NAVOLA

A kindhearted heir to a banking fortune in a fantasy analog of Venice receives several brutal lessons concerning how little such kindness will serve him.

Intelligent, nature-loving Davico di Regulai dreams of becoming a doctor and marrying his foster sister, Celia. It is obvious to all that he doesn’t have the ruthlessness and strategic ability of his ambitious, arrogant father, Devonaci, who, despite his lack of noble blood, not so secretly controls the city of Navola through his vast banking interests. But as the heir to the di Regulai estate, Davico has no choice but to ineffectively follow the path his father has laid out for him—which certainly does not include medicine or becoming Celia’s husband. His struggle to live up to his family’s considerable reputation is so acute it gives him ulcers. Meanwhile, Devonaci’s plots have earned him many enemies, some lurking more closely than he knows; unfortunately, not all of them are as weak and foolish as he supposes, leaving Davico in a very vulnerable position. Is there anyone he can trust? Is there any use or value to his own unique talents in the treacherous society that he calls home? He will be forced to find out. The plunge of this political fantasy into grimdark might feel shocking, but it’s not like the author doesn’t provide plenty of warning. Throughout the narrative, the reader is shown that Davico’s honesty and unwillingness to harm others put him at a great disadvantage in his society; infused with painful and realistic political maneuvering, this is not a classic epic fantasy in which the good must prevail. And yet, the novel’s climax shares significant elements with a fantasy from that era: Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber (1970). Perhaps both authors drew from the same historical source; perhaps it’s an homage. It’s a bit jarring when so much of the story has a wonderful freshness to it. But regardless of the source, the book employs these plot elements extremely effectively. And it is clear that Bacigalupi has his own kind of epic in mind; despite the already hefty page count, this is only the start of a significant and painful journey and some considerable character development.

Sharp enough to draw blood.