Navola

A Novel

by Paolo Bacigalupi

English language

Published 2024 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-53505-9

(3 reviews)

"You must be as sharp as a stilettotore’s dagger and as subtle as a fish beneath the waters. This is what it is to be Navolese, this is what it is to be di Regulai."

In Navola, a bustling city-state dominated by a handful of influential families, business is power, and power is everything. For generations, the di Regulai family—merchant bankers with a vast empire—has nurtured tendrils that stretch to the farthest reaches of the known world. And though they claim not to be political, their staggering wealth has bought cities and toppled kingdoms. Soon, Davico di Regulai will be expected to take the reins of power from his father and demonstrate his mastery of the games of Navolese knowing who to trust and who to doubt, and how to read what lies hidden behind a smile. But in Navola, strange and ancient undercurrents lurk behind the gilt and grandeur—like …

"You must be as sharp as a stilettotore’s dagger and as subtle as a fish beneath the waters. This is what it is to be Navolese, this is what it is to be di Regulai."

As tensions rise and the events unfold, Davico will be tested to his limits. His fate depends on the eldritch dragon relic and on what lies buried in the heart of his adopted sister, Celia di Balcosi, whose own family was destroyed by Nalova’s twisted politics. With echoes of Renaissance Italy, The Godfather , and Game of Thrones , Navola is a stunning feat of world-building and a mesmerizing depiction of drive and will.

3 editions

Zivan reviewed Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi

Review of 'Navola' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is a different Paulo Bacigalupi, this is not eco-dystopia.

I appreciate his willingness to take a chance and break into new territory.

This is low magic historical fantasy about an Italian city-state, with its dirty politics.

But while the scheming, plotting and murder are what drive the plot, it is a character driven novel. It is told in first person by Davico, the young heir to a banking family's fortune, and features his talented step sister, a hostage from a fallen noble family that plotted against the bank.

The world building is rich, with a vast trove of myths and legends that inform the characters world view.

Davico is surrounded by a group of his father's best officers that try to teach him how to play the deadly game of politics. But he would rather spend time with the doctor, learning about nature and plants. This is perhaps where Bachigalupi's ecological leanings shile through, as Davico is closer to nature and the mythic than to capitalism and power politics.

This is ultimately a tragedy, Davico is writing a memoir from a dark and harsh place. But the way we get there and the role of the dragon's eye in it where not what I expected.

Narrated by Marc Vietor, the audiobook is excellent and the Italian names and words still ring in my ears.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but I see some parallels to Paul Atreides. There are no Fremen, there is no Spice, but it can be interpreted as the story of a Paul who rejected the call to power.

Tak! reviewed Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi

Navola

5 stars

What a rollercoaster!

Navola could not be more different than Bacigalupi's excellent despairpunk scifi, with the exception that it is also excellent.

karlhungus

rated it

October 13

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