Description
'Steeped in poison, betrayal, and debauchery, reading Navola is like slipping into a luxurious bath full of blood.' Holly Black
Navola is a city built on trade.
Its palazzos and towers are conjured from its merchant wealth: barley and rice, flax and wool, iron and silver, arms, armies, lives and kingdoms are all traded here.
And presiding over it all, the Regulai bank. By guile, force of arms and the cast-iron might of their money and promises, in just three generations the Regulai family have risen far from their humble origins: merchants beg their backing, artists their patronage, princes an invitation to dine at their table. The Regulai say they are not political, but their wealth buys cities and topples kingdoms.
Soon, Davico di Regulai will take the reins of power. But the boy is not well-suited for his role. His heart is soft where it should be hard. He is credulous when he should be suspicious. He is tired of being tested and trained to inherit a legacy he is not sure he wants.
But Davico is inextricably tangled in fate's net and his doubts can only summon ruin.
In the shade of Navola's colonnaded porticoes, his family's enemies gather and plot.
In the shadows of its deep catacombs, assassins sharpen their stiletto knives.
In the kingdoms of Cerulean Peninsula, princes and despots muster their armies.
Davico's only hope rests in the heart of a girl whose own family was destroyed by the Regulai, and in a crystalline orb the size of a human head, said to be the eye of a long-dead dragon.
High renaissance politics, black vengeance and dragon magic, Navola is a towering fantasy landmark from the award-winning author of The Windup Girl.
About the Author
Paolo Bacigalupi is the author of The Windup Girl and The Tangled Lands. He is a National Book Award Finalist, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, John W. Campbell Award, and a three-time winner of the Locus Award. He lives in Colorado with his wife and son.
Reviews
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 * Daily Mail *
'Steeped in poison, betrayal, and debauchery, reading Navola is like slipping into a luxurious bath full of blood.' -- Holly Black
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 JonesBacigalupi dazzles in this addictive account of the rivalries between powerful families in a brilliantly rendered fantastical world inspired by 15th-century Florence. * Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW *
[A] masterful fantasy epic... all of the sf/f fan-favorite Bacigalupi hallmarks are here: deep character development and astounding world-building, but this time with dragons * Booklist, STARRED REVIEW *
The triumph of Navola is that so often it's genuinely innovative, a fantasy novel that you didn't know you wanted to read * SFX, 5* *
A rewarding, slow-release pleasure... has real punch and power * The Herald, Book of the Month *
Very much in the George R. R. Martin style. Very readable * Bookseller's Circle *
A beautifully written book with some deep world building that draws the reader in * SF Book Reviews *
It's no wonder that readers of multivolume fantasies have grown wary of starting new series before they're concluded. George R.R. Martin's fans have waited 13 years and counting for The Winds of Winter. Patrick Rothfuss's readers have been waiting just as long for the last installment of his Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. Susanna Clarke ended Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell with a hook that portended a sequel; 20 years on, illness has prevented her from writing the intended continuation. Navola, the new fantasy novel by Paolo Bacigalupi, is a long book, the first in a series, and it comes from an author known for taking his time. It ends with questions unanswered, secrets unrevealed, fates unknown and grave wrongs unavenged. But as eager as I am to know what happens next, Navola would stand among the best of its genre even if a second volume never appeared. * Washington Post *
An absolute triumph! This has it all, ruling powers and the plots against them, corruption, betrayal, and brooding in the background the crystallised eye of what is believed to be an ancient dragon. [. . .] Powerful and exciting, Navola spins into life drawing you into its orbit, what a wondrous ride it is! * LoveReading *
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 * Locus *
The triumph of Navola is that so often it's genuinely innovative, a fantasy novel you didn't know you wanted to read. -- 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'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 *
In Navola, Bacigalupi has constructed a detailed image of a cut-throat world which would not be at all comfortable to live in. It is a very good novel indeed * Parsec *
A multi-layered and complex narrative which is hugely entertaining * Grimdark Magazine *
Bacigalupi is one of those rare writers - think Ursula Le Guin and Patrick Rothfuss - who excel at nuanced worldbuilding * Straits Times *
Book Information
ISBN 9781035908677
Author Paolo Bacigalupi
Format Paperback
Page Count 576
Imprint Head of Zeus -- an AdAstra Book
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
