Rating: 
Summary: Straub wastes some parts of the animal
Review: "Ghost Story" ranks as one of the most terrfying novels I have ever read and I picked up "Koko" with expectations for a sequel in intensity, prose and effectiveness. Although it has its moments, "Koko" is two stars down from my favorite Straub novel. It is way too long to endure for the 100+ pages of brilliant writing. I understand that the writer takes his time on detail and background to introduce real and complex characters involved in the story. But still, I think it was way over-written and yet the ending seemed as a result of pages running out instead of what was being told... Still, Straub makes up for some of the time you spent with him in the last chapter. He, too, is relieved that the book is over and lets his talents out. You might try to read this one from page 500 to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Straub wastes some parts of the animal
Review: "Ghost Story" ranks as one of the most terrfying novels I have ever read and I picked up "Koko" with expectations for a sequel in intensity, prose and effectiveness. Although it has its moments, "Koko" is two stars down from my favorite Straub novel. It is way too long to endure for the 100+ pages of brilliant writing. I understand that the writer takes his time on detail and background to introduce real and complex characters involved in the story. But still, I think it was way over-written and yet the ending seemed as a result of pages running out instead of what was being told... Still, Straub makes up for some of the time you spent with him in the last chapter. He, too, is relieved that the book is over and lets his talents out. You might try to read this one from page 500 to the end.
Rating: 
Summary: The journey is more than half the fun
Review: A group of Vietnam veterans search for a former member of their old unit, who they believe has become a serial killer called Koko. The identity and nature of Koko is inextricably bound up a horrible experience that they all share-the massacre of children in a Vietnamese village. This is a long novel. Straub paints fully realized characters with complicated and believable motivations. At times, the horror aspects of the novel take a back seat to the more straightforward human drama in his characters' lives, but I, for one, did not mind this because the drama was so compelling. In fact, I was a bit let down by the novel's resolution, having enjoyed the details of the search and the interplay between characters so much. I had come to care more about what was going to happen to Michael Poole, Connor Linklater, Tim Underhill, Maggie Lah, and even the pathetic Harry Beavers than about the identity and fate of Koko. Nevertheless, this well-written thriller remains a rewarding and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: The journey is more than half the fun
Review: A group of Vietnam veterans search for a former member of their old unit, who they believe has become a serial killer called Koko. The identity and nature of Koko is inextricably bound up a horrible experience that they all share-the massacre of children in a Vietnamese village. This is a long novel. Straub paints fully realized characters with complicated and believable motivations. At times, the horror aspects of the novel take a back seat to the more straightforward human drama in his characters' lives, but I, for one, did not mind this because the drama was so compelling. In fact, I was a bit let down by the novel's resolution, having enjoyed the details of the search and the interplay between characters so much. I had come to care more about what was going to happen to Michael Poole, Connor Linklater, Tim Underhill, Maggie Lah, and even the pathetic Harry Beavers than about the identity and fate of Koko. Nevertheless, this well-written thriller remains a rewarding and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: I?m conflicted
Review: After countless psychotherapy sessions, an endless prescription of Prozac, and some Disney movies, I'm conflicted - wanting to either kiss Mr. Straub or sue him for emotional distress. Here was a book that danced on the line between reality and fiction so discreetly, I found myself looking over my shoulder in fear.
Now, on to the dissection of it, shall we? The plot was inceptive, shocking, and comprehensive. With a thick history, the story unravels into a terrifying journey, keeping the reader awake wanting to know what happens next. The pace in the book is slow at first but picks up speed. With each word, sentence, and chapter, it propels you on with anticipation.
The atmosphere in KoKo was rich with anguish, pain, and a suffering so powerful it manages to underline your every thought through out. The author's style of writing is precise, simplistic, and thorough. Reading his work, you not only get a familiarity of the writer, but also begin to note a sense of humility.
The characters were individualistic, comprehensive, and real. What many authors miss, and Straub masterfully carried out, was to convey through these characters a sense of pity and purity at an even blend. The world may have forgotten about Vietnam, but in Straub's realm of hell memory is eternal.
My rate? I give it a 4 . Here is a must have for your collection! Buy it, read it and get the professional help required to recover. -Bloodymary
Rating: 
Summary: the best serial killer thriller you are likely to encounter
Review: I can count the books I've felt the urge to read twice on one hand...Koko is one of the elite few. Vietnam vets go in search of a man from their old unit after hearing about a series of murders in the Far East. Koko is a well-written, terrifying journey into the lower depths of hell on earth. Be warned, this book does start off rather slow(I almost didn't keep going), but the rewards are more than worth your perseverance. It was released the same year as Silence Of The Lambs...it is a superior novel. The shared Vietnam experience of the main characters gives this book a believability that is absent in many thrillers. This is the first, and best, entry of a trilogy that includes Mystery & The Throat. I have turned my mother, old girlfriends, and other friends on to this experience. They all thanked me afterwords. You will too. I was eighteen the first time I read this. I was twenty-five the second time. Nothing was lost, it was even better the second time. This is a mature adventure through a nightmare psychological landscape. Do yourself a favor...READ KOKO! For Straub, this is the pinnacle of a wonderful career.
Rating: 
Summary: war crimes
Review: In Peter Straub's "Koko", Vietnam vets Michael Poole, Connor Linklater, and Harry Beevers all meet at a Washington D.C. war memorial to discuss their friend Tim Underhill, who they all think is a psychopathic killer murdering reporters who covered a massacre during the war. They travel to where Tim was last heard of staying; still in Siagon, Vietnam. Along the way they end up confront their horrible memories from the war. Finally they do find Underhill, and discover he isn't the killer. The book was pretty slow going most of the time. The characters were very dull, especially Beevers. Maggie Lah didn't impress me either. The private lives of these men were pretty bland. The serial killer is the only part of the book that was interesting, but that it's shirts to his point of view are few and far between. This is a pretty bad start to the "Blue Rose" trilogy. Glad I started with the "Throat" first.
Rating:
Summary: war crimes
Review: In Peter Straub's "Koko", Vietnam vets Michael Poole, Connor Linklater, and Harry Beevers all meet at a Washington D.C. war memorial to discuss their friend Tim Underhill, who they all think is a psychopathic killer murdering reporters who covered a massacre during the war. They travel to where Tim was last heard of staying; he's still in Siagon, Vietnam. Along the way they end up confronting their horrible memories from the war. After way too many detours, they finally find Underhill, and discover he isn't the killer. The book was pretty slow going most of the time. The characters were very dull, especially Beevers. Maggie Lah didn't impress me either. The private lives of these men were pretty bland. The serial killer is the only part of the book that was interesting, but Straub's shiftings to his point of view are few and far between. This is a pretty bad start to the "Blue Rose" trilogy. Glad I started with the "Throat" first.
Rating:
Summary: The Vietnam war as never seen before
Review: Koko is a great novel. A group of very different people with the common misfortune of having served in Vietnam together try to find and apprehend man from their old platoon who they suspect is responsible for a series of murders. Before reading it I never had any interest in the events in Vietnam. But now I want to learn more about it. The story was good. The idea of a group of war vets who don't neccessarily like each other cooperateing for a greater purpose is a fascinating concept. The twists and turns in the plot keep the novel going strong throughout most of its entirety. Only most though. Even though it has interesting plot twists, the going door to door questioning strangers bit gets a little old. Overall this is a must read novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Poignant, Beautifully Written Masterpiece!
Review: Peter Straub has raised himself, in my estimation, from good genre writer to author of excellent fiction with his novel "Koko." This is no light, scary beach read. "Koko" is a complex tale of a group of men who travel to hell and return with demons. It is a psychological suspense thriller that took my breath away. Straub's "Vietnam book" is far different from any other I have read. He didn't have to look far to discover evil monsters with which to terrify his readers. He was able to find them within the minds of his characters, men who served together in Vietnam. At the same time he was able to build a tremendous sense of sympathy towards his characters - those who fought for their country and returned far different men than they started out to be. I am of an age where I can recall the boys, my fellow high school grads, who went off to the Far East. This novel triggered the feelings of sorrow and loss I felt for those who never returned...and for those who did.
Years after the end of the Vietnam War, four members of the same platoon meet in Washington, D.C., for the unveiling of the Vietnam War Memorial. Four men from totally different backgrounds, who chose different paths in life, Dr. Michael Pool, pediatrician; Harry "Beans" Beevers, the "Lost Boss, the world's worst lieutenant" - a lawyer; Tina Pumo, Pumo the Puma, whom Underhill had called Lady Pumo - a NYC restaurateur; and wild little Conor Linklater, a skilled carpenter." These men are supposedly the only survivors of their platoon. They all bonded, once, in the brotherhood of combat. They closed rank throughout the traumatic period when members of their group were accused of committing My Lai-level atrocities in a little village called Ia Thuc. Now they will re-forge their ties to look for another platoon member - one whom they thought long dead - a probable murderer.
A series of brutal, seemingly random slayings have been committed in the Far East. The victims were all foreigners - American, British, French. A calling card was left behind at each crime scene, leading the vets to believe that the killer was one of their own - an ex-soldier known as Koko. The four travel together, once again, to Singapore and then Bangkok in search of a an elusive and wily ghost from the past. Their pursuit becomes, in a sense, a last mission, an opportunity for closure. And it is also a time-out from their daily lives - a chance to evaluate and contemplate change. For their own purposes they are determined to catch-up with Koko before the police do.
I was riveted to the page with "Koko." Peter Straub has created some of the most phenomenal, realistic, and fully realized characters I have met on the written page. They are indeed a complex bunch of folk, especially the killer. The narrative is richly textured - beautifully written. At time I would pause and read descriptions over again, just for the pleasure of doing so and visualizing the scene in my mind's eye. And the story resonates long after the novel is completed. It is a tale of Vietnam and of lost innocence - themes which are not at all contradictory. Highly recommended!
JANA
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