4.3
-
225 ratings
From the New York Times best-selling author of Wind-Up Girl and The Water Knife comes a sweeping literary fantasy about the young scion from a ruling class family who faces rebellion as he ascends to power.
"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 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.
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ISBN-10
1035908646
ISBN-13
978-1035908646
Print length
577 pages
Language
English
Publisher
BLOOMSBURY
Publication date
July 01, 2024
Dimensions
5.75 x 1.54 x 9.02 inches
Item weight
1.11 pounds
ASIN :
B0CL65D2JY
File size :
4664 KB
Text-to-speech :
Enabled
Screen reader :
Supported
Enhanced typesetting :
Enabled
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Enabled
Word wise :
Enabled
Praise for Paolo Bacigalupi's Navola
“Navola stand[s] among the best of its genre. . . . [Bacigalupi] proceeds at a statelier pace and with more elegant prose [than Game of Thrones]. But Bacigalupi writes well enough that the book would be commendable even if the protagonist’s idyll continued to its last page. . . . Over the course of this long novel, Bacigalupi shares the names of many other invented cities and states, from Avillion to Zurom. We can only hope that each one of these locales receives a novel as rich and engrossing as Navola.” —Matthew Keeley, The Washington Post
“Compelling and thoroughly immersive. . . . Bacigalupi has long been skilled at drawing characters seeking equilibrium while being buffeted by forces beyond their control, and Davico may be his strongest such character yet. . . . [Navola is] undeniably new territory for Bacigalupi, and it’s a pleasure to report that his most impressive narrative strengths have ported over intact.” —Gary K. Wolfe, Locus
“Gorgeously detailed and utterly immersive, Navola must stand as one of the greatest and grandest fantasy novels of the modern era, its all-too real horrors beautifully measured. Nothing short of a masterpiece, it holds, horrifies and delights.” —Daily Mail
"Steeped in poison, betrayal, and debauchery, reading Navola is like slipping into a luxurious bath full of blood." —Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Medici Florence meets Tony Soprano’s New Jersey—with a delicious dash of high fantasy and a heavy splattering of blood. Navola is a grand feat of imagination by a storyteller at the peak of his powers.” —Dan Jones, New York Times best-selling author of Essex Dogs
“Compelling and thoroughly immersive. . . . Bacigalupi has long been skilled at drawing characters seeking equilibrium while being buffeted by forces beyond their control, and Davico may be his strongest such character yet. . . . [Navola is] undeniably new territory for Bacigalupi, and it’s a pleasure to report that his most impressive narrative strengths have ported over intact.” —Gary K. Wolfe, Locus
“The triumph of Navola is that so often it’s genuinely innovative, a fantasy novel you didn’t know you wanted to read.” —Jonathan Wright, SFX
“Bacigalupi’s latest work demonstrates his mastery of epic fantasy. . . . Dense with lore and nuance, this tale is one to savor, and I found myself disappointed to emerge from Navola’s pages with sequels not already at my eager fingertips. A definite must-read for fans of Patrick Rothfuss, Cate Glass, and the historical drama Medici.” —Lindsey B. King, 5280
“Lots of epic fantasies get compared to Game of Thrones these days. But this sweeping literary tale of the young heir of an influential banking family who faces rebellion as he ascends to power in a world inspired by 15th-century Florence might actually deserve it.” —Paste Magazine, “The Most Anticipated Fantasy Books of Summer 2024”
“Bacigalupi dazzles in this addictive account of the rivalries between powerful families in a brilliantly rendered fantastical world inspired by 15th-century Florence . . . Admirers of Game of Thrones and Dorothy Dunnett’s House of Niccolò series will be riveted.” —Publishers Weekly, starred
“Politics, passion, poison, blood, and betrayal are melded into a masterful fantasy epic of nonstop action that is just begging for a sequel. All of the [science fiction / fantasy] fan-favorite Bacigalupi hallmarks are here: deep character development and astounding world-building, but this time with dragons.” —Booklist, starred review
“Sharp enough to draw blood. [Navola] employs [painful and political] elements extremely effectively.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Bacigalupi’s new genre-bending fantasy is a coming-of-age tale set in a mob-like family, full of intrigue, betrayal, and the lust for power, status, and money. For readers who enjoy fantasy full of political and family intrigue, such as A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, and for those who like coming-of-age stories focusing on a young man’s battles, such as The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.” —Library Journal
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Paolo Bacigalupi
Paolo Bacigalupi’s writing has appeared in WIRED Magazine, Slate, Medium, Salon.com, and High Country News, as well as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. His short fiction been nominated for three Nebula Awards, four Hugo Awards, and won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction short story of the year. It is collected in PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES, a Locus Award winner for Best Collection and also a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly.
His debut novel THE WINDUP GIRL was named by TIME Magazine as one of the ten best novels of 2009, and also won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Compton Crook, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards. Internationally, it has won the Seiun Award (Japan), The Ignotus Award (Spain), The Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis (Germany), and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire (France).
His debut young adult novel, SHIP BREAKER, was a Micheal L. Printz Award Winner, and a National Book Award Finalist, and its sequel, THE DROWNED CITIES, was a 2012 Kirkus Reviews Best of YA Book, A 2012 VOYA Perfect Ten Book, and 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist.
He has also written ZOMBIE BASEBALL BEATDOWN for middle-grade children, about zombies, baseball, and, of all things, meatpacking plants. Another novel for teens, THE DOUBT FACTORY, a contemporary thriller about public relations and the product defense industry was a both an Edgar Award and Locus Award Finalist.
Paolo's latest novel for adults is The New York Times Bestseller THE WATER KNIFE, a near-future thriller about climate change and drought in the southwestern United States. A new novel set in the Ship Breaker universe, TOOL OF WAR, will be released in October.
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Customer reviews
4.3 out of 5
225 global ratings
A. Markworth
5
Paolo doesn’t miss
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024
Verified Purchase
Really is Game of thrones, godfather, and Shawshank redemption all rolled into one. Italian city state Grimdark for sure but with a dash of mythic fantasy. Highly recommended as well as his other adult novels.
2 people found this helpful
A. Markworth
5
Paolo doesn’t miss
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024
Verified Purchase
Really is Game of thrones, godfather, and Shawshank redemption all rolled into one. Italian city state Grimdark for sure but with a dash of mythic fantasy. Highly recommended as well as his other adult novels.
2 people found this helpful
Cristi
5
Stunning and thought-provoking!
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
Verified Purchase
Beautifully written, I truly never knew what would happen next. A fascinating blend of internal thought and bloody intrigue, I just finished it and I want to read it again immediately.
2 people found this helpful
Tamberleigh
5
Politics, politicians and plots (and dragons!)
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2024
This isn’t exactly an action packed book — not until the last quarter, anyway. For the large part, this is a slice of life story of Davico, son of the most powerful man in Navola, grandson and great grandson of powerful merchant bankers who have defended and shaped and ruled the city quietly, efficiently, ruthlessly. Davico is raised not only by his father but his father’s mistress, a slave woman; powerful soldiers, cunning assassins, brilliant men who show him the beauty and power of the world he is to inherit ..
It’s four hundred pages of a young man watching and listening, occasionally learning as he sits in a garden and learns about bees; goes to parties, faces down assassination attempts and just, in general, lives his life in a protected bubble. And it’s a beautiful bubble. There’s a reason the book is named after the city of Navola and not Davico or his family. Navola is beautiful, intricate, decadent and debauched. And yet, at the same time, widows and orphans are fed, artists abound, and life — on the surface — is good.
The story is a bit … drifty and thoughtful because Davico, a spoiled young man who is taught to be brilliant but never ambitious, is drifty and thoughtful. He’d like to be a doctor, gathering herbs in the woods and enjoying a life of peace and quiet — because he’s never seen the darker side of life, the one of hard work, pain and suffering. He loves his adopted sister, sees her as a glorious figure — while ignoring how she was brought to his house, on a night of fire and fear, ripped from her father and mother and held hostage by Davico’s father.
The final quarter is fast, but not rushed, as things happen to Davico — because Davico has never had to make things happen in his life — and the leisurely building of characters and politics snaps into place. And yet, Davico is still sympathetic as his kindness and genial obliviousness are turned to anger and hatred, as he is finally able to use his true talents, the ones his father never taught him.
Oh, and there’s a dragon, so that’s neat.
The dragon is a promise, a brief glimpse of something at the beginning and then a promise made at the end that should make the next book very, very interesting. It’s a long book, but worth the read, well plotted and I enjoyed every single part of it. Some people may find it slow, but that slowness is to a point, to build up both the city and Davico before they’re both burnt down to ashes.
I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy
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4 people found this helpful
Tamberleigh
5
Politics, politicians and plots (and dragons!)
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2024
This isn’t exactly an action packed book — not until the last quarter, anyway. For the large part, this is a slice of life story of Davico, son of the most powerful man in Navola, grandson and great grandson of powerful merchant bankers who have defended and shaped and ruled the city quietly, efficiently, ruthlessly. Davico is raised not only by his father but his father’s mistress, a slave woman; powerful soldiers, cunning assassins, brilliant men who show him the beauty and power of the world he is to inherit ..
It’s four hundred pages of a young man watching and listening, occasionally learning as he sits in a garden and learns about bees; goes to parties, faces down assassination attempts and just, in general, lives his life in a protected bubble. And it’s a beautiful bubble. There’s a reason the book is named after the city of Navola and not Davico or his family. Navola is beautiful, intricate, decadent and debauched. And yet, at the same time, widows and orphans are fed, artists abound, and life — on the surface — is good.
The story is a bit … drifty and thoughtful because Davico, a spoiled young man who is taught to be brilliant but never ambitious, is drifty and thoughtful. He’d like to be a doctor, gathering herbs in the woods and enjoying a life of peace and quiet — because he’s never seen the darker side of life, the one of hard work, pain and suffering. He loves his adopted sister, sees her as a glorious figure — while ignoring how she was brought to his house, on a night of fire and fear, ripped from her father and mother and held hostage by Davico’s father.
The final quarter is fast, but not rushed, as things happen to Davico — because Davico has never had to make things happen in his life — and the leisurely building of characters and politics snaps into place. And yet, Davico is still sympathetic as his kindness and genial obliviousness are turned to anger and hatred, as he is finally able to use his true talents, the ones his father never taught him.
Oh, and there’s a dragon, so that’s neat.
The dragon is a promise, a brief glimpse of something at the beginning and then a promise made at the end that should make the next book very, very interesting. It’s a long book, but worth the read, well plotted and I enjoyed every single part of it. Some people may find it slow, but that slowness is to a point, to build up both the city and Davico before they’re both burnt down to ashes.
I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy
Read more
4 people found this helpful
4.2
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100,022
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155,575
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143,196
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