I reviewed Makana Yamamoto’s debut cyberpunk novel, Hammajang Luck, during last year’s Trans Rights Readathon (which is currently ongoing until the end of March). I enjoyed the book’s high-stakes heist and dystopian politics, so I was excited to pick up the standalone sequel, The Obake Code, especially as it stars one of my favorite characters from the first book. I found it just as enjoyable, though surprisingly not for all the same reasons. It can be read alone, but I recommend reading both books in order, especially if you prefer to avoid spoilers.
Malia is a hacker known as the Obake, the self-proclaimed best of the best due to rare cybernetic enhancements that are admittedly not in the best shape. When a gang catches her rigging underground fights, the dangerous Song Sisters force her to help them ruin the campaign of a local politician. She recruits her best friend from the last book’s heist, the thief Tatiana, along with a racer named Sol whose flirting she doesn’t register and an heiress-turned-grifter named Naima. Despite their combined abilities, Malia soon finds herself in over her head as a first-time mastermind who can’t trust her own bosses, or even her own mods.
Malia is exactly my type of character. The circumstances that led to her becoming the Obake have left her isolated in a way that has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. She follows a strict, self-imposed code with the assumption that deviating from it will be her downfall. Of course, the plot throws her into situations where maintaining her code simply isn’t viable, and she must decide if it’s worth the risk to break it.
My favorite aspect of Hammajang Luck was the heist team, with a large, rambunctious crew from various backgrounds coming together for a common goal. The dynamics feel different in The Obake Code because Malia tries to keep her smaller crew at arm’s length. While in constant danger, she takes it for granted that she must be her own safe harbor, even if there are others who may want to provide that for her. It makes the bonds she does develop all the more touching, especially her friendship with Tatiana and developing romance with Sol.
I recall feeling that Hammajang Luck lacked suspense at times, and The Obake Code has suspense in spades. Malia’s past comes into play, creating a sense of mystery. The endgame for this heist is not quite so straightforward as stealing a specific valuable object, as various factions and threads of danger complicate matters, and at each stage Malia has to decide who to trust. There is also a surreal element as the Ghost Net that Malia’s mods connect her to slowly encroaches on her consciousness, injecting her with memories not her own.
This series continues to explore everything that powerful people have already stolen before a heist ever occurs. In this case, that means having one’s whole identity stolen. Malia’s sense of self was determined by someone else, who then appropriated it in a violation that she has to contend with throughout the story. There is so much more for her to claim and reclaim for herself than just the literal object of the heist.
If you enjoyed Hammajang Luck, I definitely recommend the sequel. If you don’t like heists enough to read both books but enjoy the cyberpunk genre, fantastical takes on hacking, and isolated geniuses, you could still have a good time by skipping to The Obake Code.
Content warnings copied from the author’s website:
“Graphic: derealization, human experimentation, childhood emotional abuse, car crashes, torture, sexual content
Moderate: human trafficking, death, cults, existentialism
Minor: alcohol use, tobacco use, gambling, sexual harassment”
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