Koko (original 1988; edition 1995)

Koko is the first book in the "Blue Rose Trilogy." I wouldn't, despite the author's reputation and its winning the World Fantasy Award, call this a horror novel, more mystery/thriller--there's not much more of a hint of the supernatural to the novel.

This features a smooth, skillful style and well-drawn characterizations. For quite a while I couldn't warm to those characters though, and the plot was slow to develop, but the writing engaged me enough I stuck with it, and some of the characters grew on me, as they themselves grew in the course of the story, so that about half way through I cared enough about them I knew I'd stick with the book, which had more than one unexpected twist and turn. (One major character I hated from beginning to end, but I finally realized we're pretty much supposed to.)

The plot is centered on four American Vietnam War Veterans who go in search of someone in their unit they suspect might be committing a series of murders connected to events in the war over a decade ago: Michael Poole, a pediatrician; Beevers, a lawyer, who was the lieutenant of their unit; Conor, a carpenter and Pumo, a restaurant owner. The search takes them to Singapore, Thailand, Milwaukee, and the author skillfully portrays each, as well as their past in combat in Vietnam.

I'd definitely try more Straub--maybe Ghost Story sometime. ( )

I struggled through this book and to be honest it was pretty hard going. I'm not really a fan of war based fiction. Perhaps it would have been better if a 100 pages or so less. ( )

A good friend gave me this hardcover book out of the blue. All I knew at that point was that this Peter Straub had done some work together with Stephen King. I had nothing against Stephen King, and I had already read a couple of King books and enjoyed them with no problem. For some unknown reason, I decided I wanted to stay away from collaborations between these two. (Some decisions have no rational basis.)
A couple of years later, I walked into the library room in my house with a restless inability to decide which book to read next, and I picked Koko as a random, offhand pick. Probably all the unresolved confusion about Straub as an authorial entity, mentioned in the first paragraph, was coming back to mind. Probably the startling picture also got me.
But as soon as I had got past one or two pages, or even one or two paragraphs, I was captivated. All of you who have read Peter Struab will certainly know what I am talking about. It is not just corporeal fear of predators and unknown dangers, but some deeper and equally troubling anxiety about our place as individuals in a society made up of other individuals whom we can never fully know, even if we have served in a combat zone with them, and have even trusted our lives into their hands at one point.
After reading this book in 2003 or 2004, just a guess, I pursued my hooked status as a Peter Straub fan by taking out another clutch of books from the library. During a later summer (2009), I also read an equal number of Tim O'Brien books and the two authors combined together to give me an unforgettable blend of reading enjoyment. I will be definitely pursuing these authors through the reading of further volumes.

»Koko« is the first novel by Peter Straub that I have ever read. Straub is undoubtedly a very good writer but I must admit that I found the frequent shifts in narrative quite distracting while reading this somewhat lengthy novel. However, I did catch myself ordering the two other titles in the Blue Rose trilogy while I was reading this one! ( )

A good read, Keeps you guessing. Probably hard for a Vet to read. ( )