Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto Review

HAMMAJANG | adjective. Definition: In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang. Etymology: A borrowing from Hawaiian Pidgin. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
 

Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person - costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.
 

And it's all Angel's fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station - of home - to spend the best part of a decade alone.
 

But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting - and she has an offer.
 

One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There's just one thing Edie needs to do - trust Angel again - which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?
 

Ocean's 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai'i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one - unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

An appropriate title for a unique and colorful twist on the familiar Ocean’s Eleven formula, Makana Yamamoto’s Hammajang Luck is a futuristic, high-tech, Hawaii-inspired queer romp that I never thought to want yet quite enjoyed. A scrappy breaking-and-entering story at its core featuring an entirely queer roster, Yamamoto’s debut is full of social and cultural representation. Incorporating very strong community and family values, local Pidgin English, and a familiar blend of cultures that can only be found in Hawaii, this unorthodox pairing with a cyberpunk space station aesthetic is unlike anything I’ve read before. Growing up and living most of my life in the islands, Hammajang Luck has that hidden element that only long-time locals can tap into and has my full Hawaii-resident stamp of approval. Yet underneath all the science fiction elements, queer reworking, and Hawaii cultural flavor, Hammajang Luck’s story is surprisingly simple, predictable, yet comforting. However, from a narrative perspective I often found myself wishing Hammajang’s story and cool concepts went further or more time was spent exploring the Kepler station’s intriguing world. That said, the flavors and decorative details around the story are so fun, they can almost sell the premise on their own.

When I first found this book on upcoming science fiction release lists, I thought my eyes and brain experienced a 404 error. Hawaii culture rocketed off to space with a queer friend to enemies to lovers romp involving a bioengineering heist and ransom. The premise alone seems all hammajang (sorry, couldn’t resist), yet despite how it sounds, it fully works! Hammajang Luck smartly relies on the familiar, tried and true heist storyline traditionally written for motley crews of straight cis men but twists it around in a uniquely modern way. The story consists of Angel negotiating Edie’s early parole, one by one assembling their crew, securing the necessary assets for the break-in, and finally the heist itself. The overall story is surprisingly basic, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Once Angel recruits Edie, the plan is on, and the story is often quite fun and entertaining when it’s focused on the undercover action. The recruitment events and the actual heist are both page-turners yet feel also well researched and plotted. On top of the heist action, there’s an underlying tension between Edie and Angel over their complicated pasts and mutually shared intensity.

Now aside from the overall heist story, the most noteworthy aspect of Hammajang Luck is Yamamoto’s authentic representation and homage to their local Hawaii upbringing and culture. From Edie and Andie’s hanai family with Angel, to the food, to the impressively good Pidgin English, Hammajang Luck is a novel that could’ve only been written by a true Hawaii local. I’ve seen many authors try to and fail to capture the authentic feel of Hawaii, particularly writers that have often vacationed or moved to the islands later in life which just isn’t the same. While I often found myself wondering how a non-Hawaii reader would experience this novel due to how loud and proud it is with its roots (another reviewer wondering if Edie and Angel were cousins had me rolling, in Hawaii all close family friends are aunty and uncle), I personally found it highly entertaining. I found Yamamoto’s use of Pidgin English limited to only dialogue between the childhood friends + Malia to be a smart choice that gives the novel personality without being incoherent or too off-putting for those unfamiliar with it. Not only that, but I was also amused seeing certain, less common slang and phrases written for the first time vs only hearing it spoken (the spelling is an adventure at times lol!). Besides the obvious Pidgin English, I found the close family bond between Edie and Andie’s family to be well-done, and although the character motivations were quite typical, they fit the story and narrative well.

Another strong aspect is the visually intriguing Kepler station. While serving as a physical metaphor for the socio-economic stratification of its inhabitants, Kepler’s vertical levels referred to as “Wards” are full of color and cyberpunk goodness. While on one hand I’m not sure how realistically plausible the station and its simulated gravity, air supply, climate, and light source is seeing as Hammajang Luck mostly skirts around the logistical workings of the setting, its nonetheless a fantastic background to the story. With Edie and Andie’s apartment located in Ward 3 eternally bathed in a dusky twilight ambiance shadowed by looming towers and bridges overhead, there’s so many great opportunities for visuals. The scenery practically begs for this story to get a graphic novel adaptation, and I would’ve been happy simply reading about Edie running or parkouring around Hammajang Luck’s world. One of my biggest nitpicks of the novel is actually the limited exploration of Kepler’s wards or exploring how the station functions, not to mention the advanced bioengineering mods and technology in the cyberpunk world. There is a decent amount given to explain the core heist mechanics and goals, but there’s so much untapped bonus material that could’ve been included. While all these added details wouldn’t necessarily enhance the main story, not having more world-building almost seems like a missed opportunity considering how cool Yamamoto’s world and aesthetic is.

When it comes to characters, Edie and Angel are distinctive opposites attract in every possible way. One adrenaline-fueled, emotionally volatile, yet loyal and righteous, while the other is cool, calculated, and methodically detached. Apart from Edie’s non-binary identify and the two’s obvious history and chemistry, the rest of the cast is rounded out by sister Andie’s family members and the assembled heist team. Closely mirroring Hawaii’s unique blend of cultures and ethnicities, Hammajang Luck’s characters likewise are quite varied as well. Representing various Asian and Hawaii names across the board, the novel also has great representation hitting each letter of the LGBTQ+ community. It seems dismissive calling the story a queer science fiction Ocean’s Eleven, but it truly is an apt description, and I mean it in with a positive connotation.

While I loved the science fiction, Hawaii flavor and details on top of the fun heist action, I found myself often liking but not quite loving Hammajang Luck. Besides the already mentioned merely functional world-building, the overall story, characters and villains felt a bit too straightforward and at times, almost juvenile. While having a very colorful cast of characters with a wide variety of backgrounds, most of the characters outside of Edie and Angel aren’t really developed much due to the novel mainly focusing on the pair’s strained relationship and history. Additionally, while Edie and Angel have good yin and yang opposites attract dynamic, the underlying romance was never quite developed enough for me to be fully believable. While the story was interesting and well-paced during the hesit-related activities, I felt like the Edie/Angel drama and potential consequence reflections tended to drag. Running on a miscommunication for nearly the entire duration of the story, the sudden cracking sexual tension between the two of them and the sudden emotional release they have at the crux of the heist felt quite contrived to me. It fits the story and checks the expected romance box that was foreshadowed constantly, but it feels rushed, along with Angel doing a near 180 based on what the story needs at that exact moment. Whether their inevitable reconciliation was set up adequately is a whole other discussion.

The other area that feels underdeveloped is the lack of nuance and complexity of the villains and general character motivations. The villains largely come off as typical rich corporate executives looking to increase their power and wealth while taking advantage of the poor. While the method and goals of the villains have a compelling mechanism and futuristic technological angle to achieve their status and power, the overall tone and aspirations feel more akin to a one-dimensional YA novel material contrary, yet the limited explicit adult content suggests and older targeted reader group. There is a great theme of gentrification and the loss of the traditional local community in the novel that is a clear reference to what’s been happening in Hawaii for decades (particularly in Maui where Yamamoto was born and raised) and the social commentary involving convicted felons or those on a blacklist struggling to reestablish themselves clearly shows narrative ambition (though this is also underdeveloped due to lack of screen time and a very late plot twist reveal). Whether it be the rich corporate leader that Angel is plotting to steal from or Andie’s ex-partner/co-parent Tyler, the villains are heavily villainized individuals with clearly negative intentions. Angel’s cool collected and smart personality contrasted by Edie’s emotional and fiery drive is also quite heavy-handed as well as the constant narrative effort for Edie to demonize Angel’s actions. Edie’s repeated short-sighted assumptions and judgements of Angel’s cold actions are both repetitive and quite exasperating to read over time considering you can see from a mile away that there’s a bigger plan in play. And while I’m not necessarily calling Edie a dumb main character, their repeated assumptions and miscommunications with Angel over the same material certainly caused the novel to lose its spark for me whenever the story wasn’t in its full-on heist action mode.

Featuring an exciting setting and a unique blend of cultural representation and elements, Hammajang Luck is a whole lot of fun when the heist action is going on. Yet, for all its well-portrayed flavors and details included, the base storyline underneath the embellishments is quite straightforward and was just a little bit underwhelming for me due to a lack of narrative complexity or developed character logic/motivations. While it can certainly be taken as a negative drawback, it could also be a promising sign that I liked everything the novel gave me while still wanting more. While Edie and Angel’s story feels complete and does not need a direct sequel, I would love to see Yamamoto come up with future anthology stories or characters set in the same world (maybe a spin-off novel following one of the heist team members?). Either way, Hammajang Luck is a really fun and solid debut novel and one that will surely make any Hawaii locals or those familiar with the islands smile with aloha. Now dis braddah bettah go fo practice his Pidgeon English ‘for he lose ‘em and stay all kine confused wen Makana’s new book come out-