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Pollen (2013)

by Jeff Noon(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Tor

series

Vurt

review 1: Jeff Noon's "Pollen" is written in a very nebulous, stream-of-consciousness POV. It's one of those writing styles that requires you to chew on them for a bit until you figure out how to activate the flavor crystals.The world is dense and brimming with layers, hybrid human/animal/plant characters, and a mutliplicity of 'dimensions'. The pace is a bit of an accordion--compressed in quick action one moment, then stretched out with leisure the next.Pollen straddles the line between fantasy and sci-fi and definitely addresses issues of dealing with reality vs escapism, finding your place in a rapidly changing world, and deciding which things are important in life.Poor Coyote is a very likable character, yet we lose him so early in the story. Boda takes over the storyline. She i... mores bad-ass but likeable--and she's on a mission. Even though her shadow-cop mom is the narrator, Boda is the character who carries the story. As for that wicked little girl Persephone--well, she can keep her flowers to herself as far as I'm concerned.Recommended for: Those who love jacked-up & unique writing styles. Lovers of sci-fi/fantasy hybrid action who don't mind a little rehashed, modernized mythology mixed in.
review 2: Pollen, Jeff Noon's sequel to Vurt, is a good read, but ultimately didn't live up to my expectations. I definitely enjoyed returning to the crazy version of Manchester that was introduced in Vurt, but the story - while good - wasn't as compelling to me as Vurt's, and the cast of characters didn't come close to Scribble and the Stash Riders.The plot of Pollen revolves around a conflict between the vurt and the real. Certain characters in the vurt (who are the vurt representations of the characters in the Persephone/Hades myth) are tired of their virtual existence, and are attempting to take over Manchester. Opposing them are our main characters: Sybil - a shadow cop - and her estranged daughter, Boda - a driver for a taxi cab hive-mind collective.Noon's visceral prose and witty word play is once again on display in Pollen, and the story is engaging, but compared to Vurt, it does drag at times. less

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