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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Navola has much less fantasy, and more fantasy-realism, than I had initially expected based on description. The rich writing follows a young princeling who is the third generation of a prominent family, living in a realm that is very Italian-coded. Or perhaps Italian inspired based on the author’s own lineage.
The story is slow, languishing in its rich tapestry of intrigue and, quite frankly, tragedy. So much tragedy. It’s honestly difficult to read just how dark this book goes. I had expected more dragons and magic, and less Game of Thrones-esque intrigue and betrayals.
Absolutely worth a read, and I suspect a sequel. I don’t know if I’ll reread this one, but I’ll keep an eye out for what will hopefully — but I do not dare hold my breath for the depths this book went — a happy ending. Or at least a peaceful one.
The story is slow, languishing in its rich tapestry of intrigue and, quite frankly, tragedy. So much tragedy. It’s honestly difficult to read just how dark this book goes. I had expected more dragons and magic, and less Game of Thrones-esque intrigue and betrayals.
Absolutely worth a read, and I suspect a sequel. I don’t know if I’ll reread this one, but I’ll keep an eye out for what will hopefully — but I do not dare hold my breath for the depths this book went — a happy ending. Or at least a peaceful one.
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
In the city of Navola, Davico DiRegulai is the heir to the quiet power that controls the city and much of the region. But the DiRegulai legacy is one of trickery and violence, and Davico is a poor fit.
Review
For some years, I confused Paolo Bacigalupi and Christopher Paolini – for no reason other than that I knew nothing about either and both had Paol in their names. Gradually, though, it seeped through that they were different people, and that I kept hearing good things about Bacigalupi. So, I took this opportunity to read one of his books. It’s not what I expected. One of the mentions of Bacigalupi that I kept seeing mentioned his book, The Windup Girl. I still haven’t read it, but perhaps I should have started there.
Navola, rather to my surprise, relies heavily on Italianate language and references. On the one hand, that’s great – I can’t think of many other English language books that do this, and it was a fun chance to exercise my long-rusty Italian skills. On the other hand, it’s so heavily Italian inspired that it felt often like a Neapolitan alternate history rather than a third-world speculative story. That’s in part because there’s very little actual magic in this fantasy story; it’s much more on the Mary Stewart Crystal Cave line than, say, J.V. Jones’ Baker’s Boy. That’s fine in itself (sometimes a plus), but I frankly felt that if I knew more of the history of the Italian peninsula, I’d recognize a lot of what was happening. It seemed to me from very early on that there were echoes of Naples, Rome, the Borgias, Leonardo Da Vinci, and a host of other (not always contemporaneous) matters. For me, that real world similarity made the book much less interesting.
Bacigalupi is certainly a skilled writer. The prose is rich and flows smoothly. However, I would also have liked to feel much more engaged by his protagonist and other characters. There was a distance and almost clinical/mechanical feel to things that kept me from really investing as I’d have wanted to. Also, while the Italianate references were fun for me, I felt a non-Italian speaker would have been fairly confused at times.
The base story – person growing up to defy expectations – is a familiar one, but often here felt subsumed to the descriptions of Machiavellian intrigue and manipulations. I wish, honestly, that Bacigalupi had brought this personal element more to the fore. To my mind, that would have made a more engaging and involving story.
Overall, interesting, and obviously a help in properly identifying Bacigalupi. But I’m not sure that I feel a need to go on to his other books. I’m willing, but, on the basis of this one, will likely not search him out. If the opportunity does arise, I’ll look for a book that’s more firmly either fantasy or science fiction, and less alternate history. This one was well written, but not gripping.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
In the city of Navola, Davico DiRegulai is the heir to the quiet power that controls the city and much of the region. But the DiRegulai legacy is one of trickery and violence, and Davico is a poor fit.
Review
For some years, I confused Paolo Bacigalupi and Christopher Paolini – for no reason other than that I knew nothing about either and both had Paol in their names. Gradually, though, it seeped through that they were different people, and that I kept hearing good things about Bacigalupi. So, I took this opportunity to read one of his books. It’s not what I expected. One of the mentions of Bacigalupi that I kept seeing mentioned his book, The Windup Girl. I still haven’t read it, but perhaps I should have started there.
Navola, rather to my surprise, relies heavily on Italianate language and references. On the one hand, that’s great – I can’t think of many other English language books that do this, and it was a fun chance to exercise my long-rusty Italian skills. On the other hand, it’s so heavily Italian inspired that it felt often like a Neapolitan alternate history rather than a third-world speculative story. That’s in part because there’s very little actual magic in this fantasy story; it’s much more on the Mary Stewart Crystal Cave line than, say, J.V. Jones’ Baker’s Boy. That’s fine in itself (sometimes a plus), but I frankly felt that if I knew more of the history of the Italian peninsula, I’d recognize a lot of what was happening. It seemed to me from very early on that there were echoes of Naples, Rome, the Borgias, Leonardo Da Vinci, and a host of other (not always contemporaneous) matters. For me, that real world similarity made the book much less interesting.
Bacigalupi is certainly a skilled writer. The prose is rich and flows smoothly. However, I would also have liked to feel much more engaged by his protagonist and other characters. There was a distance and almost clinical/mechanical feel to things that kept me from really investing as I’d have wanted to. Also, while the Italianate references were fun for me, I felt a non-Italian speaker would have been fairly confused at times.
The base story – person growing up to defy expectations – is a familiar one, but often here felt subsumed to the descriptions of Machiavellian intrigue and manipulations. I wish, honestly, that Bacigalupi had brought this personal element more to the fore. To my mind, that would have made a more engaging and involving story.
Overall, interesting, and obviously a help in properly identifying Bacigalupi. But I’m not sure that I feel a need to go on to his other books. I’m willing, but, on the basis of this one, will likely not search him out. If the opportunity does arise, I’ll look for a book that’s more firmly either fantasy or science fiction, and less alternate history. This one was well written, but not gripping.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was one of the most tedious books I have ever read. The plot is borderline nonexistent, and half of the threads go absolutely nowhere. And to make it even slower the author will repeat the same pint in three consecutive paragraphs. He will write a phrase in Italian, then repeat it in English. And then repeat both again in a later chapter. How this survived a professional editor is beyond me. I was told the first half was slow but built to a satisfying conclusion, but I was mislead: the novel ended abruptly without resolving almost any of the outstanding questions. Basically this book is just a 550 page litany of people deceiving each other while talking about how important deception is, and also a truly ludicrous amount of gratuitous sexual content, the vast majority of which adds nothing to the plot (assuming this book even has one, which is being generous).
The writing is easy so I wanted to push through but I'm getting bored and I have stacks of other library books that will be due soon that I need to get through. I know you need background to help understand why a character thinks like they do and to establish the world but it was feeling a little bit like reading someone's planner.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did love this book.
I have been a fan of Bacigalupi’s since picking up Windup Girl purely based on the interesting cover all those years ago.
His world-building does not disappoint, planted firmly in a Medici-Renaissance-Italian-style world of money, intrigue and betrayal and, despite the fantasy moniker, is actually very light on any revelations of the fantastical.
I shan’t provide spoilers, but the book does take an extremely sharp turn around 80% of the way through and then becomes very dark and difficult and, therein lies my biggest complaint about the book…
The whole thing is the setup to a sequel or series and, while we love that and the prospect of more Bacigalupi, the book itself needed MORE. Building up that much and then having no cathartic release at all is too brutal a thing to do to your readers, especially having made them endure so much pain and suffering.
So, excellent book, superior writing (marred a little by the narrator using what I would regard as unrealistic Americanisms, given the rest of the tone of the language used), wonderful world-building, and intriguing fantasy elements which have yet to fully emerge. But the betrayal… both within the plot itself and that of Bacigalupi tantalising only to bring us to the end. Ouch. Molto dolore! Cattiva forma!
I have been a fan of Bacigalupi’s since picking up Windup Girl purely based on the interesting cover all those years ago.
His world-building does not disappoint, planted firmly in a Medici-Renaissance-Italian-style world of money, intrigue and betrayal and, despite the fantasy moniker, is actually very light on any revelations of the fantastical.
I shan’t provide spoilers, but the book does take an extremely sharp turn around 80% of the way through and then becomes very dark and difficult and, therein lies my biggest complaint about the book…
The whole thing is the setup to a sequel or series and, while we love that and the prospect of more Bacigalupi, the book itself needed MORE. Building up that much and then having no cathartic release at all is too brutal a thing to do to your readers, especially having made them endure so much pain and suffering.
So, excellent book, superior writing (marred a little by the narrator using what I would regard as unrealistic Americanisms, given the rest of the tone of the language used), wonderful world-building, and intriguing fantasy elements which have yet to fully emerge. But the betrayal… both within the plot itself and that of Bacigalupi tantalising only to bring us to the end. Ouch. Molto dolore! Cattiva forma!
Set in a fictional city-state called Navola, an ill-suited and reluctant heir to a merchant-banking empire must learn to covet power before rival families rip it out from under him.
Had I been rating this book solely on the last 25% I would have rated this higher.
At first I was in awe of the extensive world building and level of detail but around the 50 page mark I started to question if it was being built just for the sake of building it? I felt more like I was reading a history textbook than a novel with pages upon pages of info dumping. Overall the world building vastly overshadowed the plot and completely stalled the momentum until that last 25%.
I feel the marketing for this book was incredibly misleading. Readers looking to find the next epic fantasy filled with dragons will likely be left disappointed.
Experiencing this story solely from Davico's point of view felt like experiencing a video game as an NPC with perverted tendencies.
Perhaps the most memorable (not in a positive way) aspects of this book were the pseudo-incest and term 'root' used EXCESSIVELY as a euphemism. The former further highlighted this novel's imitations of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. The inclusion of the latter may require therapy to overcome. Whilst I don't mind sex in books, I did not like it's portrayal in this story which was unfortunate as it was included excessively.
Celia was by far the most interesting character. This book would have been vastly more interesting from her point of view.
Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me.
Had I been rating this book solely on the last 25% I would have rated this higher.
At first I was in awe of the extensive world building and level of detail but around the 50 page mark I started to question if it was being built just for the sake of building it? I felt more like I was reading a history textbook than a novel with pages upon pages of info dumping. Overall the world building vastly overshadowed the plot and completely stalled the momentum until that last 25%.
I feel the marketing for this book was incredibly misleading. Readers looking to find the next epic fantasy filled with dragons will likely be left disappointed.
Experiencing this story solely from Davico's point of view felt like experiencing a video game as an NPC with perverted tendencies.
Perhaps the most memorable (not in a positive way) aspects of this book were the pseudo-incest and term 'root' used EXCESSIVELY as a euphemism. The former further highlighted this novel's imitations of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. The inclusion of the latter may require therapy to overcome. Whilst I don't mind sex in books, I did not like it's portrayal in this story which was unfortunate as it was included excessively.
Celia was by far the most interesting character. This book would have been vastly more interesting from her point of view.
Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me.