The Obake Code

by Makana Yamamoto

An all-new, stand-alone sci-fi caper from the author of Hammajang Luck: a bored hacker is forced by vicious gangsters to take down a crooked politician...only to find herself up against a code she might not be able to crack.

After the heist of a lifetime, Malia has it all: a loft apartment aboard the massive Kepler Station, expensive clothes, and a dev credit in her favorite video game. She’s also bored as hell. Three years after retiring her mantle as the Obake, the most infamous hacker in the quadrant—and arguably the galaxy—Malia hasn’t taken well to civilian life. So what’s the harm in rigging a few cybernetic prizefights and making a little cash on the side?

When Malia’s scheme is uncovered, she runs afoul of Jeongah Song—the dangerous leader of a local gang with a reputation for brutality. Malia is ready for retribution. But what she gets instead is an offer she can’t refuse: take down the local politician leading a “clean up the streets” campaign displacing residents and hindering Jeongah’s operations on the space station… or die. Without another way out, Malia takes the deal.

Luckily, she has some friends she can call on in times of need: a master thief, a street racing wheelman, and a femme fatale grifter. But as Malia digs deeper into the politician’s shady dealings, she finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy that might be too big for her to handle. One that has roots in her own rise as the Obake—a cybernetically enhanced superhacker created by a power-mad genius… a superhacker whose mods are rapidly degrading. Faced with threats on all sides, Malia may finally be in over her head...or stuck—forever—inside her own mind.

Genres: Science Fiction, Adult, Queer, LGBT, Lesbian

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 10, 2026

About the author

Makana Yamamoto was born on the island of Maui. Splitting their time between the Mainland and Hawaiʻi, Makana grew up on beaches and in snowbanks. Always a scientist at heart, Makana fell in love with sci-fi as a teen–they even led the science fiction and fantasy interest house at their college. A writer from childhood, fiction became the perfect medium for them to explore their interests as well as reconnect with their culture, coalescing into a passion for diverse sci-fi. They love writing multicultural settings and queer characters, as well as imagining what the future might look like for historically marginalized communities. In their free time, Makana likes to hoard dice for their Dungeons & Dragons games, experiment in the kitchen, defeat bosses with their guildmates, and get way too invested in reality competition shows. They currently live on the East Coast with their wife and two cats.

Reviews

[Ashli Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

what happens when you’re kidnapped by a mad scientist to become his idea of perfection so he fits your brain with sci-fi modifications to make you the best hacker in the world but you run away and everything goes to shit?

first of all, I ADORED the rep in this book. you’ve got femme lesbians, they/them lesbians, trans lesbians, aro/ace characters. truly such a wide spread diverse book with voices from so many important communities <3

I really enjoyed this, it was super fast paced with an interesting plot and relatable characters. a futuristic cyber world where a damaged girl has to get together a crew to expose a dirty politician for an organised crime family, only to realise her modifications are killing her and she might not survive this sticking to the codes she always used to.

this was so fun, I find it difficult to get into sci-fi usually but that wasn’t the case here. found family, the chosen one (kind of) paired with diverse characters, important conversations around AI, technology and ethics- I highly recommend

[Amelia L · Rating 4 out of 5]

full disclosure, this book was literally the reason why i became an ARC reviewer. i read the first book in this series, Hammajang Luck, and fell in love with the world, writing style, and all the characters, and Needed more. so i was SO excited to get to read The Obake Code, which is a character-driven heist set in the same world as the prior book, following one of the side characters. you could absolutely read this without having read the first book, though imo you will probably enjoy it way more if you do.

in comparison to Hammajang this was much more of a coming of age story for Malia, the hacker protagonist with a past. her emotional journey is very much the centerpiece of the book, and while i enjoyed the unique things the book did stylistically, i did wish for a little bit more twists and complexity (both emotional and heist-wise) as in the first book. however, i really loved both the new characters this book added and the reappearances of old ones as a little treat!!

overall a super fun queer sci fi heist, i will definitely be continuing to pick up whatever yamamoto writes in the future.

thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

[Cathy Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! Not quite as much as Hammajang Luck, but it's still among the most interesting cyberpunk books I've read. This book is marketed as a standalone, and while I think you can certainly understand this story on its own, reading Hammajang Luck first will fill in a lot of backstory on the world and characters, especially since there are numerous references in The Obake Code to the heist featured in the previous book and Malia's former team. I generally always recommend reading in publication order books written in the same world, even when they are technically standalones or can be read as such, because I pretty strongly feel that that's the best way to fully experience the story.

Whereas Hammajang Luck is more of a plot-driven book focused on the heist, The Obake Code is more of a character-driven story. It's still action-packed and features its own heist and take-down of bad guys, but the overall plot isn't as tight as book 1 because more time is spent exploring and developing the characters, especially Malia. By the end of the book, I still didn't entirely understand the Maddox/AI/orphanage storyline, and I'm not sure if that's because the information came to us in bits and pieces throughout the book or just because I wasn't focused enough to grasp all the AI plot details. There was one detail though that I thought was really cool: the description of the difference between VI ("virtual intelligences" = basically our current form of AI technology today in 2025) and AI ("artificial intelligences" = VI + real human element: "built around a neural imprint" and "seeded with an existing human personality").

This book did have a more sci-fi feel to me than book 1 though because of the heavier focus here on the virtual world thanks to Malia as MC. So if you enjoy a good cyberpunk story, check out this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

[excessive · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cool sci-fi read! It’s technically the second book in the series, but even though I haven’t read the first book I was never lost or confused. But I liked this book so much I need to go back and read the first one!

This book is set in the future, and Malia is able to code and hack through technology in her mind which is pretty cool. I liked the VR aspects as well, everything felt actually possible, like it wasn’t too outlandish.

There was always a lot going on in the story, not just the heist, but that kept things interesting! There was a lot of build up to the heist which was good. I loved all of the queer representation as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Yamamoto is a writer I'm going to keep my eye on, because between this and Hammajang Luck, we get two sci-fi heist novels that have unique cultural worldbuilding, some great lesbian characters, and really well done plotting. This one focuses in on a hacker who's technically set for life but is bored and gets bought in by hackers who want her to help bring down a corrupt local politican, but gets drawn into a larger conspiracy than she was expecting that has a lot to do with her own past. This was really tightly plotted, and the way that she wove in trauma flashbacks in the body of the story, if a bit overdone in formatting, was incredibly effective. Go pick this up this coming winter (Feb 2026)!

[AJ Sneed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Obake Code is a fast-paced, queer cyberpunk heist full of sharp twists and gritty worldbuilding. Malia, a legendary hacker pulled into a dangerous job, makes for a compelling lead, and the mix of high-stakes action with emotional depth really works. Even though it’s the second in the series, I had no trouble following along—but now I want to read the first! The VR and mind-hacking tech felt both futuristic and believable, and I loved the queer representation. Some of the slang-heavy dialogue was tricky at times, but overall this was a slick, imaginative, and very fun read.

[Rina Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

What you see on the tin- as they say. This novel fills genre expectations and I mean that in a good way. Stylistically, it’s a treat. The prose is clean and evocative. Yamamoto successfully balanced the worldbuilding with stakes that rise without drowning out character. The use of folklore is always something that I personally enjoy as a reader.

I’d recommend this to readers who love sci-fi, puzzlebox narratives, and sapphic relationships set against a broader story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Makana Yamamoto for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rainy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Makana Yamamoto for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced Sci-fi, cyberpunk, Queer! What more could you want?! This book is such a fun ride. I read it in a single sitting and loved every minute of it.

[Courtney]

HELL YES!!! Can't wait for this!

[⭑&#x13083; mia [semi-hiatus]]

MALIA IS GETTING A BOOK AAAH

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic scifi heist. I love that Yamamoto balances the scifi and the crime fiction so well by making them bleed into and depend on each other.

One of my main sticking points about Hammajang Luck was that the two main characters--who were obviously desperately in love with each other and who knew each other deeply for years--both held the Oblivious Ball in regards to the other's feelings. Yamamoto has managed to make that romantic struggle a strength here by making it a core part of Malia's character. Yeah, someone who purposely isolates themself from everyone would absolutely have no idea when they're being hit on! It's fantastic! This made me root for Malia where I would roll my eyes at Edie.