Koko: Blue Rose Trilogy, Book 1

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.

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.

excellent book, as advertised

Okay read. There were sections that could have been cut out and still kept the story moving. There were points that so completely lost interest and moved onto another book. Finically decided to finish it.

I have always liked Peter Strains writing style as well as his attention to detail. To be reading along and have that moment of "Ah Hah", he has mentioned this earlier in the book. You may be led to believe you have it figured out , you would be wrong. Loved it as well as all his other books.

Straub is a good writer, and keeps the story moving. I will read the rest of the Blue Rose trilogy. Not the sort of book I would read more than once.

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.

20 odd years ago I read the second and third novels in this trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed them. Following Mr Straub's recent passing I bought Koko for my Kindle.Koko is a long novel which, like most of Straub's work, required a bit of work from this reader, but I was hugely rewarded for my efforts. Literate horror fiction at it's best.As I work in Bangkok, I recognised some of the locations, though not all! Books 2 and 3 of the trilogy will be reread.

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.

Always worth mentioning when a book is re-issued. Koko was originally published in the 1980s and is now available as a Kindle download which, given the size and weight of my hardback copy, will make for an easier reading experience!. Be prepared. KOKO runs to almost 600 pages in book format.The 'KOKO' of the title is taken from a word written on the playing cards found inside the mouths of a series of murder victims in the Far East. The victims have been savagely mutilated in a similar fashion and with enough ritual to suggest this wasn't the work of a serial killer...maybe?.Go forward to a reunion of American Vietnam Vets meeting up at a memorial service in Washington. There are just four survivors from this particular platoon, Poole, Pumo, Linklater and Beevers, and their talk turns to the 'KOKO' murders.It appears the murders might have been committed by a member of their platoon who mysteriously disappeared. The chase is on to discover what happened to the suspected murderer but; it's all done in the hope of profit, selling the story to the media, rather than honesty.Some of the regiment travel to Asia while some remain in the States and, strangely, the murderer seems to reappear to continue the killing spree. The mystery of KOKO travels far and wide encompassing further murders and disappearances, both during and after the war. A huge cast of characters and time frames are woven into the story with much of the plot concentrated on flashbacks to the war in Vietnam. Just as you think you have a handle on the murderer, believe me, you really don't.This is such a complex, complicated plot and Straub gives nothing away until the half way point when he very slowly, a drop at a time, begins to show his hand.KOKO took more than 4 years to write and in it's own way is quite brilliant. It feel wrong not reaching for a 5* review but I can't do that. In my own opinion this novel is so deliberately overly complex and stylized the real story and characters are strangled by the technique. Peter Straub has created something unique but forgotten all about the reader who has to try and make sense of it.I struggled to finish this novel and found KOKO more of a chore than a pleasure. The book remained on my bedside cabinet for months. I can only leave 3* to reflect my own, personal, reading experience.

This is the story of war veterans haunted not only by the war but one of their own who is determined to eliminate all who were involved in their destruction of a village in Vietnam. As such, it promises much tension and globe-trotting.It almost delivers.Straub has a gift for weaving complex, character-led narrarives where the reader explores a rich emotional landscape. By the end of this novel, the characters are fully realised and you feel that you know them.The only difficulty here is that you can’t help but feel that Straub allowed himself to be carried away with particular episodes in this piece that the overall story took second place. There is a fair bit in here that just is a little slow and, well, dull.I wanted to put it down and start something else and I’m very glad I didn’t. But the fact is, you will need to persevere with this.

I found this difficult to get into at first but persevered. Then I realised I was reading a description of madness from the afflicted's perspective. Which is to say, with no introduction but jumping in and out of more than one disturbed mind in a matter of fact way which is confusing at first. However, I became engrossed very quickly and without discussing the plot, suffice to say that none of the main protagonists really left Vietnam behind and they all do battle with their own demons. But one of them already had a pre-Vietnam demon to contend with and lost himself to it in a cave, site of a Vietnam atrocity which unfolds during the novel.Recommend. Good writing and very good reading.