[.ca] Automated Alice (ISBN 0517704900)

From Amazon.com:
Jeff Noon's previous novels, Vurt and Pollen, have attracted a cult following with their psychedelic science fiction creation of the realm of "Vurt"--a region defined by illusion, dream and drug-induced fantasy. Noon has now decided to link up with an imaginative precursor by introducing Lewis Carroll's Alice as the protagonist in a new adventure that draws on Carroll's through-the-looking-glass inversions of reality, and adds a Jeff Noon menace and edginess absent from Carroll's Wonderland. Alice finds herself in 1998 Manchester when she enters an old grandfather clock, and soon becomes the prime suspect in the puzzling "Jigsaw Murders." Noon emulates Carroll's crazy wordplay throughout, and even adds his own illustrations inspired by those of John Tenniel, the famous interpreter of Alice.

This Book Is Cool!:
I wasn't at all disappointed with this book...it wasn't what I thought it would be...I had been looking for it for about a year and finally got a viable means of monitary transaction on the net...so I bought it.I really enjoyed the wordplay and the illustrations...this book is a children's book...or rather a "inner-children's book"... If you like riddles and the cool writing style of Jeff Noon then you are going to like it... Oh, yeah and if you like to use the ellipsis but don't really know how then you'll like the book too...

Just avoid this book:
You can tell the author is very intelligent, but enough with the made up words. He should have worked harder on making up a plot for this book. I couldn't even make myself finish this boring book.

Great wordplay but not a great plot:
i loved this book for one reason..the words. Noon is an expert at wordplay and it is evident in this..he is able to make words more energetic and amusing and smooth as well then any other author i have ever read. The thing this book lacks is the plot i thought it was a little week. It might just be me though i only read this cause i am such a big fan of Noon and although i enjoyed reading it i didnt like the whole Alice in wonderland bit. All in all though i recomend it but read some of his other books if you really want a feel for Noon's writing capabilities

Enjoyable sequel to Lewis Carroll:
Automated Alice is a sequel to Lewis Carrol's two books about Alice. Instead of going down a rabbit hole or through a mirror, in this book Alice travels through a grandfather clock to Manchester England in 1998. However this is not the Manchester of our experience. It is a world populated by half-humans who ride on mechanical horses. Its computers are powered by termites called Computermites. Her adventures in this strange world bear enough resemblances to the original stories to make this an enjoyable sequel. Alice must figure out the puzzle of how to get back to her own time with the help of a parrot that speaks in riddles and an automated Alice with a termite brain. There are some wonderful word plays and mathematical concepts in the story. It is a short enjoyable tale that should please Alice fans of all ages. If you haven't read the original stories, skip this book.

Carroll Rip-Off or Trbute?:
If you've read any of Jeff Noon's other novels, you know that he's maniacally brilliant and quite off-the-wall. Automated Alice doesn't do anything to dissuade readers of that notion. Noon tries, rather successfully in my opinion, to write a third Alice story...one in which she finds herself in present day Manchester, England after climbing through a grandfather clock. Noon uses Carroll's fine use of language and wordplay to create this very entertaining story which does fit into the Manchester he created with Pollen and Vurt. This is a story written as only Noon could write it. Some will say it's a rip-off and a poor imitation of Carroll but I think it's a great tribute and a fun read.