Koko Takes a Holiday

The vigorous anarchic pulse of Shea’s debut is so propelling that it’s easy to forgive him for its many borrowed elements. The body count is high and the blood flows freely in this punk dystopian vision of the year 2516. Former gun for hire Koko Marsteller is hounded out of her position as the manager of an outer space bordello by former friend and ally Portia Delacompte, an executive in the Custom Pleasure Bureau. Pursued by three similarly ferocious female bounty hunters, Koko flees to Alaungpaya, a giant residential barge, where she joins forces with depressed former security officer Jedediah Flynn, who is about to take part in a ceremonial mass suicide. Shea tugs all these threads together without taking a breath; conversations occur as Koko and Jedediah sprint down corridors and race up hatchways, and hints of romance spark as they hide in an oxygen-deprived trash bin. The settings and action hold no surprises, but sheer velocity keeps the story rattling along like a big geeky pinball machine. (June)