#Bang Bang Bodhisattva

[lowercasebreezy]

BANG BANG BODHISATTVA releases May 9th, 2023.

Okay, I think it’s time I made a full roundup post.

An edgy, queer cyberpunk detective mystery by an exciting new trans voice from New Zealand. 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.  

You can read the first chapter here.

ARCs are currently available for reviewers through Netgalley.

Preorder links should start to appear soon through retailers here--please note that the release date is currently showing erroneously as 2022, due to an error. I am working to get this fixed.

I am on Goodreads.

“I am ecstatic to be working with Rebellion Publishing, the home of JUDGE DREDD, to bring my hopelessly queer cyberpunk-buddy-comedy-noir-mystery to print. If you’re a fan of 80s anime pinup girls, Daft Punk, Robert Patrick as the T-1000, hormone replacement therapy, the Nintendo Virtual Boy, a neat whiskey or a fruit-flavored cocktail, Philip K. Dick, lo-fi hip-hop beats to chill/study to and/or the prospect of hope for humanity beyond the next seven to ten years–I hope that Bang Bang Bodhisattva will hit just right.”

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: May 7, 2024

Picture Books It’s Pride, Baby! by Allen R. Wells (text) and Dia Valle (illustration) Lift your soul to the sky. Like summer sunbeams― Don’t live behind clouds. You shine! It’s Black Gay Pride Day in Washington, DC, and two gay parents are getting their child ready for a day at the National Mall. From cheerful neighbors to colorful outfits to fireworks, the vast LGBTQIA+ community is represented…

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Bang Bang Bodhisattva

mystery set in a near-future cyberpunk future

follows a trans hacker who does random gigs to get by, but is on the verge of losing her apartment

and an ex-cop PI who takes her along on jobs sometimes - and when they’re investigating his missing ex-best friend they find him murdered instead

along with her new crush mysteriously disappearing - she’s dragged in the middle of a mystery with few leads

trans polyamorous MC, ace MC

[erintoknow]

bang bang bodhisattva is such a good book goddamn

proper queer cyberpunk story centering a 30s something trans woman loser (affectionate)

cracking it open really helped re-energize my own enthusiasm for writing

[wanderingchronicle]

First in the tag for Bang Bang Bodhisattva on Ao3 👀👀👀

[transbookoftheday]

Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood

An edgy, queer cyberpunk detective mystery by an exciting new trans voice from New Zealand.

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.

[libraryleopard]

I'm reading Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood right now (about halfway through) and it is sooooo fun. It's a cyberpunk noir novel about Kiera Umehara, a down-on-her-luck trans hacker-for-hire, and Angel Herrera, a technophobe private investigator, who are thrown together when a mutual friend is murdered and one of Kiera's friends disappears under similar circumstances. It feels very aware of its genre influences (I've caught references to Neuromancer, Blade Runner, and Humphrey Bogart so far), but also very fresh and snappy in its own right.

[qbdatabase]

Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood 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. View the full summary and rep info on wordpress!

[bee-dazzle]

Adding to this, @lowercasebreezy 's book Bang Bang Bodhisattva

Post about it here:

You like cyberpunk? Queer and trans polyamorous relationships? Tough decisions and high stakes?

I read this book in a single sitting, which I never fucking do any more. Something about it grabbed my brain by the collar and didn't let go until I was done.

SFF Polyamory Recs Part 1

2024 seems to be the year of polyamory in literature and movies, and I've been wanting to read some books featuring polyamory lately, so here is a non-exhaustive list of sci-fi and fantasy books that feature polyamory!

Evocation, by S.T. Gibson - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/m/m

Running Close to the Wind, by Alex Rowland - fantasy. standalone. m/m/nb

Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao - sci-fi. first in a series. f/m/m

A Dowry of Blood, by S.T. Gibson - gothic fantasy. standalone. sapphic

Silver Under Nightfall, by Rin Chupeco - fantasy. first in a series. seems to feature f/m/m

In the Ravenous Dark, by A.M. Strickland - fantasy. standalone. seems to feature f/f/m

True Love Bites, by @joydemorra - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/m/m

To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers - sci-fi. novella. pairing unknown

The Door Into Fire, by Diane Duane - fantasy. first in a series. pairing unknown

Heliacle Rising, by C.C. Davie - fantasy. first in a series. pairing unknown

[rad-roche]

i picked up a few books today and started on one and was like wow, this has a lot of elements i'm primed to like. i hope i enjoy my time with it. and in chapter 1 a woman named gloria walks out and starts bickering with her anachronistic retrofuture wisecracking cyborg-detective sort-of-boyfriend-but-it's-complicated. and i'm sitting here like

[lavaflowe]

My DTYIS took so long, that by the time I posted it, I felt like it didn’t really fit my style or skill level anymore so I thought “why not do it again?” SO HERE WE ARE

Third times the charm✨😎

Me rambling about all the little details:

For this one took a lot of inspiration from the wrathful aspect of the Bodhisattva of wisdom Mahakala (I did a research project on him a while ago and the iconography stuck with me). He was mostly prayed to to protect troops during wars and battles so I thought it fit well with Wukong and his warform. The five jewel ornaments in Wukongs hair are reference to Mahakala’s five skulls, which also represent the five wisdom‘s. The skullcap and knife of course reference the spread of wisdom and destruction of ignorance.

For what Wukong’s outfit I thought since he doesn’t necessarily need armor, it would be fun to reference opera! I did have to change the colors tho from his opera outfit to better mesh with the color scheme.

And for the last bit- the ruyi bang. For my redesign, I included lotus buds that bloom when wukong reaches enlightenment. But I wanted to continue having the staff change with along with him- so in place of the lotus buds, I decided to put Dragon Pearl for the time spent at Ao Guangs palace. Dragon pearls are usually flaming, and that also reminds me of the Buddhist mani, wish granting jewels (which can also be flaming).

[quitealotofsodapop]

Family of Sages

I mentioned in this post about possible Celestial Water Monkeys; that one Ming-dynasty opera (written nearly 200 years before the Jttw novel) depicts the "Wuzhiqi" (a simian water demon) as a sister to Sun Wukong.

@journeytothewestresearch did an article or two on this particular play, and how there's a possibility of there being multiple "Great Sages" throughout folklore.

The play itself is pretty bawdy given that it's writer was known for adult comedy; with "Sun Xingzhe" being a bit of horndog (only stopped by the circlet), based on a popular cryptid of the time infamous for stealing women.

Other details include;

Red Boy (true name being Ainu’er) being the son of the Bodhisattva Manjushri and the ancient demon-mother-goddess Hariti (comparable to the Echidna of Greek mythology).

The nine skulls on Sha Wujing's neck representing the nine previous lives of the Golden Cicada. (cool af)

Zhu Bajie being afraid of nothing (hah!) but Erlang's dog Xiaotian Quan.

Princess Iron Fan being unmarried, to which Sun Xingzhe offers to be her husband (guess people were shipping them even back then, explains Goku and Chichi).

Tripitaka returning to Chang'an without his pilgrim buddies, instead the Buddha gives him four bodyguards of his own for the return trip. The demons aren't allowed go back East. Kinda sad.

So it's best to take the characterisation with a grain of salt, though it has some cool ideas.

The family sound off is presented as this:

"We are five brothers and sisters: my elder sister is Lishan Laomu [離山老母, Venerable Mother of Mount Li], my second sister Wuzhiqi Shengmu [巫支祇聖母, Holy Mother Wuzhiqi]; my older brother is Qitian Dasheng [齊天大聖, Great Sage Equaling Heaven], I myself am Tongtian Dasheng [通天大聖, Great Sage Reaching Heaven], and my younger brother Shuashua Sanlang [耍耍三郎]"

Wukong introduces himself as "Tongtian Dasheng [通天大聖, Great Sage Reaching Heaven]". But his older brother has the title of Qitian Dasheng [齊天大聖, Great Sage Equaling Heaven].

Another later story mentioned in the article has the "Cinnabar Cloud Great Sage/Danxia Dasheng"; a red-furred staff-wielding monkey who acts as an antagonist towards the main goddess character. Curiously is described as both a peach thief, a survivor of Laozi's furnace, and a frequent identity-stealer (possible Six Eared Macaque?). He is punished for being so naughty by getting neutered (ouch).

And of course there is the God of Thunder Leigong aka "Sire/Duke of Thunder", who is often depicted as a celestial monkey/ape working as the muscle and executioner for the Jade Emperor. Became immortal after eating a Peach dropped by a fox demon (Jiuweihuli?) arguing with Celestial soldiers. Is married to the Goddess of Lightning Dianmu, who lights up the sky to help her husband see his targets. He is said to be one of Five Brothers, leading to more connections.

So theres;

Lishan Laomu/"Venerable Mother of Mount Li" - Eldest sister/sibling. Curiously named after a popular goddess of the same name said to be equal in power to Nüwa, and possible Mother Nature itself. Said goddess appears in Jttw as a companion of Guanyin, and helps out Wukong when the rest of the hang were poisoned.

Wuzhiqi Shemu/"Holy Mother Wuzhiqi" - Second elder sister. Her name is associated with an aquatic flood demon with a stretchy neck - bound to the bottom of mountain/sea by Yu the Great (original owner of the Ruyi Jingu Bang) with iron chains.

Qitian Dasheng/"Great Sage Equaling Heaven" - older brother. Has the traditional "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" title. Makes me think of Dasheng from HIB.

Tongtian Dasheng/"Great Sage Reaching Heaven" - second brother aka the version of Sun Wukong/Xingzhe in the play. Is closer to "Quagmire" than Sun Wukong tbh.

Shuashua Sanlang/"Playful Third Brother" - youngest brother. Not much is said about him. His name literally means "Playful Third Brother". Might be the baby of the family.

+Danxia Dasheng/"Cinnabar Cloud Great Sage" - red-furred Wukong double. Got neutered for being naughty.

+Leigong/Duke of Thunder - Actual thunder god.

This gang of monkeys siblings is likely what led to the depiction of the "Four Stalwart Generals" who are Wukong's closest monkey companions. But now I'm imagining an universe/au where the Stalwarts are all similarly orphaned celestial monkeys of deferring elements who adopted one another.

Danxia/Cinnabar Cloud is an odd mix of both Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque. Possible kid? Maybe inspired ideas of Wukong being red furred. His shenanigans even remind me of Monkey from the netflix Monkey King (2023).

And of course Leigong... Jade Emperor sends a monkey to kill a monkey, and is shocked when Wukong survives. Leigong is like an old blue-collar worker who refuses to work if it violates his union rights - even orders from the King of the Universe.

[lgbtqreads]

I'm hungry for more lgbt scifi (esp space operas) .... but I've read a lot already lol. I've read everina Maxwell's books and really enjoyed them. also the teixcalaan books, once & future (and its sequel), Emily skrutskie's bloodright trilogy, the darkness outside us, light from uncommon stars, a complicated love story set in space, the space between worlds, this is how you lose the time war, the disasters, Empress of forever, a strange and desperate glory, unconquerable sun, the locked tomb series... just to name a few. I think more recent books (published 2023-2024) and upcoming books are less likely to be on my radar, and I really enjoy romantic drama in my space operas but it's not necessary, and I also really enjoy when there's a major surprise twist. the wayfarers series is on my list but it doesn't seem to be available on Libby unfortunately

Try Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot, Seven Devils by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May, The Starmetal Symphony by Alex White, the Xuya Universe Romances by Aliette de Bodard, the NeoG series by K.B. Wagers, The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie, Persephone Station by Stina Leicht, The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis, Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood, A Fractured Infinity by Nathan Tavares, and if you like mystery, The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older!

[dee-the-red-witch]

You want a cyberpunk detective noir story that feels like you're reading the next modern Gibson or Russo? GRAB. THIS. BOOK.

https://www.amazon.com/Bang-Bodhisattva-Aubrey-Wood-ebook/dp/B0BQL36DNC/ref=sr_1_1

You're still reading this? No. Scroll back up and click buy. I'll wait.

Okay, you need more convincing. You want a rich, thickly built world that's a cyberpunk extension of out current (and I mean current) late capitalistic hellscape? This has it. Wit and humor that'll delight the crap out of all the Locked Tomb Fans? This has it. Real, believable characters just as queer, trans, poly and strange as ourselves? Check. Elegantly telegraphed twists, setups, and red herrings, plus a few extra of each that you won't see coming? Check. It's got all of it, and I'm really looking forward to see what comes Aubrey Wood in the future. (More Kiera? PLEASE?!)

Regardless, get this book.

[nikofortuna]

JTTW Chapter 6 Thoughts

Chapter Six for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group!

Starting things off with another look at how time is accounted for in Heaven. Last time I concluded that the years that the Immortal Peach Trees need to grow their fruits were Earth years. This time around when they say that the Peach Festival happens every year they do mean a full year in Heaven, so multiple hundred years on Earth. It kind of has to be this way otherwise things would make little sense since if it wasn’t so the festival would be every day in Heaven and then they’d run out of Immortal Peaches really quickly even without a monkey eating them all up.

This chapter Heaven is back on with its nonsense, this time in retelling what happened instead of their actions. They most certainly did not “educate and nurture the talented monkey”, they didn’t actively teach him anything outside of maybe the bare minimum Sun Wukong was told by the people he worked with. They didn’t even tell him how the ranking system works!

Also they totally denied that he beat Nezha.

What becomes clear here as well is that they didn’t even pay Sun Wukong when they did give him the job to look after the garden. Sure it’s not like the Monkey King would have cared much, but that’s still not a good move.

We stan Guanyin, my favourite Bodhisattva, for sending her own disciple down to the battlefield for specifically a factual report. I firmly believe she is seeing through the nonsense the Jade Emperor has woven in with the truth in his recounting of events!

Also she is already saying “our [monkey]” like she has already decided to sort of take him under her wing. My speculation here is that she probably listened up when it was mentioned vaguely that Sun Wukong cared for his monkeys.

When Erlang Shen enters the fray some rather interesting points arise. For one his sworn brothers, who must know him very well, said that there was no time for “praise or blame”. Oho, what could they mean with praise? In the J.F. Jenner translation they even say "Stop admiring him and challenge him to battle.", which after taking a look at the original Chinese put through Google Translate is actually more accurate.

All of this is very interesting. Perhaps it is meant to harken back to Erlang’s own story and his troubles with Heaven, so now some appreciation for Sun Wukong being rather likeminded in this instance shines through. Aside from both of them having a rebellious streak, another parallel is that both of them have a brotherhood of seven!

And then of course Sun Wukong things of him as being very pretty. I can certainly see why people appreciate those two together.

Additionally Sun Wukong doesn’t want to fight him, because he appreciates his care for his mother! Aside from them not having any personal issues with each other.

Interestingly the Jingu Bang is always metaphorically called a Dragon in multiple instances of combat while the opponent’s weapon is referred to as Phoenix.

Some more translation shenanigans Erlang’s face is not simply green as stated in the Anthony C. Yu translation! I checked the Chinese text with the help of Google Translate for the Pinyin again and it’s verdant, so it could be more blue or green or inbetween even. The colour is specifically [青 Qīng], which doesn’t specify if it’s green or blue, just that it’s verdant. Only if an additional character had been used it could have been clearly differentiated. The German translation actually calls it “grünblau” literally greenblue as well.

Yippie, Xiàotiān makes an appearance this chapter as well! Wish we could have seen more of the good boi, but maybe we’ll get more later at some point. For those who’d like to see more of her, I can happily refer to the New Gods: Yang Jian movie!

She’s so goofy, so adorable! Yet still packs a pawnch as well.

Guess why Erlang is called Little Sage in this! The German translation notes that it is because Erlang [二 郎] has the number two [二] in it, which stands for the force of Yin with which the small/little is associated. So it’s Little Sage in the chapter title! Additionally Sun Wukong has a lot of Yang force, which gets opposed and undermined by Erlang’s Yin.

Lastly the Audio Drama Production Notes of this chapter bringing forth that the “plant-headed deities” in the Anthony C. Yu translation, well, have nothing to do with plants at all. Instead something they could be called which is more true to the intended meaning is “unappointed deities”.

And that should be the last we see of Huaguoshan until about… Chapter 28! Good grief, I’m not ready.

[aroaessidhe]

Read in July

audio favourites

The Queens of Innis Lear - 3.75

Walking Practice - 4.5

Have You Seen This Girl - 4

The Endless Sea Between Us - 3

Death’s Country - 4

A Milky Way Home - 3.5

Masquerade - 2.5

Greta & Valdin - 4.25

Sorrowland (reread) - 5

Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments - 3.75

The Stardust Grail - 4.5

The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle - 4

The Sunforge (arc) - 4.25

Bury Your Gays - 4

Key Lime Sky (arc) - 4

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride - 4.25

Bang Bang Bodhisattva - 3.5

Where The River Meets The Soul - 2.25

The West Passage - 4.25

A Map of Home - 2.5

What Feasts At Night - 4

Moonstorm - 3.5

We Shall Be Monsters - 4

graphic novels

Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian and Shadow of the Bird - 5

The Deep & Dark Blue - 4

The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott - 4.5

Shubeik Lubeik - 5

The Pale Queen - 5

The Legend of Brightblade - 4