Shadow Ticket – The new novel from Thomas Pynchon
Literary LitStackers, listen up! Another beauty is in presale now. Penguin Random House invites readers on a journey into Shadow Ticket, a new, eagerly-awaited novel by Thomas Pynchon. Early indications suggest a work of profound literary exploration. Though details remain carefully guarded, the publisher’s evocative description and the cover art hint at a reading experience sure to resonate with discerning readers. Here’s the advance reader word on the book. Consider Shadow Ticket a literary must own and pre-order today.
In the world of publishing, presales are a crucial indicator of a book’s potential success. Presales generate buzz and excitement before a book even hits the shelves. For authors, strong presale numbers translate to increased visibility, higher initial print runs, and a greater range of exposure. Publishers rely on presales to gauge reader interest and allocate marketing resources accordingly. A high volume of presales signals to bookstores that a book is in demand, leading to better placement and more prominent displays. Ultimately, robust presales create a ripple effect that can significantly boost a book’s overall performance and reach a wider audience.
Support Independent Bookstores.
You can find Spotlights at LitStack on bookshop.org
In This Spotlight On Shadow Ticket
About Shadow Ticket
Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation business shifting from labor-management relations to the more domestic kind. Hicks McTaggart, a one-time strikebreaker turned private eye, thinks he’s found job security until he gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who’s taken a mind to go wandering. Before he knows it, he’s been shanghaied onto a transoceanic liner, ending up eventually in Hungary where there’s no shoreline, a language from some other planet, and enough pastry to see any cop well into retirement—and of course no sign of the runaway heiress he’s supposed to be chasing.
By the time Hicks catches up with her he will find himself also entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them, none of which Hicks is qualified, forget about being paid, to deal with. Surrounded by history he has no grasp on and can’t see his way around in or out of, the only bright side for Hicks is it’s the dawn of the Big Band Era and as it happens he’s a pretty good dancer. Whether this will be enough to allow him somehow to Lindy-hop his way back again to Milwaukee and the normal world, which may no longer exist, is another question.
Chatter Around Shadow Ticket
*ONE OF AMERICA’S GREATEST AND MOST CELEBRATED NOVELISTS: Undeniably one of the most brilliant and influential writers of our time, Pynchon’s novels have made enormous impact on American fiction as we know it. In his new novel, he brings his characteristic humor, erudition, originality, and surprise to the page, and vaults us back in time to his creation of a past world.
*CULTURAL ICON: Pynchon’s life and work has produced a cult following of devoted readers, he has captured the public’s attention and imagination like no other writer. We’re confident that this new novel, which builds on the author’s mastery of the noir and the absurd will appeal those who have been fans for over five decades, as well as new readers alike.
*HIGHLY ANTICIPATED: Penguin Press has published Pynchon’s previous three books to critical and commercial acclaim. INHERENT VICE, Pynchon’s first foray into hardboiled noir, was a New York Times bestseller and was made into an Oscar nominated film by Paul Thomas Anderson. His last novel, BLEEDING EDGE, was a New York Times bestseller as well as a New York Times Notable Book. This new novel will be his first novel in more than a decade, and will tie in with buzz of a new film adaptation of VINELAND.
About Thomas Pynchon, Author of Shadow Ticket
Thomas Pynchon is the author of V.; The Crying of Lot 49; Gravity’s Rainbow; Slow Learner, a collection of short stories; Vineland; Mason & Dixon; Against the Day; Inherent Vice; and Bleeding Edge. He received the National Book Award for Gravity’s Rainbow in 1974.
You can check out Thomas Pynchon’s website, or read about him on Wikipedia.
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN Hardcover 9781594206108
Pub Date: Oct 7, 2025
Titles by Thomas Pynchon
Other LitStack Resources
Be sure and check out LitStack Spotlights that shine a light on books we think you should read.
As a Bookshop, Malaprop’s, BAM, Barnes & Noble, Audiobooks.com, Amazon, and Envato affiliate, LitStack may earn a commission at no cost to you when you purchase products through our affiliate links.
