Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto is one of the sci-fi books we were most excited to read this year. If you missed our round-up of the most anticipated sci-fi books of 2025, you can check it out here. Yamamoto’s novel takes us on a ride alongside Edie, the protagonist. The novel is written in first person, but Edie’s voice is so soothing and easy that eventually it stops feeling like a first-person narrator and starts feeling like an omnipresent narrator from Edie’s point of view.
Edie is released from prison after serving eight years following a busted heist. The person who pushed for their release is none other than the woman responsible for putting Edie in jail, Angel. But everything comes with a price, including Edie’s freedom, and Angel wants Edie’s professional heisting skills for a final, huge job. All good heist stories start like that, and I’m definitely a sucker for them.
Most of the book is spent getting to know Edie, their close circle, and hinting at Edie and Angel’s relationship. The narration keeps bringing up how they’ve known each other since forever and the circumstances behind Edie’s imprisonment. Additionally, the build-up to the actual heist is spent getting to know the rest of the team and getting familiar with the plan. All in all, this is a typical heist novel.
However, Yamamoto’s book shines particularly bright where other tend to not pay much attention, and that’s in the diversity department. Most characters are culturally Hawaiian, and the inclusion of pidgin is a lovely detail that gives the story further depth. There is also a wide variety of gender expression and sexuality, but it all feels seamless and never forced. It’s truly delightful to see so much diversity as the standard. The character ensemble is delightful, funny, and truly what makes this novel fantastic.
The sexual tension between Edie and Angel is palpable throughout the story, but once is becomes real, it’s not teased further. The novel tends to be straight forward like that: Once it’s gotten to where it wants to be, the drama is over. I was a little saddened to find the drama is not drawn out a little longer, and the end came a little too soon for my liking. I would love to read six iterations with these characters in this world.
The plot moves along with the plan. There are a lot of scenes of the plan taking place and team working together, and all I ask for is more banter. The misfits-coming-together-and-making-a-hell-of-a-team trope is well developed, and the world the story is set in leans a little into the cyberpunk with a healthy dash of capitalism is the real evil.
Overall, this is a proper heist story with little drama, a juicy friends-to-enemies-to-lovers subplot and lovable characters. It’s serious when it needs to be, but takes full advantage of any possible comedy available. So, if you’re looking for a fun heist in space with tons of queer characters, give Yamamoto’s novel a try. I, for one, had a blast reading it.
Adriana Acevedo is an editor, writer, and sleep paralysis demon. She's been published in magazines like samfiftyfour and Impostor. She's bilingual and living in the monstrous Mexico City. Whenever she's not reading horror stories or watching horror movies, she's baking sourdough bread. Read more of her writing here.