Bang Bang Bodhisattva
Genres: Fiction / Science Fiction / HumorousLength: 11:07
Narrator: Adi Cabral
Published on May 9, 2023
Format: Audiobook Source: Library
Someone wants trans girl hacker-for-hire Kiera Umehara in prison or dead—but for what? Failing to fix their smart toilet?
It’s 2032 and we live in the worst cyberpunk future. Kiera is gigging her ass off to keep the lights on, but her polycule’s social score is so dismal they’re about to lose their crib. That’s why she's out here chasing cheaters with Angel Herrera, a luddite P.I. who thinks this is The Big Sleep. Then the latest job cuts too deep—hired to locate Herrera’s ex-best friend (who’s also Kiera’s pro bono attorney), they find him murdered instead. Their only lead: a stick of Nag Champa incense dropped at the scene.
Next thing Kiera knows, her new crush turns up missing—sans a hand (the real one, not the cybernetic), and there’s the familiar stink of sandalwood across the apartment. Two crimes, two sticks of incense, Kiera framed for both. She told Herrera to lose her number, but now the old man might be her only way out of this bullshit...
A fast-talker with a heart of gold, Bang Bang Bodhisattva is both an odd-couple buddy comedy that never knows when to shut up, and an exploration of finding yourself and your people in an ever-mutable world.
I first heard about this book over on Imryl’s blog. This is a near future (mid-2030s? from context clues) story where cybernetic body modifications are routine. People can get new limbs, change their voices with implants, and even change their faces. Most people have lenses that function as smart phones do now to keep them connected at all times.
Keira’s polycule is barely getting by. Their social score keeps dropping so they may lose their apartment. She keeps taking jobs for P.I. Angel Herrera because she needs the money and he gives her good ratings. These jobs usually end in disaster.
There is a lot of social commentary in this book. There are rich people who can get away with most anything. The city is a police state with endless surveillance that people try to circumvent with body modifications and real-time filters over their faces. Although people change their bodies continuously, the police officer who is chasing Keira refuses to use her new name because it was never officially registered. Her lawyer died before it was finished. He deadnames her and refers to her as “Mr.” the whole way through the book. He is also abusive to an android who is involved in the case. Any petty cruelty is appealing to him.
Angel and Keira are funny together. They start out as reluctant colleagues but suddenly are the only people they can rely on. It moves into a warped sort of father-daughter relationship. Keira does present as much younger and more immature than the 30 years old that she is constantly pointing out that she is. I’d have guessed from her actions that she was about 19. Angel is world weary. He knows that he has enough privilege in this world to probably get out of this but he feels responsible for getting Keira into trouble and wants to get her out.
This is a book where the overall mystery isn’t the main attraction. The appeal of this book is the banter between the characters. That will stick with you more than the plot. It is a wild, twisty, fun ride!
