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EBK #1
Koko Takes a Holiday
Five hundred years from now, ex-corporate mercenary Koko Martstellar is swaggering through an early retirement as a brothel owner on The Sixty Islands, a manufactured tropical resort archipelago known for its sex and simulated violence. Surrounded by slang-drooling boywhores and synthetic komodo dragons, the most challenging part of Koko’s day is deciding on her next drink. That is, until her old comrade Portia Delacompte sends a squad of security personnel to murder her.
335 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
November 3, 2014
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/11/03/b...
Don’t let my middling rating fool you, because I really did enjoy this book. It was like eating a big bowl of popcorn for lunch; sure, you didn’t really get much out of it, but boy, it filled you up nicely and gobbling it down felt so wickedly good and yummy. Like a B-action movie, I don’t think Koko Takes a Holiday will stay with me for any significant length of time, but it was some great pulpy fun while it lasted.
The book takes place five hundred years from now, starring ex-merc Koko Martstellar who has retired from the hired soldier gig to run a brothel at the tropical archipelago resort known as The Sixty Islands. A place for tourists to indulge in their sexual simulated violent fantasies, the SI is rather like a playground for adults and Koko’s taking full advantage of the decadent life, surrounded by her boytoys and booze. She figures, what the hell, she’s having a good time and she’s earned her rest.
But then an old comrade-in-arms had to show up and ruin it all. Portia Delacompte, former-mercenary-turned-corporate-bigwig, blazes into town with a mind to see Koko dead. With her bar and brothel utterly destroyed by Portia’s deadly hired goons, so ends the good times for Koko, who is forced to take a holiday from her holiday to escape being hunted by her ex-buddy. But Koko, the very picture of a kickass heroine, hasn’t forgotten the tricks of her old trade – and she isn’t going to go down without a fight.
A lot of people have said this book reminds them of a graphic novel, for good reason, and not just because of the eye-catching art style on that fantastic cover. More likely it’s due to the story itself being very fast-paced, action-filled, and quite heavy on the dialogue. However, Shea’s descriptions of the various extraordinary and outlandish places also make it easy for the reader to picture his world in their mind’s eye. The very nature of the novel’s futuristic setting lends itself to this; it’s a high-tech dystopia with rampant corruption and depravity, and it’s also disturbingly vivid.
As you would expect, there’s nothing deep here. Koko Takes a Holiday goes for fast, shameless fun and it achieves that marvelously. You won’t be able to stop yourself from turning those pages. Delightfully unrestrained and bombastic, the book is heavy on violence and explosions but light on plot and characters, but hey, sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
I had a good time with this book, but admittedly the experience is already fading fast. Summer is long behind us now, but I would recommend this if you’re in need of a good beach read type of book, or just something like this to pick you up on a crappy day. It’s hard to go wrong with something this high-energy and entertaining.
Don’t let my middling rating fool you, because I really did enjoy this book. It was like eating a big bowl of popcorn for lunch; sure, you didn’t really get much out of it, but boy, it filled you up nicely and gobbling it down felt so wickedly good and yummy. Like a B-action movie, I don’t think Koko Takes a Holiday will stay with me for any significant length of time, but it was some great pulpy fun while it lasted.
The book takes place five hundred years from now, starring ex-merc Koko Martstellar who has retired from the hired soldier gig to run a brothel at the tropical archipelago resort known as The Sixty Islands. A place for tourists to indulge in their sexual simulated violent fantasies, the SI is rather like a playground for adults and Koko’s taking full advantage of the decadent life, surrounded by her boytoys and booze. She figures, what the hell, she’s having a good time and she’s earned her rest.
But then an old comrade-in-arms had to show up and ruin it all. Portia Delacompte, former-mercenary-turned-corporate-bigwig, blazes into town with a mind to see Koko dead. With her bar and brothel utterly destroyed by Portia’s deadly hired goons, so ends the good times for Koko, who is forced to take a holiday from her holiday to escape being hunted by her ex-buddy. But Koko, the very picture of a kickass heroine, hasn’t forgotten the tricks of her old trade – and she isn’t going to go down without a fight.
A lot of people have said this book reminds them of a graphic novel, for good reason, and not just because of the eye-catching art style on that fantastic cover. More likely it’s due to the story itself being very fast-paced, action-filled, and quite heavy on the dialogue. However, Shea’s descriptions of the various extraordinary and outlandish places also make it easy for the reader to picture his world in their mind’s eye. The very nature of the novel’s futuristic setting lends itself to this; it’s a high-tech dystopia with rampant corruption and depravity, and it’s also disturbingly vivid.
As you would expect, there’s nothing deep here. Koko Takes a Holiday goes for fast, shameless fun and it achieves that marvelously. You won’t be able to stop yourself from turning those pages. Delightfully unrestrained and bombastic, the book is heavy on violence and explosions but light on plot and characters, but hey, sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
I had a good time with this book, but admittedly the experience is already fading fast. Summer is long behind us now, but I would recommend this if you’re in need of a good beach read type of book, or just something like this to pick you up on a crappy day. It’s hard to go wrong with something this high-energy and entertaining.
July 27, 2014
The Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2014/07/....
“An excellent, fun cyberpunk novel with a kickass female lead character. Koko Takes A Holiday is a fast paced, awesome novel that comes highly recommended. You won’t want to pass this one by.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
"Five hundred years from now, ex-corporate mercenary Koko Martstellar is swaggering through an early retirement as a brothel owner on The Sixty Islands, a manufactured tropical resort archipelago known for its sex and simulated violence. Surrounded by slang-drooling boywhores and synthetic komodo dragons, the most challenging part of Koko’s day is deciding on her next drink. That is, until her old comrade Portia Delacompte sends a squad of security personnel to murder her."
Going into Koko Takes A Holiday, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I know next to nothing about the author, but the premise sounded cool and at the time I was up for a cyberpunk novel. And as it turned out, this book completely blew me away – it’s fun, energetic and very entertaining, and if you’re looking for a good science fiction novel then Koko Takes A Holiday should be right up your street.
Koko-Takes-A-HolidayThis is one of the books best read in as few sittings as possible, because you’ll be blasting through this as quickly as you can. It’s a page turner in every sense of the word, and once you start you won’t be able to put down. It’s one of the most fun books that I’ve read this year, and has set a new high bar for action cyberpunk sci-fi.
I found myself comparing Koko Takes A Holiday more than once to the style of a graphic novel. It’s hard to write prose fiction that feels like a comic but Kieran Shea has captured that feeling very well. So if you enjoy comics, then you’ll dig this book. Heck, if you enjoy Sci-Fi period, you’ll dig this book. It’s just that good.
Koko Martstellar is our main protagonist, and she more than fills the category of your action heroine. She’s smart, compelling and easy to get behind, with some good solid development making her a three dimensional character. And then, on top of that, you also have the world building to consider – for not only has Shea managed to flesh out his characters well, but the future created by him is given a lot of depth. The fact that this is one of the most fast paced novels of 2014 and you still get a sense of just how good the world building development is really helps its case for one of the better books of the year.
The original content on display in Koko Takes A Holiday is impressive as well. This book isn’t quite like any others, and that’s what makes it great. You’re getting a fun read that you haven’t seen a thousand times before, which is rare in today’s market. There’s little here that falls into the trap of cliché, and by the time the book finished I was left wanting more. It was just too good.
It’s almost hard to believe that Koko Takes A Holiday is in fact, Shea’s first novel. It’s written confidently and with the skill of a writer who’s spent years honing his craft (Shea has written short stories in the past). It comes as a welcome surprise to say the least and I really can’t state just how good this book is. There’s hardly anything that this title puts wrong and you’ll be glad you gave it a shot.
Koko Takes A Holiday is one of those few books where you can in fact, judge something by its cover. If you look at it and think that you’re going to enjoy the book, then pick it up – you won’t be disappointed. (Did I mention that the cover is awesome as well?) Koko is a fantastic protagonist and this book is an excellent introduction to her world.
Told in third person narrative, Shea uses this to shift around from protagonist to protagonist. Whilst Koko gets a vast majority of the attention (as one would expect), Flynn is also given a perspective. He’s a cop who finds himself diagnosed with Depressus, which subjects its victim to join in a mass suicide event called Embrace. And, things aren’t looking good for him – because Depressus is incurable. This allows for an interesting take on Flynn’s character and his development is just as fun to read about as Koko’s.
In case you haven’t already guessed, Koko Takes A Holiday comes highly recommended. Kieran Shea has just become an author to watch, and I’m fully looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.
VERDICT: 9/10
“An excellent, fun cyberpunk novel with a kickass female lead character. Koko Takes A Holiday is a fast paced, awesome novel that comes highly recommended. You won’t want to pass this one by.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
"Five hundred years from now, ex-corporate mercenary Koko Martstellar is swaggering through an early retirement as a brothel owner on The Sixty Islands, a manufactured tropical resort archipelago known for its sex and simulated violence. Surrounded by slang-drooling boywhores and synthetic komodo dragons, the most challenging part of Koko’s day is deciding on her next drink. That is, until her old comrade Portia Delacompte sends a squad of security personnel to murder her."
Going into Koko Takes A Holiday, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I know next to nothing about the author, but the premise sounded cool and at the time I was up for a cyberpunk novel. And as it turned out, this book completely blew me away – it’s fun, energetic and very entertaining, and if you’re looking for a good science fiction novel then Koko Takes A Holiday should be right up your street.
Koko-Takes-A-HolidayThis is one of the books best read in as few sittings as possible, because you’ll be blasting through this as quickly as you can. It’s a page turner in every sense of the word, and once you start you won’t be able to put down. It’s one of the most fun books that I’ve read this year, and has set a new high bar for action cyberpunk sci-fi.
I found myself comparing Koko Takes A Holiday more than once to the style of a graphic novel. It’s hard to write prose fiction that feels like a comic but Kieran Shea has captured that feeling very well. So if you enjoy comics, then you’ll dig this book. Heck, if you enjoy Sci-Fi period, you’ll dig this book. It’s just that good.
Koko Martstellar is our main protagonist, and she more than fills the category of your action heroine. She’s smart, compelling and easy to get behind, with some good solid development making her a three dimensional character. And then, on top of that, you also have the world building to consider – for not only has Shea managed to flesh out his characters well, but the future created by him is given a lot of depth. The fact that this is one of the most fast paced novels of 2014 and you still get a sense of just how good the world building development is really helps its case for one of the better books of the year.
The original content on display in Koko Takes A Holiday is impressive as well. This book isn’t quite like any others, and that’s what makes it great. You’re getting a fun read that you haven’t seen a thousand times before, which is rare in today’s market. There’s little here that falls into the trap of cliché, and by the time the book finished I was left wanting more. It was just too good.
It’s almost hard to believe that Koko Takes A Holiday is in fact, Shea’s first novel. It’s written confidently and with the skill of a writer who’s spent years honing his craft (Shea has written short stories in the past). It comes as a welcome surprise to say the least and I really can’t state just how good this book is. There’s hardly anything that this title puts wrong and you’ll be glad you gave it a shot.
Koko Takes A Holiday is one of those few books where you can in fact, judge something by its cover. If you look at it and think that you’re going to enjoy the book, then pick it up – you won’t be disappointed. (Did I mention that the cover is awesome as well?) Koko is a fantastic protagonist and this book is an excellent introduction to her world.
Told in third person narrative, Shea uses this to shift around from protagonist to protagonist. Whilst Koko gets a vast majority of the attention (as one would expect), Flynn is also given a perspective. He’s a cop who finds himself diagnosed with Depressus, which subjects its victim to join in a mass suicide event called Embrace. And, things aren’t looking good for him – because Depressus is incurable. This allows for an interesting take on Flynn’s character and his development is just as fun to read about as Koko’s.
In case you haven’t already guessed, Koko Takes A Holiday comes highly recommended. Kieran Shea has just become an author to watch, and I’m fully looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.
VERDICT: 9/10
February 6, 2020
"Koko rolled wildly left and vomited. She puked for a full minute until it seemed nothing more would come forth and her throat felt as though it'd been flossed with frayed wire. Finally, when she stopped heaving, she rolled back and felt the grief and disbelief inside changing. The thick emotional calluses from a lifetime of warfare and capitalized catastrophe had vanished. A blizzard of symphonic confusion welled inside her, overwhelming her practiced discipline and control. Koko convulsed and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed."
I first discovered this debut book on Chuck Wendig's blog a handful of years ago. It looked so fucking rad. I mean that cover by Joey Hi-Fi, amirite?
Luckily, the inside is just as ridiculously entertaining as the cover is badass.
Koko Takes a Holiday is the start of the EBK series by Kieran Shea. In a rollicking cyberpunk future set in 2516, Koko Martstellar is an ex-corporate mercenary who was hired to fight in brutal wars all over the planet. Currently running a brothel on The Sixty Islands, a manufactured resort where customers come for simulated sex and violence, she is shocked to find bounty hunters at her front door. She quickly learns that they were sent by Portia Delacompte. Portia was Koko's former friend and mentor, having fought battles alongside each other in the war. Portia was even the one to get Koko her current job. But now Portia wants her dead and Koko has no clue why. Hell, Portia herself is unsure why she wants her old friend taken out because of the memory scrubbing she had as part of the religious cult she joined. Business is business and Portia's vendetta is now out in the open.
Koko flees off planet, ending up on Alaungpaya, a massive sky barge in the Second Free Zone. On the run from the three female bounty hunters that were sent to assassinate her, Koko encounters Flynn, a retired cop who suffers from a severe mental disorder known as Depressus. It's classified as chronic depression with extreme psychosis and currently no cure, with those affected opting for sanctioned mass-suicide events.
Desperate to stay alive long enough to find Portia, Koko reluctantly accepts help from Flynn. Although they don't have much time.. Flynn is about to take part in his very own ceremony.
Needless to say, there is indeed lots of BSGD (bad shit going down)! Think Mass Effect meets Ghost in the Shell meets Miriam Black as inspired by Tank Girl. YES PLEASE, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE?!
"It wasn't that Koko was overly sentimental or anything. She wasn't. But she also realized that she didn't have many real friends in her life."
Assassins, giant spiders, explosions and a trigger-happy protagonist. Koko Takes a Holiday punches you in the face repeatedly with adrenaline. There's a graphic novel quality to the storytelling. It reads so bloody fast! Breakneck pacing, dry humor, fight scenes that feel like a beautifully choreographed action-packed movie. Before I knew it, 130 pages had been rapidly devoured!
There is a harrowing scene or three, plenty of gory combat and insanely addictive, rough around the edges world-building. Shea's graffiti-streaked tale unfolds hard and fast.
What a wild ride!
I first discovered this debut book on Chuck Wendig's blog a handful of years ago. It looked so fucking rad. I mean that cover by Joey Hi-Fi, amirite?
Luckily, the inside is just as ridiculously entertaining as the cover is badass.
Koko Takes a Holiday is the start of the EBK series by Kieran Shea. In a rollicking cyberpunk future set in 2516, Koko Martstellar is an ex-corporate mercenary who was hired to fight in brutal wars all over the planet. Currently running a brothel on The Sixty Islands, a manufactured resort where customers come for simulated sex and violence, she is shocked to find bounty hunters at her front door. She quickly learns that they were sent by Portia Delacompte. Portia was Koko's former friend and mentor, having fought battles alongside each other in the war. Portia was even the one to get Koko her current job. But now Portia wants her dead and Koko has no clue why. Hell, Portia herself is unsure why she wants her old friend taken out because of the memory scrubbing she had as part of the religious cult she joined. Business is business and Portia's vendetta is now out in the open.
Koko flees off planet, ending up on Alaungpaya, a massive sky barge in the Second Free Zone. On the run from the three female bounty hunters that were sent to assassinate her, Koko encounters Flynn, a retired cop who suffers from a severe mental disorder known as Depressus. It's classified as chronic depression with extreme psychosis and currently no cure, with those affected opting for sanctioned mass-suicide events.
Desperate to stay alive long enough to find Portia, Koko reluctantly accepts help from Flynn. Although they don't have much time.. Flynn is about to take part in his very own ceremony.
Needless to say, there is indeed lots of BSGD (bad shit going down)! Think Mass Effect meets Ghost in the Shell meets Miriam Black as inspired by Tank Girl. YES PLEASE, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE?!
"It wasn't that Koko was overly sentimental or anything. She wasn't. But she also realized that she didn't have many real friends in her life."
Assassins, giant spiders, explosions and a trigger-happy protagonist. Koko Takes a Holiday punches you in the face repeatedly with adrenaline. There's a graphic novel quality to the storytelling. It reads so bloody fast! Breakneck pacing, dry humor, fight scenes that feel like a beautifully choreographed action-packed movie. Before I knew it, 130 pages had been rapidly devoured!
There is a harrowing scene or three, plenty of gory combat and insanely addictive, rough around the edges world-building. Shea's graffiti-streaked tale unfolds hard and fast.
What a wild ride!
March 6, 2014
It's difficult to write a novel that is 'like a graphic novel' or that seizes the proper tone of comics. KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY manages to not take itself too seriously, while keeping the task at hand on top of its priority list. Koko and Flynn are fun, unlikely protagonists who could've featured in a novel of any genre. That's what makes good science-fiction. It's not the fear of facing technology that is mesmerizing, but the alienating familiarity for the characters and their eerie similarity to us, mere mortal of the 21st century.
This novel is going to be a darling amongst science-fiction fan, I can already feel it. They are going to ask for more of Koko Martstellar. KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY mixes the fun creativity of space opera with the gritty naturalistic pleasures of cyberpunk. It is one hell of a novel.
This novel is going to be a darling amongst science-fiction fan, I can already feel it. They are going to ask for more of Koko Martstellar. KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY mixes the fun creativity of space opera with the gritty naturalistic pleasures of cyberpunk. It is one hell of a novel.
July 29, 2016
http://www.mybookishways.com/2014/05/...
Booze! Orgiastic simulated mass slaughter! More sex than you can shake a, er, stick at, and just about any way you want it! All of this and more can be found at the very adult playground of The Sixty Islands, a manufactured tropical resort. It’s here that Koko Martstellar can be found tending bar and tending her stable of boywhores, as well as enjoying the affection of her favorite, Archimedes. It’s an unorthodox life, but Koko is happy, and glad to be out of the mercenary for hire business. She’s abruptly yanked out of her island idyll when her bar is stormed by a band of ruthless killers, and they seem to be after one thing: Koko. Luckily, Koko hasn’t lost her touch, and she wipes the floor with this pack of predators, but not before racking up plenty of collateral damage. She’s also shocked to find out that the person that’s put out a hit on her is none other than her old mercenary comrade in arms, and, she thought, friend, Portia Delacompte. It’s time for Koko to say goodbye to her bar and run, and she does, with the help of an escape pod she built herself and has managed to keep hidden from her overseers at the CPB (Custom Pleasure Bureau.) Her pod takes her to the Second Free Zone, and eventually she makes her way to a residential barge called the Alaungpaya, and into the orbit of former security deputy Jedidiah Flynn. He could be the key to her survival, and she’s going to need all the help she can get, because a team of hitwomen have been set loose, and they’ve been ordered to terminate Koko once and for all.
You’ll most likely want to set aside a few uninterrupted hours for this one, because if you’re like me, once you start it, you’ll want to read it straight through. While on the run, Koko does indeed transform herself to look like the blue haired beauty on the cover, and if she looks tough, well, she is, but she’s also-and this may sound odd-pretty happy go lucky. She’s bewildered by the fact that her old friend seems bent on having Koko killed, but can’t think of why she would do that. The only thing that Koko can think of is an incident that happened quite a while back, but see, Koko is a loyal friend, and would never give up a secret she promised to keep, so you can see why she’s confused as to why Delacompte would be after her. Deeper motives aside, Koko has to stay alive, and luckily Flynn has a little time on his hands, at least until the next mass suicide event called Embrace. Flynn has been diagnosed with Depressus, a condition, he’s told, that has no cure, making suicide the only option. So, Flynn is a great boon to Koko, since his previous position in security gives him access to some areas that Koko never would have been able to penetrate.
Koko Takes a Holiday is pretty much run and gun from the get go, but Flynn’s condition, his and Koko’s blooming friendship on the fly, and of course, the secret behind Delacompte’s kill order on Koko, give it depth and elevates it above most SF adventure. The setting is 500 years in the future, and Shea does a great job conveying advanced tech and the “feel” of his far future without slowing down the narrative. I can tell you, Shea’s future is not one I’d want to be a part of. He hints at mass environmental devastation and of course, The Sixty Islands that people go to in order to participate in violent sex and simulated mass slaughter scenarios is really not a future that I find endearing. Maybe that’s what makes Koko so damn appealing though. She’s not a simple girl, but she takes pleasure from life, and from her work. She’s very much a doer, and rolls with the punches as they come, and boy do they. The action sequences are fantastic and fairly brutal at times. You really don’t want to know how warriors “mark” their kills. You just don’t *shudder*. That aside, Koko is a great foil for the dour Flynn and maybe she can give Flynn a much needed kick in the proverbial pants…
A bit on Koko’s pursuers: Shea does a great job at fleshing these gals out, and they’re larger than life and very, very scary. There’s one scene in particular where one of the bounty hunters, pretty much in the midst of pursuit, gets a call from her beloved… Eh, I don’t want to give it away, because it’s just so great, and made me laugh out loud. Also, Portia Delacompte makes for one of the most unsettling baddies that I’ve read in a long time. Can Koko and Flynn outrun some of the most brutal bounty hunters in the biz? Will Flynn give into Depressus and seek the final solution? And just why the hell is Delacompte really after Koko? Shea answers all of these questions and does it without any of the stutters that sometimes find their way into debut novels. Koko Takes a Holiday is a nonstop, bloody thrill ride with the all the subtlety of a rocket launcher, and I loved every minute of it. And the ending? Well, you’ll see-it’s a jawdropper. Kieran Shea will blow you away, promise. More Koko please!!
Booze! Orgiastic simulated mass slaughter! More sex than you can shake a, er, stick at, and just about any way you want it! All of this and more can be found at the very adult playground of The Sixty Islands, a manufactured tropical resort. It’s here that Koko Martstellar can be found tending bar and tending her stable of boywhores, as well as enjoying the affection of her favorite, Archimedes. It’s an unorthodox life, but Koko is happy, and glad to be out of the mercenary for hire business. She’s abruptly yanked out of her island idyll when her bar is stormed by a band of ruthless killers, and they seem to be after one thing: Koko. Luckily, Koko hasn’t lost her touch, and she wipes the floor with this pack of predators, but not before racking up plenty of collateral damage. She’s also shocked to find out that the person that’s put out a hit on her is none other than her old mercenary comrade in arms, and, she thought, friend, Portia Delacompte. It’s time for Koko to say goodbye to her bar and run, and she does, with the help of an escape pod she built herself and has managed to keep hidden from her overseers at the CPB (Custom Pleasure Bureau.) Her pod takes her to the Second Free Zone, and eventually she makes her way to a residential barge called the Alaungpaya, and into the orbit of former security deputy Jedidiah Flynn. He could be the key to her survival, and she’s going to need all the help she can get, because a team of hitwomen have been set loose, and they’ve been ordered to terminate Koko once and for all.
You’ll most likely want to set aside a few uninterrupted hours for this one, because if you’re like me, once you start it, you’ll want to read it straight through. While on the run, Koko does indeed transform herself to look like the blue haired beauty on the cover, and if she looks tough, well, she is, but she’s also-and this may sound odd-pretty happy go lucky. She’s bewildered by the fact that her old friend seems bent on having Koko killed, but can’t think of why she would do that. The only thing that Koko can think of is an incident that happened quite a while back, but see, Koko is a loyal friend, and would never give up a secret she promised to keep, so you can see why she’s confused as to why Delacompte would be after her. Deeper motives aside, Koko has to stay alive, and luckily Flynn has a little time on his hands, at least until the next mass suicide event called Embrace. Flynn has been diagnosed with Depressus, a condition, he’s told, that has no cure, making suicide the only option. So, Flynn is a great boon to Koko, since his previous position in security gives him access to some areas that Koko never would have been able to penetrate.
Koko Takes a Holiday is pretty much run and gun from the get go, but Flynn’s condition, his and Koko’s blooming friendship on the fly, and of course, the secret behind Delacompte’s kill order on Koko, give it depth and elevates it above most SF adventure. The setting is 500 years in the future, and Shea does a great job conveying advanced tech and the “feel” of his far future without slowing down the narrative. I can tell you, Shea’s future is not one I’d want to be a part of. He hints at mass environmental devastation and of course, The Sixty Islands that people go to in order to participate in violent sex and simulated mass slaughter scenarios is really not a future that I find endearing. Maybe that’s what makes Koko so damn appealing though. She’s not a simple girl, but she takes pleasure from life, and from her work. She’s very much a doer, and rolls with the punches as they come, and boy do they. The action sequences are fantastic and fairly brutal at times. You really don’t want to know how warriors “mark” their kills. You just don’t *shudder*. That aside, Koko is a great foil for the dour Flynn and maybe she can give Flynn a much needed kick in the proverbial pants…
A bit on Koko’s pursuers: Shea does a great job at fleshing these gals out, and they’re larger than life and very, very scary. There’s one scene in particular where one of the bounty hunters, pretty much in the midst of pursuit, gets a call from her beloved… Eh, I don’t want to give it away, because it’s just so great, and made me laugh out loud. Also, Portia Delacompte makes for one of the most unsettling baddies that I’ve read in a long time. Can Koko and Flynn outrun some of the most brutal bounty hunters in the biz? Will Flynn give into Depressus and seek the final solution? And just why the hell is Delacompte really after Koko? Shea answers all of these questions and does it without any of the stutters that sometimes find their way into debut novels. Koko Takes a Holiday is a nonstop, bloody thrill ride with the all the subtlety of a rocket launcher, and I loved every minute of it. And the ending? Well, you’ll see-it’s a jawdropper. Kieran Shea will blow you away, promise. More Koko please!!
August 11, 2014
Koko Takes a Holiday by Kieran Shea is different. It takes place on an earth of the future where large conglomerates control the planet. There is war with the recivs, the humans left on earth. Many are genetically engineered. Koko is one. She was a hired mercenary fighting wars all over the planet. During some of her battles she worked side by side with Portia Delacompte. It got so that Koko considered her a friend, but thee were still trust issues. Portia had plans to parlay her career into management for the corporations. She rose to vice president. She had memory blocks done. She offered Koko a civilian job being bartender/manager of a who're house. Then Portia sets her up for a down fall ordering a hit on her by sending in an enforcement detail. Koko is upset that Delacompte wants her dead. The only thing she can think of is the incident in Finland. Koko escapes and flees to one of the floating cities which are sanctuaries. Delacompte sends bounty hunters after Koko with a no rescind order. On the floating city she runs into the first bounty hunter. She knocks her unconscious with a broken leg and lets her live. She meets Flynn. He was diagnosed with depressus of which there is no cure. Together they make a stand. Read on to Discover Delacompte's secret and if Koko will survive.
June 19, 2014
Well, that was violent.
November 2, 2020
Pretty violent, but if you are looking for fast paced sci-fi with a badass mature woman protagonist, you probably will enjoy this.
April 17, 2017
A big disappointment.
What was advertised as outlandishly cyberpunk, refreshingly empowering to the female sex, and blatantly original only amounted to something.... average. There were unique elements in the plot, the most memorable being the Embrace ceremony where thousands of "Depressus"-afflicted individuals jump to their deaths in an orchestrated aerial event. Also unique is the brutal eyeball-chomping actions of bounty hunters. However, the grotesque and shocking were merely peppered within the plot as opposed to being integrated in heaping amounts.
Even worse is the fact that the "female empowerment" served as a false front to sell the novel; despite tough-girl Koko's ability to fight and kick butt, she does so in a cliche manner. In turn, she cannot overcome the most annoying flaw plaguing most female characters in novels and films, which is: have two women characters work together in unison instead of claw each other's throats. Is that really such a hard thing to do? Sigh.....
Apparently Kieran Shea chose to settle with the sexist stereotype instead of boldly pressing onwards. If I can rewrite this novel (and believe me I would be delighted to take a red pen to this,) I would alter Flynn's character so he would be a woman; I would then drastically cut his/her part by 60%. In addition, the character Delacompte functions as a one-dimensional "bad woman" with no personality. I had absolutely no sympathy for her and she might as well have been a robot.
And the most unbearable part of the book was, unfortunately, in the last 20 pages when Koko uncharacteristically gets taken down in order to make room for Flynn to pick up her slack and win the fight that rightfully belonged to Koko. What an annoying ending!
What was advertised as outlandishly cyberpunk, refreshingly empowering to the female sex, and blatantly original only amounted to something.... average. There were unique elements in the plot, the most memorable being the Embrace ceremony where thousands of "Depressus"-afflicted individuals jump to their deaths in an orchestrated aerial event. Also unique is the brutal eyeball-chomping actions of bounty hunters. However, the grotesque and shocking were merely peppered within the plot as opposed to being integrated in heaping amounts.
Even worse is the fact that the "female empowerment" served as a false front to sell the novel; despite tough-girl Koko's ability to fight and kick butt, she does so in a cliche manner. In turn, she cannot overcome the most annoying flaw plaguing most female characters in novels and films, which is: have two women characters work together in unison instead of claw each other's throats. Is that really such a hard thing to do? Sigh.....
Apparently Kieran Shea chose to settle with the sexist stereotype instead of boldly pressing onwards. If I can rewrite this novel (and believe me I would be delighted to take a red pen to this,) I would alter Flynn's character so he would be a woman; I would then drastically cut his/her part by 60%. In addition, the character Delacompte functions as a one-dimensional "bad woman" with no personality. I had absolutely no sympathy for her and she might as well have been a robot.
And the most unbearable part of the book was, unfortunately, in the last 20 pages when Koko uncharacteristically gets taken down in order to make room for Flynn to pick up her slack and win the fight that rightfully belonged to Koko. What an annoying ending!
January 13, 2016
I bought this because I decided that I wanted to read a sort-of-sleazy sci-fi over-the-top thrillride kind of read, and I was in Barnes and Noble, and this kind of stuck out as hitting every checkpoint on the list. And I suppose I was more or less successful on that front!
The problem is that if you want to read a sort-of-sleazy sci-fi over-the-top thrillride, you shouldn't have very high expectations. This isn't a bad story by any means, it's just not written particularly well. There are a few unnecessarily graphic scenes included clearly to shock the reader, and there's a portrayal of depression-in-the-future that is worth a pretty hefty eye roll.
There are good ideas scattered throughout that if there were more of them and they were thought through, could make for fun set pieces, but again - it doesn't feel like that's the aim of this kind of story. It works really well in parts, and drags really slowly in others. There are a some weird one-off chapters about unimportant side characters. I can't really recommend it.
The IMPORTANT thing is that I don't regret reading it, even if I only marginally enjoyed it. Apparently there's a second book? And maybe I will check it out and see if the writing improved from Book 1 to Book 2, but I'm not holding my breath, either.
The problem is that if you want to read a sort-of-sleazy sci-fi over-the-top thrillride, you shouldn't have very high expectations. This isn't a bad story by any means, it's just not written particularly well. There are a few unnecessarily graphic scenes included clearly to shock the reader, and there's a portrayal of depression-in-the-future that is worth a pretty hefty eye roll.
There are good ideas scattered throughout that if there were more of them and they were thought through, could make for fun set pieces, but again - it doesn't feel like that's the aim of this kind of story. It works really well in parts, and drags really slowly in others. There are a some weird one-off chapters about unimportant side characters. I can't really recommend it.
The IMPORTANT thing is that I don't regret reading it, even if I only marginally enjoyed it. Apparently there's a second book? And maybe I will check it out and see if the writing improved from Book 1 to Book 2, but I'm not holding my breath, either.
November 8, 2014
Good action, but I never really cared about any of the characters or their stories. Feels like the author tried a little too hard to make it a gritty, post-apocalyptic world, where life is cheap and everyone is out for themselves. That works great when well done, but here it was just too over the top. The main character isn't any better than her adversaries, just as willing to gun down the people who get in her way. Makes it hard to want her to win, especially as there isn't much to her personality other than "tough ex-military chick who don't take crap from no one". Too one-dimensional and murderous to root for.
If you want a good story about a tough female warrior taking on overwhelming odds, check out "Fortune's Pawn" by Rachel Bach. Strong, serious, ambitious protagonist with principles, making it much easier to hope she comes out on top.
If you want a good story about a tough female warrior taking on overwhelming odds, check out "Fortune's Pawn" by Rachel Bach. Strong, serious, ambitious protagonist with principles, making it much easier to hope she comes out on top.
August 27, 2015
The book takes place 500 years in the future. The world is pretty messed up by now. And one place is sure in the front running. Sixty islands; the place where you can watch a massacre and then take part in an orgy. Brothels and killings. Aww what a wonderful resort!
Our ex mercenary heroine Koko owns a brothel. Life is good. But then BOOM! Her former wants her dead. But Koko can kick ass and taking her down wont be easy. She was cool. No nonsense from her.
The book is actionfilled, since people are trying to kill her after all. I liked the glimpses of this futuristic society. The action parts were good. And the light humour hidden there.
Ohh, when I think of it, then this would make a great action movie. Oh that would be so kick-ass! Well they might skip that one scene that was all ewww, no way! When you are killing you can't be delicate ;)
I enjoyed the fast ride.
Our ex mercenary heroine Koko owns a brothel. Life is good. But then BOOM! Her former wants her dead. But Koko can kick ass and taking her down wont be easy. She was cool. No nonsense from her.
The book is actionfilled, since people are trying to kill her after all. I liked the glimpses of this futuristic society. The action parts were good. And the light humour hidden there.
Ohh, when I think of it, then this would make a great action movie. Oh that would be so kick-ass! Well they might skip that one scene that was all ewww, no way! When you are killing you can't be delicate ;)
I enjoyed the fast ride.
August 15, 2014
I haven't read a good cyberpunk book in ages. This isn't technically that genre, exactly, but it wears a lot of the clothes, and well. Koko Martstellar is an ex-merc tending bar in the engineered Sixty Islands when a hit squad shows up to terminate her with extreme prejudice, as they used to say. It seems one of her old colleagues has gotten a hair up her butt about something she doesn't remember, and sent herself a memo saying to off Koko at the first opportunity. Koko may have gotten a little soft in her retirement, but she manages to defend herself well and flees to a resort in low Earth orbit to get her bearings and find out what's what.
This was fun little book, and it's a shame that the sequel isn't due until next summer.
This was fun little book, and it's a shame that the sequel isn't due until next summer.
September 12, 2016
Koko Takes A Holiday contains some really nice world building without slowing the plot down. This is fast-paced, candy, perfect for summer reading. To be honest, I could have used more sex and violence and more wit. Everything is set up to be a sort of R-Rated Fifth Element. Kieran Shea succeeds part-way, but the lighter, ironic tone isn't consistent. I'm hoping the sequel sharpens Shea's skills and expands the world even further.
July 6, 2014
A fun summer popcorn book. No grand message here, but rather a thoroughly enjoyable action flick of a book .
August 4, 2016
This book relishes in the absurd, occasionally to the point of satire, and it's very smartly written for the most part. A great summer read.
August 16, 2014
A slick racey, SF shoot em up. Well done for this genre. I enjoyed the ride.
June 29, 2017
A fun, dirty space adventure. Lots of violence and an interesting universe. Will check out the sequel.
Offspring of The Fifth Element and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.
Offspring of The Fifth Element and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.
October 21, 2018
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
Koko Takes a Holiday is definitely fun, in a rip-roaring blood and guts and plenty of sex sort of way. It rolls along at a tremendous speed, and it’s a really fast read because of it: there’s very little sitting around and thinking about what’s going to happen next, because what’s going to happen next comes straight through the door at you ready to pounce. That said, I was never really in any doubt that Koko would make it and probably shack up with a particular other character at the end, and I never really felt like her losses were earthshaking. She’s all ready to slide back in the status quo, no introspection, no bad memories, nothing.
Also, Flynn has the potential to be an interesting character, with his diagnosis of Depressus (which is basically depression only everybody encourages you to go top yourself because life’s not actually worth living and it’s untreatable, blahblahblah) and how he handles it, but since it’s basically handwaved away through danger and sex (“you’ve just got to change your life!” is almost literally what Koko says), it actually comes across as a little insulting (that’s not how depression works, even the ordinary kind). Depression can be a big problem, we don’t have any surefire treatments that will fix you right up, and this book’s portrayal of a society which is just all casually “yep, go kill yourself together in a regularly scheduled jump into the atmosphere from really high up” as a reaction sits really badly with me. More badly the more I think about it, actually.
Also, much grossness, like people literally pissing themselves with fear (described in loving detail) and biting people’s eyes out (also).
Ultimately, it’s popcorn, and that’s fine once in a way for me, but I can’t see myself reading any of the sequels. And I do have serious questions about the flippant treatment of depression implied in Koko’s “cure” for Flynn, now that I think about it. Ugh.
Koko Takes a Holiday is definitely fun, in a rip-roaring blood and guts and plenty of sex sort of way. It rolls along at a tremendous speed, and it’s a really fast read because of it: there’s very little sitting around and thinking about what’s going to happen next, because what’s going to happen next comes straight through the door at you ready to pounce. That said, I was never really in any doubt that Koko would make it and probably shack up with a particular other character at the end, and I never really felt like her losses were earthshaking. She’s all ready to slide back in the status quo, no introspection, no bad memories, nothing.
Also, Flynn has the potential to be an interesting character, with his diagnosis of Depressus (which is basically depression only everybody encourages you to go top yourself because life’s not actually worth living and it’s untreatable, blahblahblah) and how he handles it, but since it’s basically handwaved away through danger and sex (“you’ve just got to change your life!” is almost literally what Koko says), it actually comes across as a little insulting (that’s not how depression works, even the ordinary kind). Depression can be a big problem, we don’t have any surefire treatments that will fix you right up, and this book’s portrayal of a society which is just all casually “yep, go kill yourself together in a regularly scheduled jump into the atmosphere from really high up” as a reaction sits really badly with me. More badly the more I think about it, actually.
Also, much grossness, like people literally pissing themselves with fear (described in loving detail) and biting people’s eyes out (also).
Ultimately, it’s popcorn, and that’s fine once in a way for me, but I can’t see myself reading any of the sequels. And I do have serious questions about the flippant treatment of depression implied in Koko’s “cure” for Flynn, now that I think about it. Ugh.
April 11, 2017
A wild ride, barring a few skippable raunchy sex scenes, with a massive body count and some gruesome bits. Not bad world building, either.
Memorable lines:
"Great. His day has just gone from bad to full-blown shit-puppet shambles."
"'C-c-can you move any f-f-faster? My nipples are about to snap off."
Memorable lines:
"Great. His day has just gone from bad to full-blown shit-puppet shambles."
"'C-c-can you move any f-f-faster? My nipples are about to snap off."
February 12, 2018
Reading this book WAS like taking a holiday. I chuckled out loud way too many times. I fell in love with most of the characters, and the change of perspective in each chapter made me turn the pages even faster. Hell - this book was such a fun, sci-fi gore fuelled action ride, it actually relaxed me. Good, easy to swallow, fun schlock. I loved it!
Read
November 8, 2025It was OK.
May 30, 2022
Picked up this book at random and was not disappointed. From the very first page it drops right into the action with guns blazing and it never slows down. Simply good fun.
July 9, 2014
This took me longer to read than I wanted to, but I was sooooooo fricking sick it wasn't funny. BUT I kind of appreciate that it took me so long because I would have been pissed at myself if I read this too fast because . . . THIS BOOK WAS FUCKING AWESOME! Kieran Shea can you tell me WHY you made this so fucking good, why?!? WHY?!?!?!
Deep breaths, OK I'm calm (well maybe hehe). I can't wait for the next one and I think I'm going to kill over waiting for the next one.
But what I like most about the book wasn't the amazing characters, fast paced action, or even the violence (he he violence) it was that the author made it all so realistic. I have read plenty of books placed only a few decades into the future, let alone 500 years, and I was severely disappointed by how forced those other books seemed. Yet with Koko it flowed so easily I didn't even need to question why it was so far in the future or the way the settings in the book were. The author played off of how people are today and used it to make a future that seemed totally and completely realistic.
"Koko rockets down the plummet chute. . . Koko lands on her back and loses her wind. She sucks and sucks and finally finds her air. Whipping her head around, she discovers shes's in another access tunnel and quickly gets to her feet. She straightens her soiled tank top, dislodges her shorts from the crack of her butt, and prepares herself for the bounty agent" (page 75)
I also loved how he wrote Koko, and may I just say she is a kick ass/take names kind of woman. I've read women from other books whether sci-fi or not and were so disappointed in them, but she was AWESOME! Also, she's not one of those women who are always monologuing, worrying about a man, or is constantly told (or telling the reader) how AMAZING her body is. She has her flaws and I like that. She knows she's not perfect and has got over it, she doesn't have time to worry about that anyway (too busy kicking ass lol). Gave me yet another reason for loving to be a female, if I do say so myself. =D
Sooooooooo let me stop babbling so that you can read this book, ENJOY!!!
Deep breaths, OK I'm calm (well maybe hehe). I can't wait for the next one and I think I'm going to kill over waiting for the next one.
But what I like most about the book wasn't the amazing characters, fast paced action, or even the violence (he he violence) it was that the author made it all so realistic. I have read plenty of books placed only a few decades into the future, let alone 500 years, and I was severely disappointed by how forced those other books seemed. Yet with Koko it flowed so easily I didn't even need to question why it was so far in the future or the way the settings in the book were. The author played off of how people are today and used it to make a future that seemed totally and completely realistic.
"Koko rockets down the plummet chute. . . Koko lands on her back and loses her wind. She sucks and sucks and finally finds her air. Whipping her head around, she discovers shes's in another access tunnel and quickly gets to her feet. She straightens her soiled tank top, dislodges her shorts from the crack of her butt, and prepares herself for the bounty agent" (page 75)
I also loved how he wrote Koko, and may I just say she is a kick ass/take names kind of woman. I've read women from other books whether sci-fi or not and were so disappointed in them, but she was AWESOME! Also, she's not one of those women who are always monologuing, worrying about a man, or is constantly told (or telling the reader) how AMAZING her body is. She has her flaws and I like that. She knows she's not perfect and has got over it, she doesn't have time to worry about that anyway (too busy kicking ass lol). Gave me yet another reason for loving to be a female, if I do say so myself. =D
Sooooooooo let me stop babbling so that you can read this book, ENJOY!!!
August 6, 2014
First things first. This was a First reads, Good Reads book I won and thank you to all for that.
Kieran Shea's "Koko Takes a Holiday" is a big dose of the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG from the 80's, with some Bourne Identity, a touch of modern noir and a Mark Millar Graphic novel thrown lovingly into a prose package.
Koko is an ex-mercenary now living the high life as a bar/cathouse owner(since its male whores does that make it a doghouse?) on the lush resort Islands called The Sixty Islands. It doesn't take long for a minor incident to have Koko running for her life from someone with a lot of power and a personal vendetta against her. The problem is she doesn't know who she pissed off or how?
I loved the cover art from the beginning and for me it matches the tone of the book really well. The writing is very clean and clear. It was not oversexed, or over the top violent but certainly for adults with enough action and violence to make it feel like a grown-up book.
I loved the fact that all the bad asses in the book were woman, this is without doubt a female character driven book, not just Koko but her antagonists as well and it works very well. There are no Bellas here these are all Buffy's. Think Zoe Washburne meets Hit-Girl and The Bride from Kill Bill. Strong bad-ass woman with bad attitudes and good aim. I point this out because it may be my favorite thing about the book.
While the book is not perfect I would be hard pressed to pick something that stood out as bad and it is certainly an impressive debut novel for Kiernan Shea. Koko The Mighty, the next book, is scheduled to come out June of 2015 and I will surely be looking for it. In Fact Shea is an author I may have to keep an on eye on for a while.
Pick This up: If you like Cyberpunk with all the action and less techno babble. If your a fan of Popcorn style action Sci-Fi. If you like Graphic Novels in the style of Vertigo Comics, Image and Dark Horse Mini Series, Mark Millar, Brian K Vaughan.
Kieran Shea's "Koko Takes a Holiday" is a big dose of the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG from the 80's, with some Bourne Identity, a touch of modern noir and a Mark Millar Graphic novel thrown lovingly into a prose package.
Koko is an ex-mercenary now living the high life as a bar/cathouse owner(since its male whores does that make it a doghouse?) on the lush resort Islands called The Sixty Islands. It doesn't take long for a minor incident to have Koko running for her life from someone with a lot of power and a personal vendetta against her. The problem is she doesn't know who she pissed off or how?
I loved the cover art from the beginning and for me it matches the tone of the book really well. The writing is very clean and clear. It was not oversexed, or over the top violent but certainly for adults with enough action and violence to make it feel like a grown-up book.
I loved the fact that all the bad asses in the book were woman, this is without doubt a female character driven book, not just Koko but her antagonists as well and it works very well. There are no Bellas here these are all Buffy's. Think Zoe Washburne meets Hit-Girl and The Bride from Kill Bill. Strong bad-ass woman with bad attitudes and good aim. I point this out because it may be my favorite thing about the book.
While the book is not perfect I would be hard pressed to pick something that stood out as bad and it is certainly an impressive debut novel for Kiernan Shea. Koko The Mighty, the next book, is scheduled to come out June of 2015 and I will surely be looking for it. In Fact Shea is an author I may have to keep an on eye on for a while.
Pick This up: If you like Cyberpunk with all the action and less techno babble. If your a fan of Popcorn style action Sci-Fi. If you like Graphic Novels in the style of Vertigo Comics, Image and Dark Horse Mini Series, Mark Millar, Brian K Vaughan.
November 30, 2016
This novel actually felt rather like the holiday of the title. It is cartoonishly violent science fiction nonsense and so much fun! The setting is five hundred years in the future, a cross between Market Forces and The Ballad of Halo Jones, with a touch of ‘The Fifth Element’. After massive upheaval and catastrophe, the world is run by mega-corporations, who have free reign to discipline their employees with everything up to and including execution. Our heroine Koko used to be a mercenary badass, then retired to run a bar/whorehouse on a tropical island. Suddenly someone from her past decides that they want to kill her and the chase begins. It’s a very simple plot, yet engagingly told. I wasn’t especially keen on the use throughout of the present tense, although I got used to it. On the other hand, I loved that the main antagonists were all female. The dystopian world was well-imagined and vivid, with enough weird detail to be memorable. The corporate Catholicism and treatment for depression spring to mind. I was also amused that Koko disguises herself with short blue hair and a black bodysuit, classic cyberpunk wear, only to grumpily bemoan that she ‘looks like a preacher’. This novel definitely won't make you think hard, but if you like sci-fi thrillers you'll enjoy it quite a bit.
October 23, 2015
Koko Martstellar is a former mercenary, now owner of a brothel on The Sixty Islands – an artificial resort far away from coporate conflicts and re-civs zones on earth, where people can let off steam with sex and simulated violence. Koko is enjoying life until Portia Delacompte – her former comrade in arms, now boss of The Sixty Islands – puts a hit on her. Due to selective memory treatment, Portia doesn't know why she wants Koko dead. Koko herself is astonished: it was Portia who invited her to start a business on The Sixty Islands. All she can think is an 'incident' in Finland but that is a part of the past, isn't it?
After the murder attempt, Koko flees with a pod to a sky-barge in the Second Free Zone where she meets Flynn, a former air-cop who suffers from Depressus – a mental disease that ultimatly demands taking part in a mass suicide event called Embrace.
When Koko and Flynn are chased by three bounty-hunters, they have to fight for their lives, even when Flynn thinks he has nothing to fight for...
Will they survive? Will Koko find out why Portia wants her dead and how will she deal with Portia herself?
This is an extremely entertaining rollercoaster of a novel. I loved the universe, especially the concept of the Sixty Islands. Part of the worldbuilding is done by scripted commercials, which is very original.
Koko is a pleasant character to follow: badass but flawed and full of witty humor.
The action is breathtaking.
A nearly perfect debut novel. I will definitely pick up it's sequel next year.
4 stars.
After the murder attempt, Koko flees with a pod to a sky-barge in the Second Free Zone where she meets Flynn, a former air-cop who suffers from Depressus – a mental disease that ultimatly demands taking part in a mass suicide event called Embrace.
When Koko and Flynn are chased by three bounty-hunters, they have to fight for their lives, even when Flynn thinks he has nothing to fight for...
Will they survive? Will Koko find out why Portia wants her dead and how will she deal with Portia herself?
This is an extremely entertaining rollercoaster of a novel. I loved the universe, especially the concept of the Sixty Islands. Part of the worldbuilding is done by scripted commercials, which is very original.
Koko is a pleasant character to follow: badass but flawed and full of witty humor.
The action is breathtaking.
A nearly perfect debut novel. I will definitely pick up it's sequel next year.
4 stars.
October 16, 2014
4 stars
This book is cray cray.
Koko is ex-mercanary who went of the grid and she's hiding on The Sixty Island resort....- think something like pleasure island/Fhloston planet from Fifth Element -where she's running a brothel. Suddenly, everyone wants to kill her and the person who put a hit on Koko is her ex-colleague and friend who helped her hide in the first place. Koko teams up with cop who is diagnosed with Depressus, mental condition that force a person to join mass suicide event and they are truying to figure out what's going on and stay alive in the process.
You can pretty much guess, but there is a lot of mind control and mental manipulation experiments; world building is fantastic, but few times it jumped awkwardly from scene to scene which can be distracting if narrator is also changed. :\ And that is tied to another thing- characters' voice is very distinctive with sly undertones and humor can be a bit too dry and cynical in few situations, so if you are not a fan- it can be trouble. :)
Superfast paced, action filled cyberpunk romp I enjoyed great deal.
And that cover...brilliant! :)
May 4, 2016
Looking for something action packed, short, and to the point? Well here you go.
Koko is an ex-corporate mercenary turned bartender and pimp. Koko was good at mercenary work, but she got burned out on it and took an easier job on a paradise island offered to her by a friend. One day security comes calling wanting to arrest of kill Koko, her friend betrayed her. Now Koko is on the run to a colony of space stations above Earth.
This book is fast paced, down and dirty, and is not afraid to be overly silly and fun at times. You will either like lead character Koko or hate her to the very core. This book has a very pulpy feel to it, at least it felt that way to me. It is a little tongue in cheek, a little crass, and a little rough around the edges. As far as complaints go there could have been a little more character development, but then again it would have impeded on the fast pace and probably my biggest gripe was the very last few sentences were all about sequel baiting and that kind of thing annoys me.
So what you get is a fast paced and fun book that you will enjoy while reading, but forget about in a week. It is what it looks and sounds like.
Koko is an ex-corporate mercenary turned bartender and pimp. Koko was good at mercenary work, but she got burned out on it and took an easier job on a paradise island offered to her by a friend. One day security comes calling wanting to arrest of kill Koko, her friend betrayed her. Now Koko is on the run to a colony of space stations above Earth.
This book is fast paced, down and dirty, and is not afraid to be overly silly and fun at times. You will either like lead character Koko or hate her to the very core. This book has a very pulpy feel to it, at least it felt that way to me. It is a little tongue in cheek, a little crass, and a little rough around the edges. As far as complaints go there could have been a little more character development, but then again it would have impeded on the fast pace and probably my biggest gripe was the very last few sentences were all about sequel baiting and that kind of thing annoys me.
So what you get is a fast paced and fun book that you will enjoy while reading, but forget about in a week. It is what it looks and sounds like.
July 13, 2014
In KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY, Kieran Shea manages an amazing balancing act.
Reading this book, I was struck by the world building. Shea creates an entire future that is both plausible and amazing. He creates diseases, new worlds, new situations and yet still ground it in reality.
At the same time, he's able to build deeper characters, ones who resonate with the reader... not cyphers who are just making their way through this world. Flynn, who is afflicted by Depressus is particularly compelling. And Koko, well, she takes the cake.
But most of all this book is a locomotive. It keeps moving and moving forward, momentum pulling the reader toward a stunning climax and then... just when you think it's over.. he gives a little bit more.
Great first effort by Shea. Can't wait to see what lies ahead. Seriously good stuff.
Reading this book, I was struck by the world building. Shea creates an entire future that is both plausible and amazing. He creates diseases, new worlds, new situations and yet still ground it in reality.
At the same time, he's able to build deeper characters, ones who resonate with the reader... not cyphers who are just making their way through this world. Flynn, who is afflicted by Depressus is particularly compelling. And Koko, well, she takes the cake.
But most of all this book is a locomotive. It keeps moving and moving forward, momentum pulling the reader toward a stunning climax and then... just when you think it's over.. he gives a little bit more.
Great first effort by Shea. Can't wait to see what lies ahead. Seriously good stuff.
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