Koko: Blue Rose Trilogy, Book 1

Both character and plot driven, with emphasis on "character," KOKO is a riveting literary thriller, with emphasis on "literary." It is good enough for my favorites shelf. This is a long book for a couple of reasons. First, of course, is that a lot happens. Second, Peter Straub tends to ramble sometimes. Although it may be tempting to skip these paragraphs, don't. Within most of them are either clues to what happens later or mysteries that will be explained later. The rambling often demonstrates confused and crazy thought processes. I'm glad I read KOKO before I read reviews of it. It is so easy to give away what shouldn't be given away; the reader will enjoy the book so much more if she discovers events and does not anticipate them. But it's safe to say that three, then four veterans of the Vietnam War, all in the same platoon, travel the world together, looking for the person who has been killing people, mutilating them by chopping off their ears and gouging out their eyes, and, in most cases, putting a playing card in their mouths with the work "Koko" written on it. The veterans have reason to believe that Koko is another former member of their platoon. Telling you more plot than that would be telling you too much. Don't read other reviews. One of the veterans, Harry Beevers, was the lieutenant of this former platoon. Beevers is described as "the world's worst lieutenant" and has a few nicknames, including "lost boss" because he was so terrible at reading maps that he led his platoon into "killing boxes," where they were ambushed by the enemy. Some of those ramblings that I mentioned earlier are Beevers' thoughts. My understanding is that Straub was (past tense because KOKO was written in 1988, almost 30 years before I read it) showing how everyone who did combat in Vietnam (or anywhere?) has been adversely affected for the rest of their lives. Not all are murderers, but maybe they are now crazy just the same. Although, as I said, KOKO is a very good book, one of my favorites, I have two questions that Straub, as far as I remember, did not answer. That is, 1) how could the veterans who were searching for KOKO afford it when, even in 1988, airfares for tickets purchased shortly before travel were so high; and 2) why did they most often act at Beevers' beck and call even though they knew he was a bad leader? Perhaps KOKO should be read twice.

This is as much a war novel as a mystery, as many of the flashback scenes depict war at its worst. Harrowing scenes in some cases. Out of the war comes Koko, a serial killer who is unknown but who is suspected by Mike Poole and others in his 'Nam platoon to be Mr. Underhill. Prodded by Harry Beevers who thinks they can make money by solving the Koko mystery and then selling the story to a publisher a few ex-soldiers start seeking out Underhill. Lots of suspense and unlike "Ghost Story" which (in my opinion) did not succeed in holding a reader's interest throughout, this novel is a page-turner. OK, some scenes are a little forced and there are moments which stretch credulity, but overall a very good and intelligent read.

Great read. I read all the positive reviews so I had high expectations. The beginning and setup is very slow, I seriously considered stopping and getting a different book. But I plowed on, just because of the positive reviews. It did take to page 134 for me need to realize I was reading a great book. Tons of twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end. I was disappointed when I finished the book that the Blue Rose trilogy wasn't a continuation of the characters in the first book. But an overall good book to read on it's own.

The book great. Peter Straub.... great. Seller not so much. There is no way this book was new. Scratches, corners smashed even a page was dog eared. But yet it was sealed in plastic.

I am almost finished with Peter Straub's KoKo and anxious to see how he writes the end. Some of the descriptions of events and the character's thinking are rather bizarre, leaving me thinking, "what did he mean by that?" It was often frustrating. In some cases, I came to realize that Straub was interpeting the thoughts and emotions of former soldiers who have been through some very traumatic events in Vietnam and other periods in their lives; but other times I think " I just don't get what he's trying to convey." The story of a unit of soldiers reconnecting to find a fellow soldier moves along pretty well; I was invested in the characters and there were some twists in the story.

Koko is one of my favorite novels, period, not just my favorite Peter Straub novel (though it is that, too). It's a novel I keep coming back to every few years, and after multiple re-readings, it retains the power to move me. The characters are living human beings, full of contradictions and flaws, each trying to figure out who they are and what happened to them and what it all means. The story itself, a meditation on the insanity of violence and its impact on us all, is moving, scary, and pokes at the reader in some tender places. I have recommended Koko to friends as both a good read and a book that will make them think and, maybe, wonder how the world got this way. Highly recommended.

Has a better fiction book about the impact of Nam on soldiers ever been written? Has a more enthralling psychological story ever been penned? Have the characters and situations of any Horror book ever been so real that the reader can feel the terror seeping from the page and into their lungs, freezing their chest, making taking another breath almost impossible? HIGHLY UNLIKELY. While this book is not always an easy read, it is a hypnotizing one that seduces people capable of abstract thought. In short, Straub's Koko is true genius, a modern-day masterpiece.

The character development is solid but fills out at a realistic pace throughout the book. Straub presents a cast of characters that run the gamut of the human condition and yet, almost inexplicably, make sense as a group as the story progresses. Some seriously suspenseful, dark moments.

学生時代に読んで以来、これまで読んだホラーの中で断トツの１位。

Only gets two stars because i want to read, but the print i way too small

...car police de caractères trop petite... Je n'ai même pas commencé une page, mes yeux me brûlaient déjà...

Awesome piece .. Straub at the height of his powers

Whether or not you'll enjoy this book will depend on what type of mystery novel you're looking for. If you want a straightforward 'who done it' and an easy read this isn't for you. Simply put, this is a beast of a novel and it demands your attention throughout. Set in the 80's, Koko tells the story of Vietnam veterans. Someone is killing and mutilating journalists in south east Asia and leaving a 'Koko' calling card. At a veterans reunion, four ex soldiers realise they've seen this before. So, the novel becomes a globetrotting mystery novel as the guys try and track Koko down. It's set in New York, Miwakee and South East Asia so there's a real grand scale to the story. And it's a good mystery; In order for a mystery to work you need: a good explanation as to who did it and how and why,not to mention a few red herrings thrown in; it all made sense. Straub is an expert at setting the scene and describing places. The Vietnam war is both fascinating and horrifying and I believed the post traumatic stress these guys were obviously suffering from and I felt for them and I felt connected to every place he describes. It's very dark at times and brutally honest. We have a lot of main protagonists and they're all fully fleshed out; a special mention to Harry Beevers; a narcissist bully who actually flourished in the hell that was the Vietnam war; he's an odious character but interesting at the same time. All that said, this was actually quite a tough read; I was really in the mood for something grand so that pushed me on but as complex and clever as it was, it was still a struggle. It was philosophical - and that's no bad thing- but it was a also a little pretentious. In addition, Straub just wrote about everything that happened to the characters...everything! The pacing was really bad because of this and pages would go by where the plot just didn't advance. But I'll definitely read more from this author in the future and I greatly admire his skill.