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daja57's review against another edition
5.0
This is a brilliant and hugely original urban fantasy with hints of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and Dhalgren by Samuel R Delaney.
The narrator/ protagonist Scribble and his mates Beetle, new girl Mandy, shadowgirl Bridget and The Thing-from-Outer-Space are the Stash Riders; they buy and use feathers which provide shared hallucinogenic experiences akin to playing computer games. Pink feathers are pornovurts, blue feathers offer safe desires, black are bootleg vurts, "one sliver beyond the law" and yellow feathers are the most extreme, offering experiences you can't jerk out of: "if you die in a yellow dream, you die in real life." Scribble is searching for his sister Desdemona, who got left behind in the vurtual (sic) world; he needs to find the right feather and re-enter the world to bring her back.
So the story is a classic hero's adventure in which Scribble, a superbly flawed hero, aided by his friends, must enter another realm, presided over by Game Cat, perform tasks, build up knowledge, win things of value, rescue the princess and return to the real world. Perhaps there is a bit of Orpheus going down to the underworld to rescue Eurydice. It's a story of heroism and sacrifice. There are twists. (To be honest, I got a little bit lost in the middle of the book: it;s a complicated plot.)
The world-building is gradual and brilliant. The streets of Manchester form a real backdrop to a world people by 'pure's and hybrids between humans and shadows and robots and dogs and vurts. There's a lot of action. There are cops and robocops and shadowcops, there is sex and there are drugs and there is rock'n'roll, there are car chases and shoot-outs and The Thing-from-Outer-Space. There is 'dripfeed' (state benefits) and 'droidlocks' (dreadlocks on a robocrusty) and The Haunting (a sort of deja-vu which muddles rality with vurt) and Cortex Jammers and pedheads (pedestrians) and jerkouts and Karmachanics. It is a vivid combination of the real and the surreal, the everyday and the fantastic. It works superbly.
The narrator/ protagonist Scribble and his mates Beetle, new girl Mandy, shadowgirl Bridget and The Thing-from-Outer-Space are the Stash Riders; they buy and use feathers which provide shared hallucinogenic experiences akin to playing computer games. Pink feathers are pornovurts, blue feathers offer safe desires, black are bootleg vurts, "one sliver beyond the law" and yellow feathers are the most extreme, offering experiences you can't jerk out of: "if you die in a yellow dream, you die in real life." Scribble is searching for his sister Desdemona, who got left behind in the vurtual (sic) world; he needs to find the right feather and re-enter the world to bring her back.
So the story is a classic hero's adventure in which Scribble, a superbly flawed hero, aided by his friends, must enter another realm, presided over by Game Cat, perform tasks, build up knowledge, win things of value, rescue the princess and return to the real world. Perhaps there is a bit of Orpheus going down to the underworld to rescue Eurydice. It's a story of heroism and sacrifice. There are twists. (To be honest, I got a little bit lost in the middle of the book: it;s a complicated plot.)
The world-building is gradual and brilliant. The streets of Manchester form a real backdrop to a world people by 'pure's and hybrids between humans and shadows and robots and dogs and vurts. There's a lot of action. There are cops and robocops and shadowcops, there is sex and there are drugs and there is rock'n'roll, there are car chases and shoot-outs and The Thing-from-Outer-Space. There is 'dripfeed' (state benefits) and 'droidlocks' (dreadlocks on a robocrusty) and The Haunting (a sort of deja-vu which muddles rality with vurt) and Cortex Jammers and pedheads (pedestrians) and jerkouts and Karmachanics. It is a vivid combination of the real and the surreal, the everyday and the fantastic. It works superbly.
lucaso's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hakimbriki's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know if the later works of Jeff Noon grant him the status of full-fledged virtuoso, but his debut novel is one mad and insanely thrilling ride. A work of genius.
Set in a dystopian Manchester, this book focuses on Scribble, a drug-addled young man and his search of his sister Desdemona, lost to the "Vurt" universe; a series of shared virtual realities in which the user can feel pain or pleasure. Vurt World is only accessible through the use of different types of colored feathers. Scribble's quest proves more difficult that expected. Along with his gang, the Stash Riders, he encounters bizarre and hostile characters and insurmountable obstacles.
I never wanted Vurt to end. It is one of those books that have the potential to revolutionize a genre and inspire generations of artists. Truly a game-changer.
The bleak and sinister atmosphere of Jeff Noon's Manchester coupled with the humorous, often melancholic and psychotic tone, the exceptional diversity of compelling and original characters and the mind-numbing features of the 'Vurtverse' will never cease to fascinate me. Any fan of Weird fiction/Cyber-punk/Fantasy/sci-fi should thoroughly enjoy this.
Set in a dystopian Manchester, this book focuses on Scribble, a drug-addled young man and his search of his sister Desdemona, lost to the "Vurt" universe; a series of shared virtual realities in which the user can feel pain or pleasure. Vurt World is only accessible through the use of different types of colored feathers. Scribble's quest proves more difficult that expected. Along with his gang, the Stash Riders, he encounters bizarre and hostile characters and insurmountable obstacles.
I never wanted Vurt to end. It is one of those books that have the potential to revolutionize a genre and inspire generations of artists. Truly a game-changer.
The bleak and sinister atmosphere of Jeff Noon's Manchester coupled with the humorous, often melancholic and psychotic tone, the exceptional diversity of compelling and original characters and the mind-numbing features of the 'Vurtverse' will never cease to fascinate me. Any fan of Weird fiction/Cyber-punk/Fantasy/sci-fi should thoroughly enjoy this.
miori's review against another edition
3.0
Bad trip
Наркомания, конечно, знатная. Безудержная, яркая, непонятная и дикая, что вполне оправданно. Но при этом слишком нарочито, показательно мерзкая - и вот это уже совсем не было обязательным. Я понимаю задумку автора покуролесить, эпатировать, вызвать у читателя целый шквал ярких эмоций, большинство из которых явно будут со знаком минус. И хоть я могу оценить такое намерение, ведь мастерство Нуна, несомненно, помогло достигнуть цели, но получить удовольствие от чтения было весьма сложно.
Впрочем, со второй половины получилось вникнуть в поток. Часть персонажей, о чудо, в какой-то момент даже превратились в личностей с хоть какими-то реальными чертами характера и особенностями, что позволило чуточку, капелюшечку, переживать о том, что происходит.
Книга даже читалась на каком-то кураже. Не буду перехваливать, впрочем, скорее всего, этот кураж был вызван желанием поскорее закончить, ведь с данным кислотным пациентом было все понятно уже на первых процентах 30-ти.
Этот несущийся кубарем, без остановок и направления, кислотно-разноцветный снежный ком проходится по читателю бессмысленно и беспощадно. Любители обязательно будут, но я, наверно, не одна из них и предпочитаю другие, менее бэд-триповые сорта наркотиков.
Смог ли Вирт удивить? Да. Но впечатлить — нет, ни капельки, уж простите.
Наркомания, конечно, знатная. Безудержная, яркая, непонятная и дикая, что вполне оправданно. Но при этом слишком нарочито, показательно мерзкая - и вот это уже совсем не было обязательным. Я понимаю задумку автора покуролесить, эпатировать, вызвать у читателя целый шквал ярких эмоций, большинство из которых явно будут со знаком минус. И хоть я могу оценить такое намерение, ведь мастерство Нуна, несомненно, помогло достигнуть цели, но получить удовольствие от чтения было весьма сложно.
Впрочем, со второй половины получилось вникнуть в поток. Часть персонажей, о чудо, в какой-то момент даже превратились в личностей с хоть какими-то реальными чертами характера и особенностями, что позволило чуточку, капелюшечку, переживать о том, что происходит.
Книга даже читалась на каком-то кураже. Не буду перехваливать, впрочем, скорее всего, этот кураж был вызван желанием поскорее закончить, ведь с данным кислотным пациентом было все понятно уже на первых процентах 30-ти.
Этот несущийся кубарем, без остановок и направления, кислотно-разноцветный снежный ком проходится по читателю бессмысленно и беспощадно. Любители обязательно будут, но я, наверно, не одна из них и предпочитаю другие, менее бэд-триповые сорта наркотиков.
Смог ли Вирт удивить? Да. Но впечатлить — нет, ни капельки, уж простите.
purple4em's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
mercabx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
5.0
"My mind was like a stranger. A stranger with a gun in their hand."
caitsidhe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book doesn't want you to do anything so prosaic as 'enjoy' it. Its an experience, a drug trip, a dream and a nightmare. It was also written in 1993 and it shows, with dogman hybrid fucking being on page but queerness only hinted at
jetenold's review against another edition
This was one of my assigned reads for an intro to Literature class. from what i remember it was really good, but totally trippy.