Koko (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Koko
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Peter Straub
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Blue Rose Trilogy
genre = Horror
publisher =
pub_date = 1988
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print ()
pages = 562 (hardcover)
isbn = 0-525-24660-6
preceded_by = None
followed_by = Mystery

"Koko" is a horror thriller novel written by Peter Straub and first published 1988 in the US by EP Dutton, New York, and in Great Britain by Viking. Winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1989.

Plot Summary

Shortly after the end of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, Stars and Stripes runs an article chronicling a series of brutal, ritualistic murders in Eastern Asia. All of the victims have had their eyes and ears removed, and each was found with a playing card slipped into his or her mouth with the name "KOKO" written on it.

Shortly thereafter, a reunion of Vietnam War Veterans is held at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. The four known survivors of a doomed platoon-- Michael Poole (an obstetrician plagued by post traumatic stress syndrome), Anthony "Tina" Pumo (a restaurant owner), Conor Linklater (a construction worker also plagued by PTSS) and Harry "The Lost Boss" Beevers (a lawyer whose comrades believe is a borderline psychopath)-- gather to discuss the Koko killings. Because the name "Koko" holds special significance to the members of their platoon, and because the killings recall the events in a series of books he wrote, the men believe that the killer is Tim Underhill, a pulp novel writer who served in their platoon and recently disappeared in Asia. Beevers convinces the men to help him track down Underhill, a plan to which the other men agree, although for radically different reasons: Linklater thinks that finding Underhill will provde him with some kind of closure; Pumo was Underhill's best friend during the war; Poole simply wants to find him so that he can possibly get him psychiatric help out of a sense of comraderie and altruism; and Beevers, who has lusted for fame ever since his photo appeared on the cover of Newsweek during the war, hopes that the men can sell the story of their hunt for Koko and become millionaires.

While Pumo remains in America to finish work on his soon-to-be-reopened restaurant and acts as a coordinator for the other three men, Beevers, Poole, and Conor travel to Asia in search of Underhill, while simultaneously the schizophrenic Koko travels to America in hopes of completing his killing spree, which he hopes will atone for a long suppressed war crime ordered by Beevers and perpetrated by members of his platoon.

Creation

After the success of "Ghost Story", Straub struggled to generate a plot that would prove just as financially successful without being derivative of that work.Guinn, Jeff. " [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/082000/boo_straub.shtml Horrors - Peter Straub can't escape scary image] ", The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, published August 20, 2000, accessed April 29, 2008.] He settled on the idea of Koko's murderous Vietnam veteran, and then wrote and re-wrote, ultimately completing the project after four years. Straub has described "Koko" as being "emotionally richer" than any of his prior works.McCarty, Michael. " [http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw8434.html Man of Mystery Peter Straub reaches into his pocket and pulls out a novel] , Sci Fi Weekly, published May 13, 2002, accessed April 29, 2008.] He says that while writing it, he tried to mimic the "transparent" and "antiseptic" style of two stories from his collection "Houses Without Doors": "Blue Rose" and "The Juniper Tree".

"Koko" shares characters with several of Straub's other works. The character of Timothy Underhill, for example, subsequently reappeared in the novels "The Throat" and "In the Night Room".Berry, Michael. " [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/07/RVGNA9I4T51.DTL&type=printable A battered pair takes on child abuse and murder] ", The San Francisco Chronicle, published November 7, 2004, accessed April 29, 2008.] A short prequel to "Koko", the short story "The Ghost Village", was also published in Straub's 2000 collection "Magic Terror".Berry, Michael. " [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/10/22/RV103226.DTL Distinctive Voices in Fantastic Fiction] ", The San Francisco Chronicle, published October 22, 2000, accessed April 29, 2008.]

References