The Regulai name is legendary. Davico di Regulai’s ancestors include warriors, politicians, and bankers who shape not just the city of Navola but the world around them. Davico was raised to be the perfect heir to his master manipulator father, but Paolo Bacigalupi’s engrossing new novel Navola is a tale of what happens to people who get caught up in the webs of those who practice to deceive.

We meet Davico as a young man, scarcely ten years old, at his accounting lessons. His tutors are doing their best to drill finances, contracts, law, and the fine art of faccioscuro—hiding one’s emotions behind a deceptive or unreadable face—so that he can take over his father’s many schemes. He’s a privileged young man. In his spare time, he can roam the palazzo, the city, and the nearby countryside with his dog and his pony. In the background, however, we can see that his father, his tutors, and his father’s consort are worried that Davico is too naive and too kind to truly take his father’s place. Even after Davico sees ample evidence of his father’s willingness to use violence and coercion when guile fails, he can’t see the potential consequences of forcing an entire city and its neighbors to bend to the di Regulai will.

When things turn for Davico and the di Regulai family, they turn spectacularly. The last third of this book is dark. Fans of the politics in George R.R. Martin’s books will devour Navola. I loved how Bacigalupi was able to create a wonderfully realistic character such as Davico at the same time as he builds a complex, Italian Renaissance-inspired world up around Davico. Savvy readers will probably be able to spot the downfall of the di Regulai from the clues that Davico’s innocent nature simply doesn’t see. From the beginning of the novel, there are scenes between Davico’s father and the leaders of Navola that made me wonder if there was someone plotting revenge against the di Regulai’s scheming. People will only take so much before they snap.

I don’t know if Bacigalupi has plans for a sequel to Navola. He leaves the door open for one and, even though parts of this book are absolutely harrowing, I would love to return to this world and its characters. I want to know if the wheel of Fortune will bring the di Regulai name back to power.

This book. I have such mixed feelings about this book. I want to love it, but I can't. I want to hate it, but I can't.

First off, this book starts out slow. And I mean like snail pace slow. It took me four days to get through the first 150 pages because it was so slow that I kept falling asleep. I almost DNFed it. However, it started to pick up a little after that but still didn't really grip my interest until about 250 pages in. The amount of backstory written is excessive, in my opinion. Yes, some backstory is always nice, but the first third of the book is mainly backstory. I found this to be highly unnecessary since no intense world building was required. I think if that would have been condensed, I would have like the story so much more.

The characters in this book are all atrocious. Everyone is a liar. Everyone is prone to betrayal. Everyone only looks out for their best interest. Then you have poor Davico. I don't know how he came to be as a person in such a wretched land, but he is so gentle and innocent compared to those around him. I feel really bad and completely understand why he was tempted by the evil fossil sitting on the desk. It may be evil, but at least it's honest about it's intentions.

Once it finally got going, the plot was intriguing. Not as much fantasy as I would like to see in a fantasy novel, but the second half was still worth the read and did incorporate more of the fantasy elements I was looking for.

Feels more like historical fiction than fantasy - this is an Italian Renaissance inspired tale of warring families led by greed and a lust for power. It is a story of one son who has been groomed to inherit a banking empire if he can survive. Through assassins, allies and backroom deals with enemies Davico learns how to be master of his empire if he can learn who to trust. An odd artifact of his father's, a dragon's eye, will unleash a powerful ally if Davico can learn to control it. This is a vibrant world the author has created that will appeal to GAME OF THRONES and MEDICI fans. The ending leaves us to believe there will be more to come. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I ended up taking this a bit slower than I personally expected, but I honestly don't mind that it took me longer to read, as it ended up sitting more and more in the back of my head a la the dragon eye that you see on the cover design. This is a fantasy of an Italy where there is absolutely magic and dragons, but it is rooted primarily in the political plays from the point of view of the son who never quite lived up to what his father's vision for him was. This builds amazingly as the plot goes on, though we are admittedly limited to this being a male POV (I legit wanted to know more about Asha and Celia throughout the story). If you want a fantasy Medici Italy and all the political maneuverings therein, it's definitely worth your read when this comes out this summer.

I've loved every book of his that I've read, and this is no exception. It reads more like historical fiction, set in an area of nation states like medieval Italy. Our Hero is the scion of the city of Navola's most powerful family - the bankers. Rich prose with deeply drawn characters and amazing world building, plus a large dose of political intrigue and hidden agendas. I usually have trouble with long books, but this one sped by - looking at my percentage complete slowly creeping up my reaction was more 'oh boy, lots to go' than 'am I only x% through after all this reading'! His other books that I've read are much more in the science fiction genre, this is literary fiction with just a touch of fantasy. Other reviews thought the main character rather weak minded and easily led. True but realistic. He's the spoiled only son of a powerful leader and has never had to think for himself. He's spent his entire life being groomed to take over the family business, and it does not come naturally to him - or at all, really. He does finally grow a spine, but it takes most of the book. My only slight issue was that the penultimate act is really drawn out and painful, way more than needed to get the idea across. Then the ending felt a bit rushed in comparison. I hope Bacigalupi writes a sequel, I'd love to spend more time in this world, with these characters!

Wow, wow, wow. I didn’t think a book could take me back to the experience of reading Assassin’s Apprentice for the first time, but Paolo Bacigalupi’s Navola did just that. Set in a sort of Renaissance Italy steeped in political intrigue, the novel’s reluctant protagonist is Davico, a young man whose father practically owns the city-state of Navola due to his machinations and ample wealth. But Davico is different than his father–he’s smart, but no political genius. But he’s also the only one that senses something strange from the ancient fossilized dragon’s eye that sits on his father’s desk.

This is a lush, politically dense fantasy told from the POV of a teenager (thus, if you dislike LOTS of scene-setting and teenage boy navel gazing, this might not be the book for you). But wow, it was utterly immersive. It’s rare a book will keep me glued to it, but this one absolutely did. I can’t wait for more people to read it so we can discuss it!

This is a captivating story, although tough to initially get into. It has some whimsical features (like the dragon's eye) but also some elements of old world Italy, it almost feels like historical fiction at times. I think if you like stories such as Game of Thrones you will like the world of Navola. Stick with it.

This was a slow build, slow paced book, with very little happening until nearly the end. The world building was excellent, the background impeccable.... but I just kept waiting for the story to get going... and waiting and waiting.
I enjoyed the almost Italian/Renaissance feeling of the setting, the political machinations of the di Regulai family, I never felt truly immersed in the world and story.

While this one wasn't for me, I'll give other by Bacigalupi, based on how much I've enjoyed his other titles.

Thank you to NetGalley or the e-ARC

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of this book to review! Navola is outside of what I usually read, but I was excited for a change of pace! This review is based on my own opinions as a reader.

Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi is a captivating fantasy novel that transports readers to a richly detailed world reminiscent of Renaissance Italy. The author's exceptional world-building prowess is on full display, painting a vivid picture of the bustling city-state dominated by powerful merchant families. The introduction of the protagonist, Davico di Regulai, and the challenges he faces as the reluctant heir to his family's legacy is both compelling and well-executed.

The blending of historical fiction and epic fantasy elements, with echoes of The Godfather and Game of Thrones, makes for an engaging read. The pacing of the narrative is generally brisk, drawing the reader deeper into the intricate web of political machinations and family dynamics.

However, the lack of emphasis on the more fantastical elements, such as the fossilized dragon eye and its potential significance, was somewhat disappointing. Readers expecting a more overt magical or supernatural focus may feel let down. Additionally, the portrayal of violence, while adding depth to the narrative, can at times feel excessive and unnecessary.

Overall, Navola is a well-crafted novel that will captivate fans of intricate world-building and political intrigue. The richly imagined setting and the compelling character arcs make for an enjoyable reading experience, despite the occasional shortcomings in the representation of fantastical elements and the handling of violent content.

Everything you know and love about this author continues in this adult fantasy book! I love that Young adult authors are breaking out and writing at a new level! This was so good!

A story of the Italian Renaissance and the Medici - and a dragon’s eye that saves the life of a young man. I would like more!

Paolo Bacigalupi brings incredibly intricate worldbuilding, a harrowing tale of greed, revenge, and entirely too much longing after one's own (forcibly) adopted sister to the table with Navola. Davico is our hero in this story, and he is the heir to the great di Regulai merchant family, famed for their fairness, ruthlessness, and ability to run intellectual circles around the other great families that so envy their wealth and place in society. Unfortunately for little Davico, he feels fully eclipsed by his great father, and while trying to learn how to run an empire also must contend with finding a path for himself as he grows older and prepares to take the reins. However, unbeknownst to this great family, there are murmurs of discontent, scheming, and blades being drawn in the shadows against them, and Davico will need to muster all his strength just to survive the coming storm.

A truly great world is something I love to find in a book, and this epic fantasy provides a glimpse into a kind of fantasy Italy run by merchant princes, mercenaries, and backroom dealings. Things get derailed for me shortly after Davico's friendship with his adopted sister goes to a weird place, which becomes a truly destructive obsession for him for a majority of the rest of the book. I would have liked to see some of this cut in favor of the luscious descriptions, palace intrigue, and worldbuilding that I loved in this story.

**Thank you, Netgalley and publisher, for giving me an electronic ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I wish there was a glossary or footnotes that explained the latin and Italian words. While some of them were explained, I found myself googling more than reading. I was waiting for this book to be more fantasy as it was marketed however it wasn't like that all in my opinion. It was hard to get past the first couple of chapters that were just explaining the politics of the world.

This Italian-renaissance-adjacent-world fantasy is a rich, finely crafted and expertly built story. Davico di Regulai, the son of the Bull, Devonaci di Regulai, grows up under the enormous weight of responsibility that is the di Regulai house. Don’t expect this book to be high fantasy with elves and non-human characters. Navola is, as many other reviewers have pointed out, more of a historical fiction; however, the dragon eye and bits and pieces of the world Davico inhabits hints at magical roots. These roots send out tendrils and shoots into Navola, but seem to exist outside such a Cambios-centric (man-ordered) place. Davico learns to be worldwise at the hands of his father’s tutors, but it is from Maestro Dellacavallo that Davico learns more of the natural world and Firmos, just the opposite of Cambios.

The story is narrated by Davico, who relates events from his past with much nostalgia and sadness. He recognizes that he was a weak link in the tragedies that eventually befell him. Don’t worry, I’m not giving away anything you don’t read about within the first few chapters. I like this type of narration, and was not put off by a lack of tangible magic because I understand that the world-building is critical to the reader’s understanding of why things eventually happen the way they do. I also relish fiction that, while graphic, depicts the horror and reality of betrayal – read any history book to find similar tales.

If you liked Game of Thrones or The Fifth Season, you’ll enjoy this book. I am looking forward to the next stage in Davico’s journey.

Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for access to the ARC. All opinions stated here are my own, and I don’t receive any remuneration for my review.

I was disappointed in this effort from Bacigalupi. Half the book is spent world-building and introducing a host of characters. The amount of cruelty, violence and sexual references seems over the top for what was needed to establish that this is a world that runs on money, power and violence. If you are looking for a Renaissance Italy based historical "fantasy" featuring a dragon, look elsewhere. The relic of a dead dragon's eye is the only dragon you'll meet here. Judicious editing would have made this a better read; as it was, I slogged through to the end, hoping that something magical would finally happen after all of the cruelty and violence but sadly, it ends with even more violence and a "hint" letter from the main character that leads me to believe that there is a sequel planned? I don't think I'll invest another 10 hours of reading if the sequel is anything like the first volume.

I love the worldbuilding, and faux-Renaissance fantasy is always a favorite. It got really dark, though, as in I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading, but I took a break and then plowed on. Although there is hope at the end, it's so tempered with darkness at the protagonist's elbow (as he would himself admit), that while I'm interested to see how this world plays out, I'm so worried it will all end miserably. But I know I'll pick up the next book the second I can!

Paolo Bacigalupi is an author that hit big while I was in a reading hiatus. I missed the boat, but I’ve been meaning to circle back around and try his stuff. And while I don’t read quite as many big, fat fantasies as I used to, I still have a soft spot for them. So when I saw he was releasing an intricate historical fantasy with plenty of backstabbing and politics, I thought Navola was a great opportunity to give his work a try. 

Navola takes place in a heavily Italian-inspired fantasy world and follows the son of a powerful banking family as he struggles to live up to the cunning intelligence of his father and grandfather. It’s a slow build, following the lead from childhood into adolescence and early adulthood, and though the dragon eye on the cover is more than just window dressing, the story leans much more to the historical fantasy than to the magical. This is without a doubt a book for fans of politics and scheming. 

As perhaps should be unsurprising, Navola starts laying the groundwork for the political plots very quickly, but it takes a long time for the lead or the reader to really grasp the shape of things. The lead is long on empathy and short on ambition, and though he tries to be a dutiful son, none of the political maneuvering really comes naturally. And so we see his adolescence—the lessons, the friendships, the horniness, the doubts about his chosen path, all of it. And while it may not be clear exactly where the story is going during that time, it’s clear enough that it is indeed going somewhere, and the quality of the prose is high enough that reading never feels like a chore, even when the plot is opaque. 

And when the big seeds of plotting come due, they do so in a rush of blood and thunder that makes the book almost impossible to put down. There are times where the reader may see twists coming before the naive narrator does, but not so early that it spoils the tension or prevents those big moments from being utterly engrossing. 

For readers in search of sympathetic characters, there aren’t many. The lead’s empathy makes him one of the likeliest, but his adolescence shows off as much or more self-centeredness as you’d expect from a teenager, and the world is desperate to shape him into a manipulator who trusts no one and loves no one outside his own family. Make no mistake, this is a book written for those seeking a tale that’s short on goodness and trust and long on manipulation and violence. It gets dark—there’s backstabbing, torture, sexual violence—but it’s certainly entertaining always waiting to see which twist is happening next. 

Navola also isn’t an end to the story. In many ways, this is a book focused on shaping the main character to be what he needs to be for the rest of the series. A lot happens from a plot perspective, but it’s not a book that ends on a hero having accomplished his primary goal. There are significant character and plot arcs that more than justify Navola being its own book and not a mere piece of another book, but it’s absolutely designed as a series-starter. 

So should you read this book? Well, it depends on what you’re after. Thematically, it has plenty to say on how the hunger for power and wealth creates a world of violence and mistrust, but those aren’t exactly observations you can’t find explored just as well elsewhere. Really, this depends on what kind of fantasy you enjoy. If you’re a fan of dark, gritty political fantasy and don’t mind buckling up for a slow-building series of doorstoppers, step right up. That’s what Bacigalupi is going for, and his writing quality is on full display. But if that isn’t your style, this probably isn’t a book that’s going to change your mind. It does an excellent job of being what it wants to be, but it’s not out to transform a subgenre. Perhaps there’s a shift with the sequels–it certainly wouldn’t be the first series that started playing firmly within the existing expectations and branched out as the series progressed–but Navola as a novel is one for the fans of darkness and intrigue. 

Recommended if you like: historical fantasy, schemes and politics, books with no clear heroes. 

Overall rating: 17 of Tar Vol’s 20. Five stars on Goodreads.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed this book but it is definitely more of a historical fiction with a touch of fantasy. The world is reminiscent of Renaissance Italy. Davico is the only son of a prominent banker and we watch the many facets of his coming of age with all of the political intrigues and dangers. He is a bit of a whiner but it is understandable since he is young and has all of the pressures of being the only heir of men that are/were considered to be brilliant, brave and cunning. The story gets very dark toward the end, and I was pleasantly surprised with the finish.

This is a slow-paced coming of age tale, set in a world reminiscent of Renaissance Italy with its merchants, myriad competing political entities, and--of course--bloody feuds. The main character is terminally naive but does a good job of narrating the exciting events that happen around him and his mystical connection to a dead dragon's eye insert a plot-critical dash of fantasy into a well-build world.

Sadly, this wasn’t the book for me and I did not finish the book. This was marketed as an epic fantasy but it is not, with only mentions of a dragon’s eye. If you’re one who is interested in historical fiction with heavy political themes, this is the book for you.

Overall, the book is very slow paced and I really wish there was a glossary so I could follow what I assume is Italian or Latin phrases, which were partly explained, and go back for reference. I wanted to keep going to keep trying to give the book more and more of a chance, but I sadly couldn’t stick with this one. It’s very hard for me to not finish a book so i was disappointed.

There wasn’t anything at the beginning that happened to truly draw me in and feel connected to Davico as the main character. I don’t empathize or relate to him. There is a lot of information thrown at you so it was a little hard for me to follow along. I believe a glossary and a map could help with that.

I haven’t read very many first person books in a while and it was refreshing to see, especially as there are parts where Davico is talking to us, the reader. Davico starts the story off as a young boy who looks up to his father, a man with strong political power. There are time jumps over several chapters that disrupt the flow of the story and quite frankly reading the chapter where he hit puberty made me uncomfortable. It could have been the way it was written or how I am as a person but that was a no go for me. I can understand and am all for curiosity, but that’s not the way to do it and made me feel even more disconnected from the character. He became someone I didn’t want to root for. Celia is probably the most interesting character here due to what has happened to her and how she’s choosing to survive but not a lot is going on to further drive me to finish either of their stories.

I received an eARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.