper, the biggest of their careers. A multi-trillionaire named Joyce Atlas (male, despite the misleading first name) has, in an ultra-secure safe, the prototype and plans for a world-shaking invention. And Angel has worked her way up during the past eight years to become head of Atlas’s security division. If Angel and Edie can grab the MacGuffin, they will be set for life.

Edie is still pissed with Angel, whom she once (and still?) loved, and initially reluctant. But after a few days of living a hand-to-mouth existence with her pregnant sister Andie and Andie’s kids, Edie begins to reconsider. Soon, she is fully committed.

Now, it’s a curious thing about the heist mode that what might be defined as the actual physical heist often does not occur till nearly the end of the book or film. That’s the case here, with the break-in starting in Chapter 19. (There are twenty-two chapters total.) So what occupies the reader so pleasantly till then?

First comes the classic assembling of the crew. Edie’s talents are those of a “runner.” They know every shaft, corridor and utility tunnel of Kepler station by heart. Obviously Edie will get them close to the safe by secret ways.

Next in line is Cy—a cyborg, aptly enough—who is an old friend of Edie’s. Following him is Sara Morris, possessed of acrobatic skills. Tatiana Valdez specializes in pure thievery. Two women known as Nakana and Duke are expert in social engineering. And finally we have Malia, super-hacker. Angel and Edie initially consider their dossiers in a scene straight out of Mission Impossible, which reminds us how much that classic show set the template for these elaborate schemes.

All of these figures will receive extensive portraits during the run-up to the caper, so that by the time the big day arrives, the reader is totally familiar with their abilities and quirks, and can enjoy how these characteristics play out during the foreseen and unexpected moments of the job.

Once the crew is fully onboard, various preliminary subschemes get underway, including insinuating Nakana and Duke into Atlas’s business dealings. (The Elon-Musk-style depiction of Atlas is well done too.) And at the same time, Edie and Angel are struggling with their love-hate relationship, which might or might not toss a monkey wrench into the plot.

The heist itself in Chapter 19 has all anyone could ask for, from screwups, miraculous recoveries, and near-death incidents. The post-heist chapters offer some surprises and moments of closure.

One interesting thing about this book is its nicely integrated cyberpunk trappings. Unlike when Neuromancer first appeared, the cyberpunk stuff is no longer new, and thus not foregrounded. It’s just another scrim or tool in the SF armory. And that’s how the genre progresses, by incorporating past revolutions.

Not to give too much away, but this book is not a tragedy, like so many heist tales, but a eucatastrophe that proves crime does pay. However, the end use of all the thievery is simply to bring family—blood family or chosen family—closer together. Something money can only facilitate, not engender in the heart.

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