I used to cover the mirrors up with the hotel towels. I couldn't stand the sight of myself. I've always had problems with mirrors – ever since – even though I haven't drunk in such a long time. In Falling Out of Cars – his last novel before his years of silence, and his farewell to Manchester – all the mirrors are covered up in that book … covered up or broken. That definitely comes from that period." Bridget must have the same feeling; she was looking daggers at the new girl (Mandy), smoke rising from her skin, as she tried her best to tune into Beetle's head.” Bridget is a real human girl but with special qualities including the extrasensory ability to read other people's minds which makes her a shadowgirl. One thing's for certain: it bodes well Bridget is a bona fide member of the Stash Riders since, in the bugged out turf of this futuristic England, a gang needs all the powers it can muster.

Though he seemed to come out of rave culture, Noon was never himself, as people assumed, part of the Madchester scene. "I was very much an outsider," he says. "I was interested in it but I was never part of it and I never took ecstasy – I've never been that into drugs, apart from alcohol … probably because I know I'm an addictive personality so I'm always trying to control it."

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There are also references to popular musical figures, with two notable characters. Firstly, James Marshall Hentrails, a sculpture made of rubbish, and who contains the insides (entrails) of a hen. This character is obviously a reference to Jimi Hendrix. The character also sings a song while playing the guitar. The song is titled 'Little Miss Bonkers', a reference to 'Little Miss Strange' by Hendrix. [ original research?]

Set in a distorted, near-future Manchester, Jeff Noon’s novel tells the story of Scribble’s quest for his sister and lover, Desdemona, who he has lost in the Vurt. The Vurt is an alternative (or virtual/vurtual) reality which can serves as a metaphor for drug-induced visions, cyberspace, and perhaps the human imagination itself. Access to the Vurt is achieved through imbibing different coloured feathers laced with manufactured dreams. Scribble, a member of a gang of self-styled renegades called the Stash Riders, seeks the elusive, illegal, and highly dangerous feather known as Curious Yellow for it is only by accessing the higher realms of Vurt that he can hope to rescue Desdemona. Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique: The world of Slow Motion Ghosts is one where alternate personas, rituals, and parallel subcultures all factor into the plotline in various ways. Lucas Bell was best-known for his onstage persona, known as “King Lost.” This, in turn, ties in with references from Lucas’s past to a mysterious place known as “Edenville,” which may or may not exist. A group of musicians debates an act that would “conjure up Luke’s spirit”—one of several moments in the novel where Noon suggests the presence of supernatural activity.What The Hell Ever Happened To... Jeff Noon? - An update on Jeff's current projects as of November 2011 from the author himself. Babel Street (2008) - co-written with Susanna Jones, Alison MacLeod and William Shaw, originally only available online, now no longer available Vurt 20th anniversary edition, archived from the original on 19 April 2013 , retrieved 17 April 2013