New novel from reclusive author Thomas Pynchon coming this year

American author Thomas Pynchon’s first novel in more than a decade will be released later this year.

Publisher Penguin Random House confirmed that the 87-year-old reclusive novelist has finished his latest work, "Shadow Ticket", which will be released in October.

"Shadow Ticket" will be Pynchon’s 10th book and eighth novel. It’s the first thing the author has released since his last novel, 2013’s ‘Bleeding Edge’.

Set during the Great Depression in Milwaukee, the novel follows private eye Hicks McTaggart investigating the location of a Wisconsin cheese heiress, before being whisked away on a cruise to Hungary that sees him entangled with “Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them”.

“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”, the publisher’s blurb reveals.

As with his past two novels "Bleeding Edge" and "Inherent Vice", the plot sounds full-on Pynchonesque with its genre-bending absurd take on history.

A new release from the writer makes 2025 a double feature year from the respected postmodernist. Last month, the first trailer came out for Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film'One Battle After Another', which is reportedly loosely based on Pynchon’s third novel "Vineland".

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti, 'One Battle After Another' is set for a late September release.

This isn’t the first time that Anderson has adapted a Pynchon novel. His 2014 film 'Inherent Vice' was a surprisingly faithful adaptation of his 2009 novel. From industry reports and the trailer’s first look, this adaptation seems looser, at minimum bringing the 80s setting of "Vineland" into contemporary times.

Since Pynchon’s debut novel "V." in 1963, he has become renowned for his complex plots, bracingly vibrant humour, and razor-sharp societal commentary. He is most famous for "Gravity’s Rainbow" released in 1973 and considered his magnum opus. Like the rest of his work, it tackles a huge breadth of themes through its elaborate plotting. For many, it is a masterpiece of the postmodern era.

Pynchon may be considered one of the greatest postmodern writers alongside John Barth and Samuel Beckett, but his placement in literary history hasn’t made him a public figure. Since 1963, Pynchon has been a social recluse, eschewing media interviews.

Little is known about Pynchon from where he lives to even what he looks like. The latest photos of the writer publicly available are from his college days, while most accounts of his life come from childhood friends.

Pynchon’s voice has only been featured a few times in mainstream media. He’s given two cameo voice-over appearances in episodes of ‘The Simpsons’ playing himself as a reclusive artist desperate for attention. The other time was in the trailer of Anderson’s 'Inherent Vice' and also reportedly has a small role in the final film.