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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This book was described as The God Father meets Game of Thrones, and boy does this read like it. It gave off the same feeling of watching an endless 3 hour movie and you don’t really know what’s going on but your having fun.
The last 1/4 of this book really drove home my rating, but the first 3/4 were a struggle to get through only because it was mostly world and politic building.
I can’t tell if this is a standalone or the start of a series but either way I think it’s a great dark Italy inspired fantasy read!
The last 1/4 of this book really drove home my rating, but the first 3/4 were a struggle to get through only because it was mostly world and politic building.
I can’t tell if this is a standalone or the start of a series but either way I think it’s a great dark Italy inspired fantasy read!
Navola is a purported “literary” fantasy set in a city-state dominated by powerful merchant families. The story follows Davico di Regulai, a young member of one such powerful family, as he navigates the political struggles of Navola, and as he prepares to take over his family's [accounting] empire. Davico faces rebellion and intrigue, with his fate apparently intertwined with both a dragon relic and his adopted sister, Celia.
The opening is weighed down by all the world-specific terms and names, based heavily on an Italian-Latin root system. It’s a lot to take in at once and hard to keep track of them all. It doesn’t NOT feel like when someone in a comedy is speaking nonsense pseudo-Spanish by amending each and every English word with -o. It’s unfortunate that it’s so liberally applied, because it gives an easy springboard into the desire to skim-read.
The narrative style is also somewhat unusual, though I feel like we’re seeing this more and more often, as of late, as the author directly addresses the reader with “you.” This choice might work in certain contexts, but here it adds to the overall confusion without providing much clarity or immersion.
Despite being set in a fantasy world with an Italian city-state foundation, Navola doesn't deliver a compelling plot or strong character development. Davico is the typical empty vessel that many main characters of this kind of fantasy novel with a historical bent seem to favor. But I think Bacigalupi takes it too far and Davico really needed some proper fleshing out and purpose. Without an anchor of some kind of conflict — at least for the first half of this nearly 600 pager, the story seems aimless, neither driven by events nor by deep character arcs, as if uncertain of its own direction and intention.
That dragon's eye, prominently featured on the cover and in the book's opening, turns out to be a minor element in the narrative. It is briefly mentioned as a relic or a fossil, and some bits of lore are bandied about here and there, but it’s basically a glorified paperweight for the majority of the book. Such a missed opportunity to develop a more intriguing fantasy element, instead clearly setting up the rest of the books more than allowing this book to stand on its own. Overall, a challenging, cumbersome read that doesn’t quite achieve its potential.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.
The opening is weighed down by all the world-specific terms and names, based heavily on an Italian-Latin root system. It’s a lot to take in at once and hard to keep track of them all. It doesn’t NOT feel like when someone in a comedy is speaking nonsense pseudo-Spanish by amending each and every English word with -o. It’s unfortunate that it’s so liberally applied, because it gives an easy springboard into the desire to skim-read.
The narrative style is also somewhat unusual, though I feel like we’re seeing this more and more often, as of late, as the author directly addresses the reader with “you.” This choice might work in certain contexts, but here it adds to the overall confusion without providing much clarity or immersion.
Despite being set in a fantasy world with an Italian city-state foundation, Navola doesn't deliver a compelling plot or strong character development. Davico is the typical empty vessel that many main characters of this kind of fantasy novel with a historical bent seem to favor. But I think Bacigalupi takes it too far and Davico really needed some proper fleshing out and purpose. Without an anchor of some kind of conflict — at least for the first half of this nearly 600 pager, the story seems aimless, neither driven by events nor by deep character arcs, as if uncertain of its own direction and intention.
That dragon's eye, prominently featured on the cover and in the book's opening, turns out to be a minor element in the narrative. It is briefly mentioned as a relic or a fossil, and some bits of lore are bandied about here and there, but it’s basically a glorified paperweight for the majority of the book. Such a missed opportunity to develop a more intriguing fantasy element, instead clearly setting up the rest of the books more than allowing this book to stand on its own. Overall, a challenging, cumbersome read that doesn’t quite achieve its potential.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.
"Navola is like slipping into a luxurious bath full of blood." Holly Black
A truer assessment than expected.
A truer assessment than expected.
Kinda like the Sopranos x Game of Thrones collab that I didn't know I wanted...
Beautifully written, full of intrigue and has more twists and turns than a twisty, turny thing. Enjoyed this very much.
Beautifully written, full of intrigue and has more twists and turns than a twisty, turny thing. Enjoyed this very much.
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
It starts a bit slow and clunky and has several slow chapters throughout. But, never have I felt that the main character should die, not out of hatred but out of love and pity. I also greatly appreciated that the dog's story was also complete.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2nd read: Original thoughts still apply. Absolutely loved this story. NEED BOOK 2 YESTERDAY.
If I could give 6 stars to this I would, and is the only book at this time of my life that I can realistically give that too. I cannot sing its praises enough. Such an immersive world that you have no trouble imagining. Characters that are varied in their roles and personalities, that influence the main character in one way or another. And the MC, they change and grow, and I loved them throughout and felt for them throughout. The story takes twists that I did not expect, and those rare ones I did, were presented in a way I certainly did not. Can’t recommend this more.
If I could give 6 stars to this I would, and is the only book at this time of my life that I can realistically give that too. I cannot sing its praises enough. Such an immersive world that you have no trouble imagining. Characters that are varied in their roles and personalities, that influence the main character in one way or another. And the MC, they change and grow, and I loved them throughout and felt for them throughout. The story takes twists that I did not expect, and those rare ones I did, were presented in a way I certainly did not. Can’t recommend this more.
I got a little through part 2 but couldn't go any longer. It was kind of hard to read and understand, talking in a made up language. The plot seemed like it wasn't progessing, I was getting really bored.
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.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve had to sit on this one for awhile before I could fully decide what I thought of it; even months on I think I’m still processing the end.
This book starts out with slow beauty, and Bacigalupi’s prose really brings you into this setting that is Definitely Not Renaissance Florence. It’s a setting that manages to be both beautiful and horrible at once, much like that time and place in actual history. Knowing the history may have added a lot of layers to my understanding of this book, and I honestly have no idea how this would read for anyone who isn’t going into this with significant knowledge of the Medici family and the world in which they operated. It might be a boring brick, or it might be amazing.
All of that said, it took a very abrupt turn in a direction I wasn’t quite emotionally prepared for. In hindsight that might have been a me problem; there was plenty of foreshadowing, and I failed to heed its warnings. Probably don’t read this if you’re not up for some seriously dark bits. I think that might be at least part of The Point here; we tend to glorify Renaissance Italy as this pinnacle of artistic development and intellectual discourse, and it’s all too easy to forget that it was also an incredibly brutal time to be alive. This book does not sugar coat that aspect. At all.
The ending is also one that requires Thinking with a capital T. Initially I felt like it left me hanging, but the longer I sit with it, the more I find it unexpectedly satisfying. I can’t blame anyone for expecting a sequel afterwards (not sure if this has been officially confirmed or denied anywhere?) but the more I think about it the more I think this might just be the end. We leave Davico in a place where he can choose one of two paths forward: will he choose vengeance or peace? Bacigalupi manages to make you want both those things for him, no matter how mutually exclusive they are, and I think I’m happier with this book not knowing which one he ultimately chooses. Either one is a kind of resolution to his arc, as is the ambiguity itself: at long last, Davico truly has the freedom to make that choice on his own, and isn’t that the core of what he’s being fighting for all along? I don’t know that most books could pull off that level of ambiguity, but I think this one does, so long as you’re willing to let it make you think for awhile.
Overall, I’d say I quite liked this book. It has lots of layers and nuance and historical nerdery that I crave in my fantasy. And it’s definitely sticking with me even months on, even if it wasn’t quite the book I wanted it to be.
This book starts out with slow beauty, and Bacigalupi’s prose really brings you into this setting that is Definitely Not Renaissance Florence. It’s a setting that manages to be both beautiful and horrible at once, much like that time and place in actual history. Knowing the history may have added a lot of layers to my understanding of this book, and I honestly have no idea how this would read for anyone who isn’t going into this with significant knowledge of the Medici family and the world in which they operated. It might be a boring brick, or it might be amazing.
All of that said, it took a very abrupt turn in a direction I wasn’t quite emotionally prepared for. In hindsight that might have been a me problem; there was plenty of foreshadowing, and I failed to heed its warnings. Probably don’t read this if you’re not up for some seriously dark bits. I think that might be at least part of The Point here; we tend to glorify Renaissance Italy as this pinnacle of artistic development and intellectual discourse, and it’s all too easy to forget that it was also an incredibly brutal time to be alive. This book does not sugar coat that aspect. At all.
The ending is also one that requires Thinking with a capital T. Initially I felt like it left me hanging, but the longer I sit with it, the more I find it unexpectedly satisfying. I can’t blame anyone for expecting a sequel afterwards (not sure if this has been officially confirmed or denied anywhere?) but the more I think about it the more I think this might just be the end. We leave Davico in a place where he can choose one of two paths forward: will he choose vengeance or peace? Bacigalupi manages to make you want both those things for him, no matter how mutually exclusive they are, and I think I’m happier with this book not knowing which one he ultimately chooses. Either one is a kind of resolution to his arc, as is the ambiguity itself: at long last, Davico truly has the freedom to make that choice on his own, and isn’t that the core of what he’s being fighting for all along? I don’t know that most books could pull off that level of ambiguity, but I think this one does, so long as you’re willing to let it make you think for awhile.
Overall, I’d say I quite liked this book. It has lots of layers and nuance and historical nerdery that I crave in my fantasy. And it’s definitely sticking with me even months on, even if it wasn’t quite the book I wanted it to be.