Finally queer representation in a cyberpunk novel (a genre that strikes me as pretty queer-coded)! This was a witty and cleverly plotted book.

This was quite out of my comfort zone to read as I’m mostly a fantasy/romantasy reader however it was incredibly pleasantly surprising for me and I really enjoyed it.

I thought the story was original and it always kept me wanting more, and I struggled to put this down. I also very much enjoyed the LGBTQ storyline that was throughout the book.

I really do think I will pick up books from this author in the future as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience with this one.

What can I say... At first, I really didn't think I'd like this book, despite really, REALLY wanting to, because of the unexplained dissonance between the present and the possible future. But my gods, once you get used to the world approximately ten years in the future, with its social media contact lenses and androids and violence, my god it's good. It's more than good. I'd just finished it and I wanted to read it all over again.

This is a film noir-infused sci-fi dystopia with an unapologetic romance. It's firmly, fantastically representative of LGBTQ+ lives and experiences, a damn good detective thriller, and overall just brilliant.

Aubrey Wood has created characters you'll love and ones you'll love to hate, a perfect twist, and an enthralling world of drugs, death and digital dealings. Read this book!

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

This has 2 points of view, Kiera, who is a trans female, and Angel, whose tone is very noir detective!

This has a multiple characters who are LGBTQ+, and different relationships. 

It's set 20 years in the future, and the technology is very cyber punk!

It's a really good detective story, with lots of twists. 

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Rebellion.

I don’t read a lot of cyberpunk, even though the aesthetic appeals to me, mainly because I see few recommendations for books in the genre that feature queer characters. Likewise, I don’t read as much noir as I’d like for similar reasons. So when I started seeing mentions of this mash-up of the two with its trans and polyamorous protagonist, I was very keen to get my hands on a copy. It certainly delivered hugely on diversity, with representation of a wide range of marginalised groups eking out a living in a near-future city, where tech enhancements are near universal and the police are more or less a private militia for the rich and powerful.

Kiera Umehara is a trans woman living in an open trio with two other radical queers, all of whom work in the gig economy, although one of them, Jinx, aspires to become a big-name influencer. When their social score drops and they are threatened with eviction from their apartment because of it, Kiera is forced to team up with Angel Herrera, the cop turned PI she swore she’d never work with again after their last job ended in a fistfight. Herrera has been hired by his ex-wife to track down the former colleague she left him for, now working as a lawyer, and coincidentally representing Kiera in her fight to get legal recognition of her chosen name.

The pair soon find their man – dead – and when Kiera takes a break from work to attend a party with Jinx, she ends up falling for a fellow guest, who promptly also vanishes with all clues pointing to the presumed kidnapping having been committed by the same person(s) that killed her lawyer. Kiera and Herrera find themselves under suspicion (cue racism and misgendering from the cops) and have to race to solve both cases before they end up being jailed for the crimes they are investigating – and more – because this is a criminal web with links to the highest levels of local politics.

I enjoyed this book a lot; although it was clunky in places and set in a future that seemed to have diverged from our present at least twenty years ago, the amount of trans and queer representation more than made up for that, in my opinion. It was a rare joy to come across a novel with a fully functional polyamorous relationship at its heart and where all the conflict came from factors outside that relationship.

Another book I want to reread when I have the time to savour it, and another author I want to read more from as her career and writing progresses.

Aubrey Wood's writing is exuberant and fast-paced in this story set in 2032 in the city of New Carson.

The story entails two people radically different from one another, transgender hacker Kiera Umehara, and private detective, and former police officer, Angel Herrera, having to chase down a murderer.

Before they even get to this case, author Wood gives us a sense of the time period through Keira's life: it's clearly a terrible place to be if, like Kiera, you are struggling financially. She works an endless series of mundane, small jobs, which she hates, so she can keep making payments on the apartment she shares with Sky and Jinx (the three are in a relationship together), accumulate enough money to get surgery, and constantly battles to be treated as a woman.

Angel Herrera is an old school cop, not really up with a lot of technology, which is why he employs Kiera to help him on his cases. When one of his cases results in shots fired and Kiera's nose broken, she tells him she wants out. But money concerns has her agreeing to one last job for him, which entails finding an absent husband, Malcolm, who coincidentally happens to be Angel's former partner when they were on the force, and is now Kiera's pro bono lawyer. When Kiera and Angel find Malcolm dead with a stick of incense left behind by the killer, this makes them suspects in the eyes of the police. Angel and Kiera decide to investigate to remove them from consideration as suspects, and this only brings them into a tangled case with many twists and turns that has political implications.

The story is a little confusing to follow, and sometimes seems to have almost too much happening and too fast, but the relationship between Kiera and Angel develops organically and entertainingly. I do wish that Kiera had acted more like her stated age than someone who felt much younger. It's a quibble, but it would have made the story work much better, and the relationship even more meaningful if she hadn't seemed so very young all the time.

I did like however, how wonderfully varied the characters were, as well as how having cybernetic implants and/or prosthetics was just a normal part of life. In fact, society has progressed in this time to the point that not being a cyborg would make life difficult to totally unlivable.

Aside from the often frenetic storytelling, I liked this book, and the central relationship was what kept me reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Rebellion for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Woo'd's novel has some great dialogue and characters. They also do a great job of the "near future" cyberpunk encroaching on our current day. You can see the future approaching and melded with today. I had a little trouble following the unraveling of the mystery, however, after the long setup.

This book had me at "edgy, queer cyberpunk detective mystery" and didn't let up until I'd finished the last sentence. The pop culture references reminded me of Ready Player One, the cyberpunk had shades of WIlliam Gibson, the noir evoked Dashiell Hammett, and all of it was a glorious mashup that was 100 percent, a page-turning, roller coaster of a ride. I highly recommend it!

It’s extremely difficult to write near future convincingly or well. But Wood makes a very good stab at it. I loved the dystopian feel of the world, which has clearly gone to hell in a handcart frighteningly fast. But the grittiness of the daily grind and trying to make ends meet was overlaid by Kiera’s touchingly vulnerable character. I could see why Herrera tends to act like a parent towards her.

The relationship between the pair is often the narrative engine that powers this exuberant read, so it’s important that I cared about what happens to both of them. And I did. I liked the fact that everyone introduced themselves alongside their preferred pronouns – it certainly rings true when I listen to what matters to my grandson and his friends. I also enjoyed the nuances around sexual relationships, from the sleazy and abusive right through to sweet cuddles and kisses. Not that a great deal of emphasis is particularly placed upon the range of sexuality – but it twines through and around the story as part of the worldbuilding. Like the odd fusion of foods and emphasis on cheap fast foods, which always seem to be the staple of private investigators in this genre.

I thoroughly enjoyed the worldbuilding. It’s particularly important in this sub-genre as it also provides the mood music by setting the overall tone of narrative. While the story is peppered with tragic deaths that matter to at least one of the protagonists and there is a fair amount of violence throughout – this isn’t a grim read. There’s too much snark and humour, especially between Kiera and Angel. Though I also enjoyed much of repartee aimed at Detective Flynn. Overall, this is a boisterous book, full of energy that pings off the page and took me with it. I’d love to read another book in this world – there’s plenty of mileage in the characters and I highly recommend this one for fans of futuristic detective noir in a cyberpunk setting. While I obtained an arc of Bang Bang Bodhisattva from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

This book was relatively enjoyable, but not particularly memorable. I enjoyed the tech stuff and the cyberpunk feel to the world, but the tone didn’t really work for. Overall, a little meh, but I would watch out for things from this author in the future.

When the book starts with an ACAB quote winkingly misatrributed to Star Trek, you know you're in for a good time. This is an incredibly fun, queer, ever so slightly in the future cyberpunk noir that features a middle age guy still trying to deal with the fact that maybe the institutions he thought would protect him won't so much, a young trans girl hacker trying to scrape by and make a living in a hypercapitalist hellscape who are both on a gig job together and get drawn into Something Bigger. There is some degree of Very Internet that might rub some people wrong (streamers, meme usage, off brand WoW), but it adds to the near future hellscape. What I find most fascinating here is the scale of what Kiera ends up involved in because of one party and that Jamie actually gets to learn stuff about himself (like being introduced to the concept of asexuality and dating someone in a polycule) while also learning just how much the future can suck. (Also, big ups to Ms. Wood for writing Chrono Trigger fanfic back in the day!) This was just a fantastic, fun, joyful read, and definitely highly recommended.

Is it weird that my favourite song at the moment that doesn't exist and I've never heard it? This book has an irresistible narrative that is equal parts fun, traumatising and bizarre. Like, I want to be back running around the city and hiding from cop-dogs with Kiera. The world created in this book is so much of my literal nightmares it’s unreal, but it was so beautifully (and horrifyingly) put together. You learn so much about who these characters are, and they are written in so much detail. Like, full technicolour with all their flaws and strengths that make you get the warm fuzzies. So much of the magic in this book was the human (and android) interaction and I can’t talk about it here as I don’t want to ruin any moment of reading this for anyone. I 100% couldn't predict anything that was going to happen which I think speaks to the strange nature of the plot or world that nothing really seems like it ‘couldn’t happen’ but my lack of disbelief or annoyance with that speaks to the brilliant writing. It was so real and entirely off the wall at the same time. I felt like clues were being dropped throughout but I couldn’t quite add them together coherently. And, some moments were just so poignant and sad; and others made me so happy. Yet all of it was so grounded in this reality and the one we are creating from here; the author using the events of the past few years and current social narratives and difficulties as a bridge into this cyber hell. In summary. Read it. It’s fantastic.

I almost DNFed this book in the first few pages. I found the voice felt over the top in a forced way, and not all the references and jokes were landing. But there were a few moments of comedy (and the blurb intrigued me) so I decided to push on and ended up finding this quite a fun read. The voice was still a bit much for me at times, and there was a tendency to drop dialogue tags in the back-and-forth between the two MCs, and I would lose track of who was speaking.
I liked the capitalist hellscape world-building, and I think the author did a great job of portraying different queer experiences. The pace was good, and I didn't really find that any parts of the investigation dragged. I would read more from this author, and about this world.

A cyberpunk crime noir set in the near future, Bang Bang Bodhisattva has a lot to say. Kiera is a low level hacker who uses her skills to fix things. Mainly. She is also sometimes employed by Angel Herrera, a private detective, to get into places they shouldn't.
The plot revolves around the murder of Angels ex-bestfriend, who is also Kiera's lawyer. Framed for his murder, they must stay ahead of the law while clearing their names.

There is a lot going on in this novel. Set in 2032, capitalism has won the day. Housing is determined by your social score (rating and reviews of jobs done). Cybernetics are commonplace in a society where it is easier to replace than to fix. Set in Carson City, it feels seedy and gritty, lending an atmosphere of 1940's black and white noir films. In this setting, the author maintains a steady stream of social commentary, detailing all the wrongs in this society. It could be awful, but it is actually done pretty well here. It meshes with the plot rather than sitting aside from it. Another area of prominence is gender and LGBT+ issues. Kiera is trans, living in a polycule. During the book, she has to deal with transphobia, being deadnamed and misgendered on a regular basis. Again, this is set in the near future and the state of play today makes this feel very believable.

Other aspects of the story include a buddy cop relationship between Kiera and Angel. Kiera is a very social, outgoing 30 year old whereas Angel is a grumpy outdated ex-cop. This gives a 1970's buddy cop series feeling to it - older, wiser cop with the knowledge and the wise-cracking sidekick who can't help ribbing the other for being out of date. This was enjoyable and I liked how their relationship progressed. My only complaint was Keira herself. Although she states (several times) that she is thirty, she comes across as much younger. If I didn't know, I would put her at 20, max, especially in her speech. She comes across as a bit immature and silly at times. I'm not sure if that was part of the commentary but it didn't always work.

I felt that it was the relationships that mattered most here. In the end, the mystery almost takes a back step to this, and the reveal almost doesn't matter. The pacing feels slightly wonky in parts but generally it works well. An enjoyable adventure in the near future.

I received a free copy from the Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you

I really tried, but ran out of patience with this book. A fast-paced story. . . in which nothing happens. I guess it’s for the world-building, but it felt like a whole lot of pop tech jargon thrown in, some short, sharp conversations, and a decent bit of description, without the story moving as fast as one would have liked. I liked Kiera’s character, as well as Angel Hererra, and loved the depiction of queer, poly characters, but the story, not so much.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

Cyberpunk is now middle-aged, Neuromancer was 1984, and arguably comics had been playing in this realm much earlier. A lot of the aesthetic of cyberpunk is also knocked off of Blade Runner, at least the neon streets are. Which makes Bang Bang Bodhisattva a rather nostalgic throwback. Its even set in 2032, without any sense that this is really our future, but is certainly the future the early cyberpunk writers were toying with. Blend a bit of Snowcrash in, and we have the kind of framework for a cyberpunk world that we can then throw all of today's angst into: instant canceling, gender-fluidity, the tightest of gig economies.

Cyberpunk was only ever the window dressing really, usually for some kind of noir detective or a conspiracy theory to be unraveled. Aubrey Wood is not the first person to tie noir with cyberpunk, but her joyful buddy movie of a book does nicely tie together a hardboiled 'tec with a fresh-faced hacker and throws all the right shapes with it. Both leads have a distinctive point of view, both are fun to spend time with even while the bitterness invades the older character, and anxiety overwhelms the younger. Throw in endless slang and micro-concepts to do the world building and this actually feels like an almost cosily comforting return to the best of fun cyberpunk. And as for the mystery at the heart of it, it works in that most tantalizing way, making you flip back pages for the clues in plain site for the denouement you didn't expect. A snappy fun read.

Omg this is amazing. A cyberpunk noir whodunit thriller with a trans protagonist and an ace protagonist, shitty violent cops and a capitalism-continued-getting-worse increasingly-fascist near-future.

Funny, clever and a conclusion I absolutely did not see coming. This absolutely needs to be made into a TV miniseries and I definitely need to read more in this world. I've read a lot a good début novels but this is just exceptional.

Hopefully I'll expand this review more sometime soon but I wanted to get something published while the ending is fresh in my mind — especially given we've just tripped into publication day.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cyber punk crime noir novel? Yes. Femme Fatale? Yes. Smoking detective with a trench coat? Yes. Fascinating characters with realistically portrayed relationships? Yes. Personal book of the month? Yes. Everything I never knew I wanted? Yes.

Should you read this book? Yes.

BBB is a genre-crossing wild ride. Herrera and Kiera make a voicey and very readable buddy/rookie-and-old-hand pairing, cracking the case of a missing friend that grows into something larger than Kiera's job description as a hacker for hire, and Herrera's need to avenge his best friend. Seedy Carson City, peopled by doubtful dames, emancipated androids, and other colourful characters comes alive in Wood's immersive and incisive prose, which leaves this reader definitely keen on reading another story in her world. This book reads like both noir and cyberpunk rebooted and synthesised, with representation (yay!) and very relevant social observations. Herrera and Kiera's dynamic shows how the disillusions and alienation of noir has nurtured cyberpunk, and as a lover of both genres, their friendship is a huge part of what kept me riveted to the page. This book is just fun. Highly recommend.

Aubrey Wood writes a frenetically paced cyberpunk murder mystery featuring a pair of chalk and cheese protagonists, set in 2032 in the dystopian city of New Carson. Oddly enough, given I am far from the forefront of digital technology, and a gamer I am definitely not, there were many aspects I did enjoy. Ex-NCPD cop, Angel Herrera, is an old fashioned PI who hires 30 year old transgender hacker Keira Umehara, to help on his cases. She is struggling financially, living with the threat of being thrown out of her home she shares with Sky and Jinx, fighting for her sense of identity in a world that makes this difficult, with some insisting on referring to her as Mr and Kyle. The author does a great job in his world building and building the wide array of characters he creates.

It all begins with a bang as Angel aims to get photographs of a cheating partner, only for Keira to be shocked at the level of violence and brutality facing them, they are shot at on numerous occasions in a situation that descends into crazed out of control mayhem. Angel has his hand damaged and Keira has her nose broken, no wonder she tells Angel to never call her again, but money issues have her accompanying him on a case where he is attempting to locate lawyer Malcolm Hobbes, also his ex-cop partner, for his wife Glory. However, they discover him murdered, having just been throttled so hard that his throat caved in, with Keira not realising the victim was her pro bono lawyer, who was trying to get her name changed. The only clue is a stick of Nag Champa incense, as the police are called, with Detective David Flynn entering the scene. As Keira finds herself a suspect, she and Angel investigate.

There is imagination, madness, murders, danger, twists and a plot that meanders as a protective Angel and Keira's relationship develops. I have to admit the frantic pacing on occasion was a little too much for me, but I persisted because I liked both Angel and Keira, and the LGBT+ issues and themes that include identity, relationships and friendship. Additionally, I am confused as to why Wood has Keira at 30 come across as so much younger, the characterisation would have worked considerably better if she had been under 20. A mostly enjoyable, entertaining and fun read where perhaps the pacing needed to slow down a little to focus on characters and the mystery more. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.