A review by bandwitch
Vurt by Jeff Noon

4.0

This book definitely chose me. I know that sounds corny, but it did. I kept seeing it at a bookstore and finally just had to pick it up. I ended up reading five pages past the first page before I even realized it. Vurt is an interesting story, wholly unique and out of this world. We are thrust into the dingy streets of Manchester where man and droids coexist, real pets are a rare item, cops are made of smoke, and the real world shares a room with the hallucinatory world of Vurt where anyone can experience sex, peace, darkness, etc together in an alternate universe. The cast of characters are unlike any other. Scribble, Beetle, Mandy, Tristan and Suze, as well as a bad ass villain Murdoch and the shadowcop Takshaka. It's a constant trip chapter after chapter. Noon brings you up and down, over and under through each Vurt world with ease and vividness unmatched in anything I've ever read. The Thing from Outer Space is also a cherished character. There were a few things that made me queasy (i.e.

Spoiler

Desdemona and Scribble's sister/lover relationship

). Really enjoyed the way almost each chapter is split between articles describing each different Vurt. Amazing writing style pulls you in and doesn't let go. Extremely radiant and bright, and if I had to issue a warning, I would say it's sometimes a sensory overload kind of read that you have to read things twice a few times. Still one of the best books I've discovered.