Navola was my oldest unread ARC. Shortly after starting the book last year, I knew it needed time and focus to be enjoyed at its fullest depth. Immediately, the world of Navola is lush and immersive. I’m actually glad I was able to save this book for a less busy summer when I could relish the nuance of Davico’s character and the intrigue of his family’s business and politics. Navola reminded me of The Count of Monte Cristo, but with more of the pre-betrayal story. The fantastical aspects of the plot are downplayed so it nearly seems like a world without magic, but the dragon eye relic plays a major role in Davico’s life.

In the end, this book was an absolute masterpiece of worldbuilding, character development, and intrigue. I loved it from beginning to end, five stars!

This took me a really long time to get through. Generally I love world building and historical fiction but this book took it to an extreme. Most, I'd say 75%, of the book is world building. If you like a slow build up this is the book for you!

I wanted to like this book, but ultimately, the payoff takes too long to build up to. I think a slower pace is completely fine, but you have to invest your audience in the world and characters. The main character feels like he is filling an archetype as opposed to being an actual fleshed out person. The side characters pick up the slack, but there’s only so much one can do when the main character is…..meh. It was fine, but not a story I would continue on with in a series.

I know this book came out last year and normally I wouldn't bother to show up at this late date just to be a hater, but every time it comes up in conversation I have to explain to people why I didn't like it, and reader, I did not like it. It still gets three stars for the worldbuilding and general writing skills and because I enjoyed the first part, but oh my god, publishers, don't market a book as Game of Thrones meets Guy Gavriel Kay that then suddenly takes a hard turn into torture porn--a level of torture which I might add felt gratuitous to me after everything that had led up to it. And to be clear, my problem with NAVOLA certainly isn't that I can't deal with torture or grimdark or dark themes in fiction! I actually like Mark Lawrence and Pierce Brown and read all of Wolfe's Book of the New Sun (or for a really deep cut, Susan Matthews's Under Jurisdiction series); what failed for me here was the bait and switch aspect of it. Reading this was like watching a costume drama full of complicated morally ambiguous characters with a twisty plot and high production values that unexpectedly turns into the fantasy Renaissance version of a rape-revenge film, although thankfully without the rape but also without the revenge, for which we're apparently going to have to wait... two more years, or whenever Bacigalupi gets around to finishing the next book? Maybe I'll be curious enough by then to see if the payoff was worth the unpleasantness of the first book basically dropping me on my head, but I don't know if I trust the author or publisher enough to go there again.

This was a wild ride. It's a slow-mover with lots of beautiful description and many "daily life" scenes. About 70% in, it takes a turn with lots of action, and the emotional impact is increased by knowing more about the characters around the lead. There's lots of scheming amongst characters, so the twists are always surprising.

Honestly, it took a lot of effort on my part to read this. It's not exactly a page-turner that's going to keep you up at night, but it was an interesting story. I found the use of Italian (or some literary version of it) engaging. Overall though, it the last half of the book just left me feeling sad. There is a small part of fantasy involved, but if that's your go-to genre, this isn't for you. It felt like that element of the story was really cool but a bit underutilized. If you like world-building with lots of characters and aren't fazed by in-depth plots that take a bit to materialize and don't need everything tied up in a bow at the end, this is for you.

Navola is set in a fantasy recreation of Renaissance Italy, with only a faint magical luminosity pulsing through its mythology and through a dragon’s eye introduced in the novel’s first chapter. The worldbuilding reminds me of Guy Gavriel Kay, who writes novels reimagining various historical times and places as fantasy worlds. Fortunately, this is exactly the kind of novel I love. The political intrigue is first-rate and reminded me of both Dune and Game of Thrones; like those works, the novel centers on a young man coming of age in a family that must fight for its survival among enemies who circle like wolves.
Navola feels like one of those worlds that you could step into and live within, and yet you’re glad you can close it and return to reality.

There is an open ending to this story. It leaves off in a perfect spot for a sequel, though I don’t know if one is in the works. If not, I can imagine how Davico’s story might continue. I will definitely pick it up if it does happen.

I wanted to love this book, but after many tries I wasn't able to love it!
The paving, character build and just keeping you engaged was rough!

This was to be fantasy but I found it be be a slow moving political read!

With this more political, it's hard to engage with the characters!

It seems the way this ended, there may be a sequel but the pacing leaves me wondering if I will continue!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback

I wanted to love this I really did, but I decided to DNF at 10%/Chapter 6. There were things that were intriguing, and I know people will enjoy this book, but it just isn't for me.

This is being marketed as fantasy and while technically it is, there has only been mention of a single fantasy element (dragon's eye) in the first two chapters. Obviously I'm sure it's going to be mentioned again, but I just expected more 'fantasy" I guess, so that's on me. Maybe there will be later, but right now it's just Renaissance Italy and a powerful business family. I love political intrigue, so that's what was keeping me going to here, but honestly it's not catching me enough ti keep going.

If you're looking for some political intrigue and is VERY light on the fantasy (at least in the first 5 chapters) then give this a whirl.

Navola is a gripping story set in a dangerous, power-driven city-state. It follows Davico di Regulai, heir to a powerful family, as he faces betrayal, power struggles, and the harsh realities of loyalty and ambition. It’s a reminder that power is fragile, and loyalty can be deadly. You’re shown how ambition and family loyalty often clash, leading to personal and societal collapse.

While I enjoyed the overall story it does have its faults. Pacing seems to be a hit or miss during the story but when it hit it hits. There are some darker moments in the book that seem a little too unnecessary but overall it’s excels in world building and a gripping tale.

If you're into gritty, thought-provoking reads that challenge the nature of power and loyalty, Navola gives you all that in a quick, sharp hit.

I only made it through about six chapters before I had to give up. The huge blocks of exposition, the neverending wordiness thanks to the piling on of prepositional phrases and the repetitive syntax, and the confusing mess of what I think was supposed to be worldbuilding but ended up just being a dump of unexplained, contextless terms.....

It was exhausting to read just the opening few chapters, and I couldn't imagine 600 more pages of it. I loved Bacigalupi's YA and middle grade books--and so did my students--but this attempt at adult fantasy just did not work.


***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.***

This is a very well written book. So much so that it was completely immersive and gripping even though nothing much actually happened until about 80% into to the book, when suddenly something completely unexpected and devastating happens. Woah. If that was the end of the book I'd never pick up another by Bacigalupi. But, such a good storyteller is he, in the remaining 20% basically told another story altogether, which got my mental wheels spinning imagining where we're going from here. So, I'm hooked. But still shocked.

Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi is a strikingly original and thought-provoking science fiction novel that explores the delicate balance between humanity and technology in a dystopian future. Set in a world where advanced technologies collide with environmental collapse, the story follows a protagonist navigating the complexities of survival, identity, and moral dilemmas. Bacigalupi’s writing is sharp and immersive, with a world that feels both incredibly detailed and unsettlingly real. The novel’s exploration of ethics, personal sacrifice, and the long-term consequences of unchecked technological advancement makes Navola an intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant read. Fans of speculative fiction will find this novel to be a compelling and challenging journey.

While Navola has some strong elements—particularly its political worldbuilding—it struggles with pacing, character depth, and overall engagement. The novel reads more like a historical chronicle than a fantasy adventure, with long stretches of slow-moving political discussions and day-to-day noble training. It takes over 170 pages for anything remotely interesting to happen, and even then, the momentum quickly stalls.

The writing style, which leans heavily on exposition, makes it difficult to become emotionally invested in the characters. If you’re expecting a rich fantasy world with magic, action, or adventure, you’ll likely be disappointed. However, if you enjoy slow-burn historical politics and Renaissance-style court intrigue, you may find Navola more appealing.

The ending was satisfying and hinted at a sequel, but given the slow pace of this book, I’m unsure if I’ll continue the series.

In a word: Ew.

There were a lot of things about this book that made me want to like it. The first half shows excellent world building and has a lot of very well structured palace intrigue. But the second half is essentially nothing but the protagonist being horribly tortured over and over. I’m talking hundreds of pages of nothing but torture and suffering.

Though I think the book poses some interesting questions about what makes a successful ruler rather than a just and likable one (as Fantasy books are usually wont to do), it all breaks down when the story is reduced to the endless torment of the main character.

Our protagonist is weak, and it is his weakness that leaves him vulnerable to this. An excellent commentary on why his kingdom was overthrown and why he isn’t fit to rule. But as a justification for torture porn? Nope. For the record I’m not sure there is ever a justification for torture porn, but this certainly isn’t it.

And it’s difficult to endure with him knowing that all of this came about through no real fault of his own. Sins of the father, and all that, but the egregiousness of it beggars both belief and the ability of your stomach to not revolt while reading it.

A toned down version of this would have been excellent. A sort of combination of Game of Thrones style high fantasy and something of Late Medieval Italy with a few fantastical elements thrown in. But in the end, there’s too much horrific (but only for shock value) content, and there’s no pleasure or even any real lesson for the reader in hundreds of pages of torture.

One piece of good news: The dog will be ok. But otherwise: Yuck.

Intriguing, old-school political fantasy which is relatively light on fantastical elements, for a book with a dragon's eye on its cover. Reminds me of Goblin Emperor in its somewhat naive protagonist who is an innocent in a cutthroat world.

Note to self: do not request sweeping historical fantasy and try to read it on maternity leave. You will hate it and it will not work out. Wish I felt differently!

This is a beautifully written story that follows a man through various stages of his life, set against the backdrop of old Italy. We see him as a young boy learning about life and his family, a young man preparing to step into the family business as a banker, and as an adult grappling with the collapse of his life and how he deals with his losses. Although this wasn’t my favorite genre, I can truly appreciate the skillful writing. I’d recommend it to those who enjoy coming-of-age stories set in historical settings.

It’s tricky to write this review- Paolo Bacigalupi is a masterful writer and one of my favorites so it’s hard to admit that this book was a tough one to read. The part I struggled with the most was the pacing and the sheer amount of detail. It took me a month to get about halfway through and in that first part not much happened. If you are someone who enjoys immersing themselves in a highly detailed world then you may get more enjoyment out of the first part of the novel. The story does start to pick up and fill in around the halfway point and I found myself more interested in what was happening. There was an incredible amount of political intrigue and betrayals and backstabbing that kept the pace of the second half more interesting to follow. Last but not least on a personal note - I always want there to be more dragon and I wish the mystery of Davico’s link to the dragon eye played more of a part in the story.

Thanks to Knopf Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
4.5/5

"Of the dragon eye's authenticity there could be no doubt. It was not round as one might think; it retained tendrils of draconic nerves crystallized- fine shards, sharp as daggers- that trailed from hind the eye so that it was less an orb than a teardrop."

Sometimes a story just feels like it comes out of nowhere and takes you completely by surprise. Did I request this because of the cover and it said "dragon".....I sure did. Did it end up being something totally different from what I expected.....boy, did it ever!!! This has to be the most subtle dragon fantasy I have ever read, if you are looking for dragon battles, this is not your book. However, it is so well worth your time to sink into the gorgeous prose and lose yourself with the di Regulai of Navola. This reads more like historical fiction and the parallels to the Medici's and Florence are certainly there, as are all the political machinations, feud's, betrayals and surprising turns. The world of Navola is lush, full of good wines, food and a marvelous cast of characters. The story is told by Davico di Regulai, the only son and heir to the banking house of the di Regulai and the pressures to live up to his father's expectations are tremendous. As Davico navigates these pressures, the enemies of the di Regulai are constantly trying to undermine and overthrow them and Davico finds he somehow has a bond with the spirt of the dragon in the dragon's eye.

I was so engrossed in this story even though it is slow paced, it just doesn't want to let you go. This world is so beautifully realized, and the writing just carries you fully into it, and you find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering what is coming next for Davico. The characters are flawed, and full of life, I loved Celia and Cazzetta, the family's stilettotore, they bring so much to Davico's life, and you just know there is going to be pain at some point. I listened to the audiobook, and it was wonderfully read. If you are a fan of Guy Gavriel Kay, I think you will enjoy Navola, this is an author and a story that is well worth the time you spend with it. This is not a stand-alone and I am so looking forward to the next book in this series to see what Davico does next!!