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Navola
Reader Score
80%
80% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Great
Based on 4 reviews on
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Windup Girl and The Water Knife comes a sweeping literary historical fantasy about the young scion from a ruling-class family who faces rebellion as he ascends to power. "Steeped in poison, betrayal, and debauchery, reading Navola is like slipping into a luxurious bath full of blood." --Holly Black, #1 New York Times best-selling author "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.
Book Details
- Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
- Publish Date: Jul 9th, 2024
- Pages: 576
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 9.30in - 6.50in - 1.60in - 1.90lb
- EAN: 9780593535059
- Categories: • Fantasy - Epic• Fantasy - Historical
About the Author
PAOLO BACIGALUPI is the author of The Water Knife and The Windup Girl, as well as the YA novel Ship Breaker, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He has won a Hugo and a Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and he is a three-time winner of the Locus Award. He lives in Colorado.
Critics’ reviews
Praise for this book
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
--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