In its haunting, uncanny, predictive power Victory City shows once again why his work will always matter.

A novel by a man who still, in his eighth decade, derives delight in his talent and all that he can do with it. The book is a total pleasure to read, a bright burst of colour in a grey winter season.

A joyfully extravagant alternative Mahabharata… a mashup of myth and fairytale, comedy and melodrama, celebrating women’s agency and the enduring power of storytelling.

Victory City is full of life and colour, and some of Rushdie’s key themes: female strength, the importance of storytelling, the danger of censorship.

What of Rushdie’s powers? We cannot know if they are god-given, but on the evidence of this profoundly entertaining tale… Rushdie certainly still has the gift of alchemy.

A playful, magical realist epic, full of adventure and comically clashing registers, and a celebration of the power of storytelling and the endurance of literature.

Rushdie’s sheer love of fiction is irrepressible.

One of the richest and most exuberant books Salman Rushdie has written in years… remarkable.

Rushdie’s relentless creative energy pairs well with his understanding of how history works… It’s as if Rushdie has dropped a molecule of divinity into a petri dish containing the other basic stuff of life, and watched a civilization cultivate.

Rushdie’s lavish, playful 15th novel plants him firmly back on Indian soil, cooking up an alternative Mahabharata and spinning an elaborate founding myth from the bare bones of history. He’s enjoying the enterprise and his sense of fun is infectious.