Koko the Mighty
Contents
Praise for Koko Takes a Holiday
(Espresso Shot) The Story So Far
Three Days Later (So This is What it’s Like)
All he Does is Dream… Dream, Dream, Dream
She’s Back, Back in the Surabayan Groove
A Quick Snoop at the Spd&k and Sec Five
Was She his Dreamy Little Rock N’ Roll? (Kind Of)
Also Available from Titan Books
KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY
“This futuristic wild ride starts out quickly and doesn’t really slow down until it’s over. You would think such a breakneck pace wouldn’t leave much time for character development, but you’d be wrong; Shea skillfully weaves characterization into dialogue and into the thoughts and actions of the people in the novel. The use of the present tense certainly helps make the story feel urgent and immediate, too: we get caught up in Koko’s predicament and are carried along with her as she desperately tries to keep herself alive until she can track down her would-be assassin. Great fun and a fine introduction to an author with a distinctive voice. Expect more from Shea.”
Booklist
(starred review)
“Shea takes us 500 years into Earth’s future, a place apparently decadent and war torn in equal measure. Reminiscent of Takeshi Kovacs from Richard K. Morgan’s
Altered Carbon
with a dash of Tank Girl attitude, Koko is a memorable character.”
Library Journal
“…vigorous anarchic pulse… sheer velocity keeps the story rattling along like a big geeky pinball machine.”
Publishers Weekly
“A vivid and brutal old school (in the best sense) cyberpunk headkick.” Richard Kadrey,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Sandman Slim
“Big, brash, and ambitious as all hell. Fans of white-knuckled science fiction, welcome to your new favorite novel.” Chris Holm, award-winning author of
The Collector
series
“If Hunter S. Thompson and Elmore Leonard got together and wrote science fiction you’d get
Koko Takes a Holiday
. Brutal, smart and wickedly funny… a jet-powered, acid-fueled trip of pure, rocking insanity.” Stephen Blackmore, author of
Dead Things
“Not since Richard K. Morgan’s
Altered Carbon
have I felt so completely immersed in such a perfectly realized world of the future. Kieran Shea is the breath of fresh air the science fiction genre has been looking for. I want more Koko, and I want her right now.” Victor Gischler, author of
Ink Mage
and
Go-Go Girls of the Apocalpyse
“The tempo of the storytelling is near on perfect. The action picks up speed like a jet fighter going in to attack – and it twists and turns with the same agility… No holds barred, just plain fantastic fun.” SF Signal
“A fast-paced cyberpunk fantasy with all the anarchic energy of a graphic novel. Newcomer Kieran Shea’s debut novel moves at breakneck speed, and it’s teeming with colorful characters and a joyfully black sense of humour… a fun and action-packed read.” SciFi Now
“A nonstop bloody thrill ride with all of the subtlety of a rocket launcher, and I loved every minute of it.” My Bookish Ways
“Darkly funny, intelligent and a little ultraviolent… action packed and humorous pulp science fiction at its best.” The Book Bag
“An incredibly fast paced, zany rollercoaster of a ride… A quirky, gritty, humorous, and incredibly visual stylized book that would be perfectly at home in graphic novel or movie formats,
Koko Takes a Holiday
is an absolutely amazing debut.” Portland Book Review
“Plenty of explosions, bullets, wise cracks, and surprises will leave you wanting more… Yippee-Ki-Yay… this book completely rocks.” Geek Dad
“An amazing read that wonderfully mixes the works of cyberpunk and sci-fi space operas with a dose of acid and unapologetic violence to create a compelling and hard-to-put-down novel.” Pop Cults
KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY
Koko the Mighty
Print edition ISBN: 9781781168622
E-book edition ISBN: 9781781168646
Published by Titan Books
A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd
144 Southwark Street, London SE1 0UP
First edition: August 2015
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Kieran Shea asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Copyright © 2015 by Kieran Shea. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
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FOR ALL THE HEARTBROKEN WHO GIVE A DAMN ANYWAY
“WHEN YOU THINK OF THE LONG AND GLOOMY HISTORY OF MAN, YOU WILL FIND MORE HIDEOUS CRIMES HAVE BEEN COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF OBEDIENCE THAN HAVE EVER BEEN COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF REBELLION.”
C.P. SNOW
*
Once upon a future time in the year 2516, retired corporate mercenary Koko Martstellar believed she had quite the life. Running a bar and brothel operation on The Sixty Islands, the world’s most violently decadent South Pacific resort—honestly, who wouldn’t believe they had it good? Of course when Koko’s piously phony boss tried to have her killed for an unspeakable crime she no longer recalled, the easy life for Koko deep-sixed pretty fast.
Pursued by a lethal trio of eye-eating bounty agents and fleeing to the atmospheric sky barges of the Second Free Zone, Koko teamed up with Jedidiah Flynn, a Depressus-afflicted former lawman who’d been readying himself for a live-broadcast mass suicide, known as Embrace. Matching equal amounts of grit and pluck, together the two evaded Koko’s hunters, executed revenge on Koko’s boss, and ended up more or less living happily ever after back on The Sixty Islands, running a new saloon. Or so they thought.
One ruthless bounty agent, Jackie Wire, survived Koko and Flynn’s eluding efforts, and Wire is still determined to collect the price on Koko’s head no matter the cost.
This is where their story continues…
*
Koko Takes a Holiday
recap. (Book purchase warmly suggested.)
IF YOU CHECK THE GUIDE
If, by chance, you’re considering vacation travel to The Sixty Islands and you happen to be perusing the latest core-loaded version of
Nessim’s International Almanac of Recreational Excursions
, under the
NIGHTLIFE/ACCOMMODATIONS
silos you will notice an addition to the usual roster of offerings. The addition reads as follows:
SALOON, ISLAND 13
RE4589769-DS7-8.2
SI Facility Endorsement Rating—Pending
Proprietor
: Martstellar, Koko P. (Penelope)
House Manager:
Flynn, Jedidiah
Staff:
(Incl. Certified Release Specialists) 16 (M/F)
Availability
: [
Unknown
] (Under development, scheduled for business late 2516)
If you have secured your own shuttle transport or one of The Sixty’s new air-conditioned tuk-tuks, this soon-to-be-opened S.I. saloon offers boutique accommodations, soothing libations, and carnal entertainment on the very-very. Situated approximately fifty meters above current adjusted sea levels and tucked away on one of the resort’s more sheltered islands, this delightful spot is a quaint yet alluring option for patrons seeking sensual satisfactions in a laid-back garden atmosphere. Exquisitely replicated to historic Polynesian architectural standards and situated near two of The Sixty’s ceasefire quadrants, this concern boasts eleven chic rooms with a full bar, gourmet fare, lap pool/spa, as well as a recreational gambling area with unrestricted table limits. Rosters of both male and female release specialists are available for companionship with negotiable rates and group packages offered. Upon its opening, advance reservations are recommended and full medical records
are required.
As she mashes down a bundle of white bar towels, Koko Martstellar’s mind redlines.
“Stay with me, sweetie.”
In what must be mindboggling agony, Jedidiah Flynn lasers her a look. The towels pressed against the wound in his leg quickly soak red on contact, and he throws open his jaw and bays like a stuck hound.
“You keep pushing on my leg like that, and I’ll stay with you. I’ll stay with you long enough to rip your damn head off! God, who trained you in field medicine, Koko? A butcher?”
Koko peeks under the bloody towels. Flecked with dark leg hair, the pulse-round wound in Flynn’s leg is a warm trench of glistening pink gore. Damaged and cooked iliotibial band muscle for sure, but at twelve oozing centimeters the wound is totally survivable if measures are taken, and taken soon.
“Listen,” Koko says. “You need to keep compression on this until we get a chance to stitch it up, okay?”
Flynn whips his head and grimaces. “Sheesh, who
is
that? Is she the one who shot me? I thought all the violence on this resort is supposed to be simulated.”