Hammajang Luck
Makana Yamamoto
Trade Paperback / Ebook
ISBN: 9780063430822
Harper Voyager, January 14, 2025, 368 pgs

The publicity for Hammajang Luck calls it “Oceans 8 meets Blade Runner” but I don’t think that’s quite right. I can see why they might use these accessible references: fewer people might know Leverage, which is more about cons than heists, but episodes usually had some heist markers, and that team is closer in some ways to the team in Hammajang Luck. TV show Lupin has even closer resemblances, particularly in terms of nuance and motivations, despite being focused mostly on a sole protagonist. The Blade Runner part is pretty thin, in my opinion, but is meant to (I believe) primarily speak to the setting. For me, the title says more about the book (and more accurately) than those comparisons; and the original title—Heist Lesbians—gives an even better picture. Part of the problem in describing it with references is that it’s definitely a heist story which follows expected beats but besides this it’s pretty unique. Moreover, it’s a very enjoyable read.

Hammajang opens with a familiar kind of setup: Edie is released from prison mysteriously early. Waiting outside is Angel, the person who they’d worked with before, apparently the reason they landed in prison in the first place, but also the person who effected their early release—only to try to coerce them to do another very risky job. Writers of all kinds use similar setups because it’s a quickly engaging situation when done right, and because readers and viewers love all kinds of crime stories, from heists and capers to gritty, serious, and bloody. Here, it is done right, with the added bonus that everything takes place “in spaaaace”—more specifically, Kepler space station. Even better, Yamamoto deviates from the standard versions of these kinds of setups by introducing a positive family connection: a sister who cares, who greets Edie warmly, and has a bed ready. In many iterations of heist/crime stories, in this kind of scenario, if there is a family member who cares, the relationship in general (and especially the moment of reunion) is usually used as another point of immediate friction: the tension between siblings that is exacerbated by a criminal record and a stinging distrust. Here the reunion is both touching and refreshing and signals to the reader that Yamamoto has thoughtful narrative directions in store.

Like most good heists next comes the collection of characters involved and a rundown of the job, and of course the job is to steal from someone unsympathetic: a super-rich asshole named Atlas. More important than this, Edie proves to be, by contrast, quite sympathetic. Yes, they are on their bullshit again, but we are still rooting for Edie, we want to see Edie get through this and come out the other side. Mostly this is due to Edie being a generally good-hearted person, even if some if their . . . proclivities . . . have led them into trouble in the past. Edie doesn’t rely on something as cheap as George Clooney’s or Sandra Bullock’s charm. Through Edie the reader can see that not every character can afford a suit, yet they live life in the best way they can. Another way to put it: what do you do when it seems like you are trapped and have limited options? Less-than-ideal circumstances was how Edie grew up and having been released by Angel’s machinations, now they are even more trapped.

Another key element here is that Edie has to deceive people they care about, which makes them again more relatable than an archetypal heist or con character who is fairly isolated from innocent individuals who aren’t directly involved, usually leaving protagonists free to Robin Hood all they want. Edie must wrestle with the discomfort and guilt of deceptions, not to mention the fact that failing could land people they love in trouble. Success therefore becomes even more important.

There are a few fun science fictional ideas on display, but the setting often feels more like “now” than like an adventure in spaaaace—albeit an alternate now. If we’re honest, this isn’t unusual for plenty of space opera or even straight-out science fiction books. Even The Expanse had a few anachronistic details that would be unlikely given the setting, things that fans allowed because they gave a certain flavor. Here the flavor is Edie’s nostalgia, which is a great tool to explore themes like gentrification, class and its relationship to labor, as well as our sense of relationship with a place and environment; it allows the author to more easily center characters and cultures that are extremely rare to see in popular storytelling—except as archetypes or decoration. Narrative attention is well-spent on details of the neighborhood and its people, lovingly imagined, and has deeper purposes than just trying to make a setting seem cool or trying to make a character iconic.

Once the team is assembled and the heist is underway, Hammajang Luck offers the notes of tension and adventure readers love in heist stories, but where flash and slick moments are the usual focus, Yamamoto adds in the growth of challenging relationships and friendships, that sense of various kinds of family, punctuated by occasional humor. It’s a satisfying book, and far more nuanced than most heist stories, while still hitting the marks that readers expect.

Hammajang Luck has more to say than Ocean’s 8, the setting is more thoughtful and relevant than Blade Runner, and you still get the heist you came looking for! Seriously. What more could you ask for? It’s an easy, fun read, which will make a lot of readers smile for all kinds of reasons. Recommended!