In a cyberpunk future, transgender hacker Kiera Umehara and luddite P.I. Angel Herrera team up to solve a murder mystery while being framed for the crimes, exploring themes of identity, relationships, and societal issues in a fast-paced, engaging narrative. The story delves into a world of advanced technology, diverse LGBTQ+ representation, and complex characters navigating a gritty, neon-lit landscape filled with twists and turns.

Reader Review Summary

Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood is an explosive debut that seamlessly blends the gritty, neon-soaked world of cyberpunk with the twisty intrigue of a noir murder mystery. Set in the dystopian near-future of 2032, this fast-paced, queer-centric thriller takes readers on a wild ride through the seedy underbelly of New Carson as trans hacker-for-hire Kiera Umehara and grizzled luddite P.I. Angel Herrera race to clear their names after being framed for a string of murders.

Wood crafts a vividly immersive world that extrapolates scarily plausible trajectories of current tech, culture, and politics. From ubiquitous cybernetic augmentations to the hyper-capitalist gig economy hellscape to the erosion of civil liberties in an increasingly fascist police state, the book paints a cynical yet all-too-believable vision of where society may be headed. This richly textured setting provides fertile ground to explore prescient themes around identity, autonomy, and finding one's place in a world that is ever-shifting both literally and figuratively.

At the heart of the story is the unlikely duo of Kiera and Angel, whose hilarious odd-couple dynamic and evolving friendship anchor the narrative. Kiera, a chaos gremlin struggling to keep the lights on for her polycule, is a compellingly messy yet instantly relatable protagonist. Her arc poignantly captures the day-to-day challenges and joys of navigating life as a trans woman. Angel, meanwhile, makes for the perfect foil as a world-weary ex-cop turned trenchcoat-clad PI pastiche. Amidst the whip-smart quips and biting social commentary, quieter moments of vulnerability between the leads lend the book an earnest emotional core.

Surrounding Kiera is a lovingly depicted found family of fellow outsiders and iconoclasts. The casual, normalized representation of queer identities and polyamory is refreshing and adds welcome depth. Wood writes her LGBTQIA+ characters with nuance, empathy, and a palpable sense of authenticity. It's clear the story is penned by an author intimately familiar with the experiences of these communities.

On the mystery front, the book delivers a propulsive plot full of unexpected twists that keep the pages flying. The central whodunnit is satisfyingly constructed, dropping enough breadcrumbs to give readers a fighting chance at puzzling out the culprit while still managing to pull off a surprising revelation. Action set pieces crackle with high-octane verve, and Wood proves adept at modulating the story's pace between breakneck and contemplative.

The prose sparks with vibrant, voicey personality. Pop culture references abound, name-dropping everything from classic films to viral memes with gleeful abandon. For some, the quippy, referential tone may teeter into overly arch territory at points. But the irreverent humor and information-dense writing style ultimately feel like organic products of the setting and characters.

Bang Bang Bodhisattva stands as an audacious, unabashedly queer cyberpunk romp that has important things to say amidst all its acerbic, neon-hued noise. It marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in Aubrey Wood. Her debut is a shot of adrenaline to the genres it operates in, a story that is at once thrillingly modern in its sensibilities and comfortingly familiar in its tropes and beats. Highly recommended for anyone seeking queer rep in their crime fiction or a contemporary spin on classic cyberpunk stylings.

While not without a few first-novel foibles, Bang Bang Bodhisattva largely succeeds through the confident vision and infectious verve Wood brings to the page. It takes real skill to juggle this many tones, ideas, and influences in a cohesive package that preserves a distinctive authorial identity. Consider this reviewer thoroughly impressed and eager to see what wood conjures up next. If this is just the beginning, we could be witnessing the birth of a major new talent in genre fiction.