Navola

Paolo Bacigalupi

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday

Publisher’s Summary: “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 diplomacy: 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 the fossilized dragon eye in the family’s possession, a potent symbol of their raw power and a talisman that seems to be summoning Davico to act. 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.

Navola is a triumphant historical fantasy that follows Davico di Regulai, the young and naïve scion of a wealthy banking family, as he struggles to gain the skills he will need to thrive in the cut-throat society he was born into and live up to his father’s demanding expectations. The di Regulai are merchant princes, warriors, and bankers who have spent centuries shaping the city of Navola to their whims, and their immense wealth has the power to topple kingdoms. As Davico struggles to acquire the skills he will need to take his place as the head of the di Regulai banking empire, the novel offers readers an unparalleled coming-of-age story set within a rich world evocative of Renaissance Italy with a fantastical twist. Navola is a stunning accomplishment from Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi, and is his first full-length novel in nearly a decade.

Bacigalupi is a wonderful storyteller, and Navola delivers on its ambitious premise with beautiful prose, stunning worldbuilding, and an overwhelming sense of place that draws the reader deeply into the story from the very first paragraph. It’s telling that Navola is the title of this novel: the city radiates an intense sense of purpose that shapes everyone who dwells within it. Either you adapt, or you die. Bacigalupi is not just fascinated with the lives of his characters, but also the way in which they covet power above all else. One of Navola’s greatest strengths is that it offers a masterclass in the study of power, how it is wielded, and how it can be gained or lost through cunning, misfortune, or the strategic understanding of how to manipulate both friend and foe. Each character has a story that revolves around having power, or a distinct lack thereof. They must employ every weapon, both subtle and overt, to find some semblance of safety. Navola is a deadly place, filled with deception and cunning, and only the strongest survive.

The action unfolds slowly, and much of the early story is dedicated to the years of Davico’s childhood, as he learns not only about the banking empire he is to inherit, but also to read and manipulate both his enemies and his allies through an art known as faccioscuro, or the ability to read what lies hidden upon someone’s face. Bacigalupi takes his time crafting a story that seems destined to become an epic, and much of the narrative lingers on the goodhearted but slightly spoiled young prince who finds himself at the crossroads of fate several times over the course of the novel. It’s not a surprise when the story takes a brutal turn, as the slow-build up prepares the reader for what is to come, but the violence is still shocking. Readers should be prepared for characters to be killed, maimed, and subjected to physical and psychological torture. At nearly 600 pages, the novel is long, but amply rewards the patient reader with a story of unparalleled worldbuilding and characterization.

Aside from Davico di Regulai, the other characters that round out the novel are a cunning, brutal, and fascinating bunch. Spies, assassins, merchant princes, slaves, foreign rivals, and even an adopted sister vie for power and influence. The reader gets the sense that each of them plays a dangerous game as they attempt to further their interests, and if Davico is the one who is slow to grasp what he must become to survive, the others are not as naïve. Celia, the young woman adopted into Davico’s household after her family suffers a brutal punishment at the hands of the di Regulai, is nearly as fascinating a character as Davico himself. Celia and Davico’s intertwined fates are one of the novel’s most interesting elements, and because we see Celia entirely through Davico’s perspective, attempting to parse her motivations from what he understands of her is one of the novel’s core strengths. Unlike Davico, Celia is masterful at the art of faccioscuro, and the novel deserves to be read simply to explore her character’s journey.

For a novel so grounded in realism, the inclusion of the fantastical lends a unique element to the novel. Bacigalupi has created a fantasy dialect reminiscent of Italian that further grounds readers within the world he has created, and an animistic religion that becomes more important in Davico’s life as he grows older. Perhaps one of the most fascinating elements in the novel is a fossilized dragon’s eye that Davico becomes enthralled with during his childhood. We read about the eye in the opening paragraphs of the novel, and its watchful, malevolent presence haunts the story. The dragon’s eye plays an important role in many key moments in the story, and when Davico’s fascination with the eye culminates near the end of the novel, the payoff is earned.

Navola’s ambitious blend of history, fantasy, and political machinations make for a masterful and engaging novel, and Bacigalupi leaves the story open-ended in anticipation of further installments. This first novel in what will surely become a highly regarded series is perfect for readers looking for an engrossing coming-of-age story with a brutal twist. Highly recommended.