Review: Navola, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Review: Navola, by Paolo Bacigalupi

a review by Rich Horton

Navola is Paolo Bacigalupi's eighth novel, and his first in seven years. His previous novels were relatively near future science fiction, with rather dystopian themes, focusing on environmental damage and corrupt corporations and politicians. Navola is something of a departure -- it is pure fantasy, set in a clear analogue of Renaissance Italy -- the title city perhaps most nearly resembles 15th Century Florence. (And the very language is clearly Italianate in flavor.) This strategy of building a fantasy setting by taking an historical location as a close model reminds me of many of Guy Gavriel Kay's novels. I will add that while Navola doesn't have an environmental focus, nor is it quite "dystopian" or post-apocalyptic, like much of Bacigalupi's previous work, but it is very dark in tone, and absolutely features corrupt politicians and scheming bankers, and a lot of brutality. And, not to bury the lede -- I loved it. It is an immensely entertaining novel. It is quite long, somewhat over 200,000 words. And it's the first of a series -- there will be at least one more book.

The story is told by Davico di Regulai da Navola. He is telling it to an unidentified person -- I have a guess as to who this person might be, someone we do not meet in this book, but I could be entirely wrong. Davico is the son of Devonaci di Regulai, who heads the Banca Regulai, an extremely influential merchant bank. The di Regulai are not technically aristocrats, and claim to be apolitical, but they are of the "Archinomi" -- a leading family of Navola, and their financial influence, bolstered by Devonaci's behind the scenes scheming, gives them immense power. Navola is nominally semi-democratic, with a 100 person council called the Callendra, and a sort of mayor, the Callarino. And there is a good deal of dissent, much from the "nomo anciens", or the old names of the city, who resent the loss of power to the likes of the di Regulai, and especially to the lower classes, the vianomae.

Davico grows up fairly happily. He learns his father's trade, though he despairs of ever equaling his father's skill, and especially his fathers ability to plot. He has friends among the other high families. His father's mistress, a slave named Ashia, serves as essentially his mother, who had died when he was very young. He is taught arithmetic and writing by his father's chief numenari, Merio; and the use of weapons by his father's guardsman, Aghan Khan. He remains rather an innocent, even after an attempt on his family is made by some other jealous families, and brutally beaten off. One of the guilty families is exiled, with a daughter just about Davico's age kept with the di Regulai as a hostage. This is Celia, who becomes in essence Davico's sister. Other key characters include Cavezza, Devonaci's stilettotore, a dangerous man who enforces punishments Devonaci commands, and who spies on the di Regulai enemies; Siena Furia, the only woman who leads an Archinomi family; and of course the ancient dragon eye that Devonaci keeps in his library, and which seems linked somehow with Davico.

The story proceeds from there, as Davico grows to adulthood. Davico remains rather innocent, even as intrigues wind around him -- another uprising, suppressed even more brutally than before; a plan revealed by his father to extend Navola's power, by both military means and by strategic marriages -- and Davico realizes that he does not wish to marry anyone but Celia, but of course this is impossible. Davico takes part in commercial and political negotiations, often to his father's disappointment. He learns that people he considers friends are ready to betray him. He realizes that his future is largely determined for him -- and he is increasingly frustrated; especially as he is forced to help arrange a key marriage for Celia, to a man he considers a fool. And then -- well, I will tell no more, except to say that his entire life and the lives of everyone close to him are utterly upended, and the novel takes a truly horrifying turn.

I found it all intensely involving. I can't say it is precisely new -- this sort of thing is a familiar fantasy trope, but very well executed here. The fantastical elements themselves are relatively slight, though important. The political maneuvering is believable and interesting. Davico is a likeable character, generally a good man but also often obtuse, blind to the needs and feelings of many about him, and unwilling to make a stand against injustice at times. The villains are terrible but in a very human way. The depictions of Davico's world -- of his city, the countryside, the buildings, the political divides -- are effective, sometimes lovely, sometimes dark. 

Navola is a very fine fantasy novel, and I am eagerly looking forward to its sequel.