By: Salman Rushdie
Out: Feb. 7
His first novel since being attacked on stage at the Chautauqua Festival last August, Salman Rushdie's Victory City is being hailed as a masterpiece by critics. The fantastical story recounts the tale of a sorceress and poet named Pampa Kampana, who dreams a whole civilization into existence from magic seeds. Through divine intervention, Pampa lives for more than two centuries, witnessing the city's many victories and defeats. It's a grand story, but one that Rushdie tells well.
$24.99 at Amazon
By: Thomas Mallon
Out: Feb. 7
One part murder mystery, one part showbiz history, Thomas Mallon's fictionalized account of the life and untimely death of Broadway actor Dick Kallman is an engaging portrayal of a closeted celebrity hungry for success. The name-dropping novel has a Hitchcockian vibe, where our anti-hero reinvents himself as an antiques dealer, until he meets a violent end in his artifact-stuffed Upper East Side townhouse.
$25.20 at Amazon
By: Malcolm Harris
Out: Feb. 14
Malcom Harris's Palo Alto is touted as the first comprehensive history of Silicon Valley. He examines how and why Northern California evolved in the particular, consequential way it did—and how it ended up reshaping the world. Harris tries to understand the outsized impact this seemingly small suburb has on technology and society as a whole. My interest is certainly piqued.
$32.40 at Amazon
By: Christopher J. Preston
Out: Feb. 21
If you haven't already heard, more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. That's not great news. But there's a lot of effort going into protecting endangered species and their natural habitats. Some, of course, are more successful than others. Christopher J. Preston's new book takes a look at a host of memorable efforts in this department across a host of landscapes and ecosystems. It's both engaging and encouraging.
$29.95 at Amazon
