–click here for my review of book one, Koko Takes A Holiday–

Series: Koko (#2)

Publisher: Titan

Genre: Cyberpunk

Pages: 323

Publication Date: 2015

Verdict: 1/5

Koko has done her best to settle down, but sometimes trouble finds you. Once again pursued by people who want her dead, Koko flees the Sixty. But is her destination a safe haven, or just a haven for drug-dealing psychopaths . . ?

One of the things I do here At Boundary’s Edge is try and keep things positive. Like the majority of bloggers, I write reviews because I love books, and because I want to encourage others to find the books I love. There’s enough negativity in the world without it encroaching on every hobby. A lot of people read books, especially science fiction, to escape from the real world, so why would I drag negativity into the literary world? There are a lot of books I haven’t reviewed simply because I didn’t enjoy them. But this year I’ve decided to talk about all the science fiction I consume, even if it’s not to my taste. This is partly a cynical bid to boost page views, but more than that, it’s an effort to start a conversation. If all I do is spout positivity, it feels like I’m an unpaid hypeman. As I’ve written before, negative reviews are just as valid as positive ones. The way I see it, you can learn as much about my tastes from the books I dislike as the ones I love.

Koko the Mighty is a book that I very much do not love. Koko Takes A Holiday was a stupid, noisy little book that cleansed my palate between longer reads. Koko the Mighty is worse in almost every regard, which is odd given that it’s basically a rerun of book one. Once again we follow Koko as she fights mercenaries, assassins and general thuggery, to the backdrop of chaotic scenery and frenetic writing. But if there’s too much of a good thing, there’s certainly too much of a mediocre thing. This book lacks the novelty of the first volume, has none of its charm, and didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

The weirdest part is that I can see a story like this working, albeit in a different medium. If this were a comic book, the dialogue and action set-pieces could be much more clearly conveyed, and the story might benefit from that shorter, more vivid form. If this ever gets picked up for adaptation, I can see it becoming a cult hit like SyFy’s Killjoys. The over-the-top sensibilities and non-stop action would certainly come across better on the screen than on the page. This is a book that tries very hard to be fun – too hard, in my opinion – but with actors to bring life and vitality to the characters, I would give it a second chance.

Koko Uncaged is still sitting on my TBR, and I’m torn between letting it linger there a while longer, or just getting it out of the way next. Whatever I decide, I’ll be sure to let you know.