Good But Repetitive and Unconvincing in Places . . .
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See, here's the problem I have with Jeff Noon. Vurt and Falling Out of Cars are two of the best science fiction novels I've ever read. They changed my view of the contemporary novel and provided me ample fuel for critical study at university.
But Nymphomation somehow doesn't match up. The bursts of purple prose, whilst entertaining in places, lack the raw energy of his two masterpieces. There's much of Vurt's style and panache here, but it feels overdone, half-baked and inconsistent. I feel the real issue is with peer review. As a writer and editor myself, I think the best thing for my own writing has been airing my work amongst other writers and taking onboard their feedback. Whilst no one can grasp quite what a writer wants to portray like the writer, the writer suffers from a lack of objectivity and, occasionally, a lack of originality. It's too easy to become self-indulgent and write the kind of fiction we're comfortable with. That's the real flaw with Nymphomation.
I feel that Noon should have pushed himself further. The promise of nymphomation (information which is reproductive, hybridising, sincretic and promiscuous) could go much wider. I almost expected the house at the end to be a place of constantly bifurcating realities. I anticipated a place where characters encountered multiple versions of themselves and wandered through different versions of the past. I expected books with constantly changing and mutating stories, and DNA strands spiralling into chaos.
Instead we got a poorly conceived maths lesson with yet *more* Lewis Carroll allusion. In Falling Out of Cars and Vurt, the allusions were fine. In this, I really felt Noon should read more. There are many things more appropriate at this juncture in his writing career. The Book of Sand is an obvious one. The Master & Margarita is another one. Even these would be better than another Alice allusion.
The idea, though, as always, was great. It was just the development which needed further guidance. More peer review in the developmental stages would have pushed him in newer, stranger directions. This almost wasn't strange enough.
I'm anxiously waiting for Noon's next novel, but after Falling Out of Cars, his prose writing seems to have taken second fiddle to scriptwriting. Let's hope he reads a little more before knocking out the next book.
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Nympossible to understand
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This is the first Jeff Noon book that I have read and it will probably be my last. I am a fan of Sci Fi and am not afraid of a different style of writing. However, 'Nymformation' does not fall down due to its irregular use of the English language but because the story fails towards the end.
In 'Nymformation' we follow the exploits if a group of people in an alternative Manchester as they play to win the new domino based lottery game. Through the book we discover that the game may be less of a lottery and more of a mathematical fix. The characters decide to get together to see if they can rig the game for themselves. However, the powers behind the lottery are far stronger than they expected and the truth goes a lot deeper.
The first half of this book is enjoyable as Noon's style takes a little getting used to but only adds to the ambience of the book. It is the second half of the novel that ruins the book. Characters and situations become confused and within an already alien construct, it makes reading and understanding the story that little bit harder. I have to admit that by the final third I was ready for the book to end as I had had enough.
'Nymformation' is yet another book in a long line of Sci Fi novels that have great concepts but overcomplicate the matter with techno babble and alienation. If you want to read a dark and strangely written novel why not try Chuck Palahniuk of Robert Rankin - as for Noon, stay clear.
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More Noon for me!
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Written with a unique poetic verve that transports the reader to Noon's invented world, I found the story absolutely compelling, the characters engaging, and the language addictive. Published after Vurt, this is more of a prequel than a sequel. It also ties in with Automated Alice (but thats the only Noon novel I didn't really enjoy - in fact, I didn't even finish it) and Pollen. Noon's cyber-Manchester is convincing, each novel further reinforcing the mythical world. In this one we follow Daisy and Jaz as they delve into a domino game conspiracy that leads them deep into a virtual maze. Some of the cyber stuff is a bit beyond me really, but I don't think its necessary to be a geek to be drawn in to this, and thoroughly enjoy it.
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Vurt book 4...or 2?
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Jeff Noon's 4th novel `Nymphomation' is also the authors 4th (and at the time of writing final) book in the series he began with `Vurt'. As such readers unfamiliar with Noon's previous work will find this a mindbending but perhaps slightly frustrating tale of a Manchester based domino lottery, and the insane mathematical ideas behind it that lead to a transformed country. As ever with Noon's work the book is filled with mind-bending SF concepts (Black Maths, Burgercops, Blurbflies) and delicious use of language, though I suspect readers of Noon's previous works will find this much more satisfying, as the book goes into detail about how the world of Vurt was first created, and also nails down the exact relationship of Automated Alice to the Vurt series. As such I would recommend the novice either read Noon's brilliant Vurt series in publication order (`Vurt', `Pollen', `Automated Alice', `Nymphomation') or chronological story order (`Automated Alice', `Nymphomation', `Vurt', `Pollen') but, fantastic as this is, it's probably not the best place for anybody to start.
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First time Reader of Noon. Fantastic
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I was on holiday with friends and one of the them had left Nymphomation on the table. I was intrigued by the cover and read the sysnopsis on the book. To be honest I thought It sounded like a load of c**p. I dont know why I started reading. I think I wanted to see just what sort of rubbish my friend was reading. The prose style was completley new to me and was very weird at first. But I was engrossed to such an extent that while me friends were having a night out in Barcelona I was read the book in a single sitting. Finishing it at 5am just as the rest of them rolled in a drunken stuper. I was slightly dissapointed in the ending as for me it went a little OTT. But otherwise I would recomend this book and look forward to reading other Noon books
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