All my kudos go to Salman Rushdie for writing an ancient epic (merged with magic realism) that captivated my attention all the way through. Rushdie somehow fictionalized the history of the 15th century Vijayanagara empire into a compelling, detailed, and entertaining story about a near-goddess woman named Pampa Kamapana, who lives to watch the empire grow and fold and who has great wisdom and influence over its existence.

Reading Victory City was like reading only the juiciest, most compelling parts of history - but of course with a little magic. It was FUN, while still making comments about the newly globalizing world pre-colonialism and the telling of history.