Rating: 
Summary: An interesting spin-off
Review: Alice in Wonderland has "inspired" a number of hacks to produce poor material, from movies to books to video games. Here, Jeff Noon manages to avoid re-treading the surreal cliches in which most "tributes" indulge.This book is a cross-pollination of Lewis Carroll's universe (from whence Alice originates) with Jeff Noon's universe (the setting of Vurt, Pollen, etc.) Noon (who has a distinctive style of his own) does a fair job of emulating Carroll's writing, but emphasizes the puns and wordplay that make Carroll's books so delightful to adults. Although it's a quick read, you're rewarded if you take the time to enjoy the wit. Unlike many other Alice-"inspired" work, Noon has well-developed plot and a strong central theme he writes towards, one that is enhanced by the allusions to Lewis Carroll. The "Automated" Alice of the title is a robotic Alice; the differences and interactions between Alice Liddell, Alice "in Wonderland," and "Automated" Alice are used to form an interesting central metaphor. I recommend this book highly. It's clever, fun, and intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting spin-off
Review: Alice in Wonderland has "inspired" a number of hacks to produce poor material, from movies to books to video games. Here, Jeff Noon manages to avoid re-treading the surreal cliches in which most "tributes" indulge. This book is a cross-pollination of Lewis Carroll's universe (from whence Alice originates) with Jeff Noon's universe (the setting of Vurt, Pollen, etc.) Noon (who has a distinctive style of his own) does a fair job of emulating Carroll's writing, but emphasizes the puns and wordplay that make Carroll's books so delightful to adults. Although it's a quick read, you're rewarded if you take the time to enjoy the wit. Unlike many other Alice-"inspired" work, Noon has well-developed plot and a strong central theme he writes towards, one that is enhanced by the allusions to Lewis Carroll. The "Automated" Alice of the title is a robotic Alice; the differences and interactions between Alice Liddell, Alice "in Wonderland," and "Automated" Alice are used to form an interesting central metaphor. I recommend this book highly. It's clever, fun, and intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting spin-off
Review: Alice in Wonderland has "inspired" a number of hacks to produce poor material, from movies to books to video games. Here, Jeff Noon manages to avoid re-treading the surreal cliches in which most "tributes" indulge. This book is a cross-pollination of Lewis Carroll's universe (from whence Alice originates) with Jeff Noon's universe (the setting of Vurt, Pollen, etc.) Noon (who has a distinctive style of his own) does a fair job of emulating Carroll's writing, but emphasizes the puns and wordplay that make Carroll's books so delightful to adults. Although it's a quick read, you're rewarded if you take the time to enjoy the wit. Unlike many other Alice-"inspired" work, Noon has well-developed plot and a strong central theme he writes towards, one that is enhanced by the allusions to Lewis Carroll. The "Automated" Alice of the title is a robotic Alice; the differences and interactions between Alice Liddell, Alice "in Wonderland," and "Automated" Alice are used to form an interesting central metaphor. I recommend this book highly. It's clever, fun, and intriguing.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile for Alice/Carroll fans
Review: As a fan of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland/Looking-Glass/Under Ground, and as one who has never heard of Jeff Noon before, I found this book funny and clever, and a good & worthwhile addition to my Alice collection. Although it is a fairly light, fast read, it isn't quite a children's book -- more designed for adults who enjoy Alice.
Rating: 
Summary: One more piece to the puzzle
Review: Automated Alice by itself is a very confusing read, but if you are a fan of Jeff Noon, and more importantly have read "Vurt" and "Pollen" then you will be right at home in this tale. This book actually falls into the vurt world in a slightly different order than one might expect, being a flashback to before "Vurt" and "Pollen" take place. Automated Alice starts out very "childlike", but progresses to become a part of the Manchester from the first two novels. A subtle fact that is lost on most readers is that the "Automated Alice" is Celia Hobart, a very key player in the world of Vurt. Jeff Noon has written two more novels since Alice that haven't been released in the US. "Nymphomation" and due in October is" Pixel Juice". Nymphomation picks up not long after "Automated Alice" leaves off, and "Pixel Juice" will be after "Nymphomation". I guess what I am saying is that as a stand alone novel, people can be somewhat confused, but as a piece in the growing "Vurt" universe it is a wonderful novel filling in a few more gaps while opening others. If anyone is interested in finding out how to order "Nymphomation" and "Pixel Juice" feel free to e-mail me and I will tell you how.
Rating:
Summary: One more piece to the puzzle
Review: Automated Alice by itself is a very confusing read, but if you are a fan of Jeff Noon, and more importantly have read "Vurt" and "Pollen" then you will be right at home in this tale. This book actually falls into the vurt world in a slightly different order than one might expect, being a flashback to before "Vurt" and "Pollen" take place. Automated Alice starts out very "childlike", but progresses to become a part of the Manchester from the first two novels. A subtle fact that is lost on most readers is that the "Automated Alice" is Celia Hobart, a very key player in the world of Vurt. Jeff Noon has written two more novels since Alice that haven't been released in the US. "Nymphomation" and due in October is" Pixel Juice". Nymphomation picks up not long after "Automated Alice" leaves off, and "Pixel Juice" will be after "Nymphomation". I guess what I am saying is that as a stand alone novel, people can be somewhat confused, but as a piece in the growing "Vurt" universe it is a wonderful novel filling in a few more gaps while opening others. If anyone is interested in finding out how to order "Nymphomation" and "Pixel Juice" feel free to e-mail me and I will tell you how.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable sequel to Lewis Carroll
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent mixture of styles
Review: Automated Alice is a wonderful piece of writing that effortlessly combines the styles of both Jeff Noon and Lewis Carroll. The word play and the language that Noon uses are brilliantly clever and funny. His combing of the two worlds and two writning styles is seamless and anyone who likes Jeff Noon or Lewis Carroll will like this book. I can understanbd why some people might struggle with it, but if you immerse yourself in the book and let the child part of your brain work with the adult part you will find it immensely enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent mixture of styles
Review: Automated Alice is a wonderful piece of writing that effortlessly combines the styles of both Jeff Noon and Lewis Carroll. The word play and the language that Noon uses are brilliantly clever and funny. His combing of the two worlds and two writning styles is seamless and anyone who likes Jeff Noon or Lewis Carroll will like this book. I can understanbd why some people might struggle with it, but if you immerse yourself in the book and let the child part of your brain work with the adult part you will find it immensely enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: It's not Vurt, that's for sure.
Review: Automated Alice is, no doubting, a clever book. For afficiandos of Carrols world, it will hold many delights. For those who have never read Carrol it's confusion will be magnified, perhaps rendering it un-readable. For those who loved Vurt (myself included) it is entertaining, but of a style different enough to make me hesitant in including it in the same category of 'brilliant cyberfiction'. Automated Alice is worth reading, if simply to see what else Noon can write, but don't expect futuristic Manchester in it's Vurt/Pollen glory.
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