Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi

In Navola, Paolo Bacigalupi (who also delivered the excellent clifi thriller The Water Knife) changes gears to produce a heady medieval fantasy for those needing a Game of Thrones-style fix. Navola, the first of a series, is based around a city in an alternative medieval Italy. There are hints of fantasy (they come in the first page, but these ingredients are used exceedingly sparingly) but, much like Game of Thrones, the bulk of the novel is concerned with deep and complex political manipulation, violent power plays, interpersonal conflict and, in this case, the intricacies of medieval trade.

Navola centres around Davico di Regulai, a young man growing up in the powerful Regulai banking family. Davico’s father is a ruthless businessman who controls the politics of the Italianate city/state of Navola which is split between traditional noble families and rising merchant powers. Davico is marked to take over the family business but does not feel that he has the temperament or the devious nature required. The novel follows Davico as he comes of age in this milieu, as his father tries to prepare him to take over the business and as the family’s enemies circle.

There is a lot of world building in Navola. Readers looking for a pulsing plot or constant action are likely to be disappointed. But for those looking to dive into a fully realised, dangerous alternative medieval world there is plenty to enjoy. Bacigalupi immerses readers in his world – the sights, sounds, characters and culture – all of which pays off when the plot shifts and twists. And when those shifts come they hit hard – this is a brutal world and there is plenty of physical, sexual and psychological violence to go round.

Unlike the multi-point of view approach of Game of Thrones, Navola is narrated by Davico from sometime in the future. Davico is in some ways a naïve and annoying character, and this would be more frustrating if he was not so honest in his telling about his naivete and its implications. This approach makes the twists land harder as the manoeuvres are all happening outside of Davico’s knowledge but at least readers will know that despite everything that happens to him, Davico will survive to tell the tale (if not necessarily completely intact).

As noted, the fantasy element is flagged on page one. Davico’s father has the human-head sized eye of a dead dragon, although that eye is not quite as dead as it seems. There is also some implication that there is some influence of the gods in the affairs of men. Bacigalupi includes tales of the gods in some interludes, and it feels like their influence start to be felt in later volumes. While the dragon eye does play a part in the narrative, the focus of this tale (again like Game of Thrones) is on the fraught and often vicious human struggle for power within the milieu that Bacigalupi has created.

Navola is a rich medieval fantasy and ultimately brutal coming of age story. While it has a slow build up, Bacigalupi pays off the investment and after 600 pages still manages to leave the whole enterprise on a tantalising cliffhanger. But for those who have found themselves drawn into this world and its characters, the cliffhanger is more of a promise of more to come. And they will definitely be back for more.

Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi

8.5

8.5/10