"You must be as sharp as a stilettotore’s dagger and as subtle as a fish beneath the waters. This is what it is to be Navolese, this is what it is to be di Regulai."

In Navola, a bustling city-state dominated by a handful of influential families, business is power, and power is everything. For generations, the di Regulai family—merchant bankers with a vast empire—has nurtured tendrils that stretch to the farthest reaches of the known world. And though they claim not to be political, their staggering wealth has bought cities and toppled kingdoms. Soon, Davico di Regulai will be expected to take the reins of power from his father and demonstrate his mastery of the games of Navolese diplomacy: knowing who to trust and who to doubt, and how to read what lies hidden behind a smile. But in Navola, strange and ancient undercurrents lurk behind the gilt and grandeur—like the fossilized dragon eye in the family’s possession, a potent symbol of their raw power and a talisman that seems to be summoning Davico to act.

As tensions rise and the events unfold, Davico will be tested to his limits. His fate depends on the eldritch dragon relic and on what lies buried in the heart of his adopted sister, Celia di Balcosi, whose own family was destroyed by Nalova’s twisted politics. With echoes of Renaissance Italy, The Godfather , and Game of Thrones , Navola is a stunning feat of world-building and a mesmerizing depiction of drive and will.

Review

Praise for Paolo Bacigalupi's Navola

"Steeped in poison, betrayal, and debauchery, reading Navola is like slipping into a luxurious bath full of blood."
—Holly Black, #1 New York Times **bestselling author

** “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 Jones, New York Times best-selling author of Essex Dogs

“Compelling and thoroughly immersive. . . . Bacigalupi has long been skilled at drawing characters seeking equilibrium while being buffeted by forces beyond their control, and Davico may be his strongest such character yet. . . . [ Navola is] undeniably new territory for Bacigalupi, and it’s a pleasure to report that his most impressive narrative strengths have ported over intact.”
—Gary K. Wolfe, Locus

“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 dazzles in this addictive account of the rivalries between powerful families in a brilliantly rendered fantastical world inspired by 15th-century Florence . . . Admirers of Game of Thrones and Dorothy Dunnett’s House of Niccolò series will be riveted.”
— Publishers Weekly , starred

“Politics, passion, poison, blood, and betrayal are melded into a masterful fantasy epic of nonstop action that is just begging for a sequel. All of the [science fiction / fantasy] fan-favorite Bacigalupi hallmarks are here: deep character development and astounding world-building, but this time with dragons.”
— Booklist, starred review

“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

About the Author

PAOLO BACIGALUPI is the author of The Water Knife and The Windup Girl, as well as the YA novel Ship Breaker, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He has won a Hugo and a Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and he is a three-time winner of the Locus Award. He lives in Colorado.