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Jeff Noon. A very quirky, but brilliant author from manchester. His work almost, but not quite, falls into the sci-fi fantasy genre....though perhaps magical realism would be a better description. His debut novel Vurt blew me away. He followed it with Pollen, set in the same fantastical rendering of Manchester. It's a Manchester that is different to reality, with half breeds of dog and shadow, drug soaked feathers that carry you to a different realm....but becareful not to bring anything back because it will exact a price. Different as it is it carries the flavour, the essence of a manchester I know well.
What never ceases to amze me about Vurt is the beauty of his writing. The vitality of the setting and the characters. The whole thing feels almost mythically real, with its neverending rain, and the sun glinting off the broken glass in Bottletown, the dark romance of a brother and sister, running from a shadowcop and seeking the help of dogs and dreamsnakes. And every so often a message from the Game Cat....addressed to his kitlings, scored under with a deep bass beat and more than a little shadowed himself.
The same writer wrote a followup to Alice through the Looking Glass: The Automated Alice....set again in Manchester, with computers made from anthills and characters as wild as any Carroll could conceive.
Nymphomation also a wonderful book. Never have dominoes and lotteries seemed so important or so dangerous. Everything scented with the spice of a curry house.
Falling Out of Cars took a step in a new direction. Manchester left behind this one was a differently conceived England. No less dangerous but more recognisable in some ways.
Without a doubt one of the most interesting writers England's produced in a good many years. Vurt is also available as an audio book voiced by Paul McGann. And my what a voice he has!
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