I'm a big fan of this author's Temeraire series so I especially enjoyed the couple of stories that are related. They're all great stories though. There were several I wished were complete books.

Buried Deep and Other stories is an excellent collection of Novik's short fiction, and sweeps readers away to the many worlds she has created. It was hard to pick a favourite story from this collection, because they were all excellent. A standout for me, however, was "After Hours", the highly anticipated return to the Scholomance. Beata, a young mushroom witch who benefits from El's shakeup of the magical world, was an absolute treat to read about. The other standout was "Spinning Silver", which was later turned into a full-fledged novel. "Blessings", a story about magical fairy god mothers trying to one-up each other's blessings will delight veteran readers of Naomi's work and new fans alike. This fantastic collection is highly recommended.

I don’t typically read short story collections because, with all honesty, I very rarely enjoy them. I’m the sort of reader who really wants to sink into a world and (ideally) follow a single POV character who I become wholly invested in over the course of the story. It’s all quite focused in to detailed character work and epic storytelling and worldbuilding, all of which are difficult to convey in the much smaller wordcount allowed to short stories. Beyond this, most of the collections I’ve read in the past were assortments of authors all contributing to one work, which left a lot of variability in quality throughout the entire read. All of this long winded intro to say, this week I’ll be reviewing not only one short story collection, but two! And they are each wildly different experiences.

Today, we’re going to start on the high note! It probably shouldn’t have been so surprising that I ended up loving this book, given the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever rated a Naomi Novik below an 8 (the vast majority of them have been 9s and 10s, even!). But as we’ve just discussed, I struggle with these sorts of collections. But, if anything, with this book Novik has convinced me that in the right hands, I can enjoy a short story collection just as much as the next person!

In fact, in many ways, it felt like this collection of stories was written just for me. Not only was I rewarded for being a reader of all of Novik’s previous series (we have two Temeraire stories, a “Spinning Silver” story, and a “Scholomance” story), but the other tales she tackled were also of peak interest for me. It was almost freakish! There was a Greek re-telling, a “Pride and Prejudice” re-telling, and a “Sherlock Homes” story that focused on Irene Adler! Can it get more perfect than that? Honestly, if I had sat down and picked out series/stories that I would have wanted to read short stories of, these would have been at the top of my list! And they were all done so well!

I don’t want to cover every single story in this collection (though I enjoyed them all, even if I had favorites), but I’ll talk about a few of my favorites. I really loved the aforementioned “Pride and Prejudice” story. Novik managed to not only re-tell the entire novel in an impressively thorough manner, but also adjusted it to fit within her Temeraire world. This version’s Elisabeth Bennet was a dragon rider and much of the tension with Mr. Darcy was derived from the fact that she’s a military member. It was both incredibly unique but also fit perfectly within the boundaries of the original story.

I also really loved returning to the “Scholomance” world. This story takes place after the events of the trilogy, giving readers a look into how the school operates now that El and Orion have done their work. Of course, it was great seeing some familiar faces (though, sadly, not El herself), but the new character to this story was also fantastic! Through her eyes, we see how other magical communities have dealt with the dangers of this world. There was also an added twist to certain aspects of the magic itself, which I felt was both very creative but also felt natural to this pre-existing world.

I also really enjoyed the Greek re-telling of the story of the Minotaur. Told from the perspective of the Minotaur’s sister, Novik infused the story with a whole new level of tragedy, but also beauty. The Irene Adler story was also good, though here I did feel that by the end of the story, I had been hoping for a bit more…I don’t know, point to it all. So, too, the “Spinning Silver” story was also good. It was a shortened version (I believe this was the first attempt at the story that was later expanded into the full length novel), but essentially hit the same beats, though had a different ending. While I enjoyed reading this one, it did hit home how much I loved the novel version. This one just didn’t pack the same punch, and I enjoyed the ending of the original novel better.

While none of the stories were misses, I did want a bit more from a few of them. The collection begins with a pirate story which I think is the weakest of the bunch (a bit unfortunate that it’s first). There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but it also didn’t seem to have a lot new to say or offer. Likewise, there’s a story about fairy wishes gone wrong which I really liked, but then it felt like it ended abruptly, almost feeling as if it was the first chapter to an entire book. I was mostly just mad that I couldn’t keep reading it! And lastly, I also enjoyed the look into the new world that her next series will take place within, but this story itself also felt a bit listless. I wasn’t clear whether these were the characters we would be following in the next book or not, but as it stands, by the time the story ends, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it as a story on its own.

Overall, this was an excellent collection! I think I can even say that it’s my favorite short story collection of all time (take from that what you will, given my general lack of interest/familiarity with the genre). I think most any fantasy fan would find something to like from this book. Though I will say that it’s one of those collections that greatly rewards readers familiar with Novik’s entire catalogue of work; it’s practically a must for fans of her books!

Rating 9: Absolutely fantastic, introducing readers to entire new worlds while also re-warding fans with a return to beloved worlds and characters.

Link will go live on The Librayr Ladies blog on Sept. 25

Novik is one of those authors with an undeniably singular voice, and this short story collection was a beautiful journey through some of her different worlds. I particularly enjoyed returning to the Scholomance, and felt at home immediately in a world I know well after enjoying the trilogy last year. I would absolutely recommend this collection for fans of Novik's books, and for anyone who enjoys daydreaming.

Buried Deep and Other Stories is a collection of short stories with something for everyone. Some of the short stories have been published already in anthologies but I hadn’t read them before and they were all new to me. The stories in this collection covered a wide variety of genres and worlds, including some from her past novels. There were definitely some stories I liked more than others but Naomi Novik is a great writer and I enjoyed all of the stories. I don’t tend to read anthologies or short stories normally, but I wanted to read this collection for the Scholomance series short story and the short story set in the world she is currently working on for her next novel. While I enjoyed those stories my favorite was actually the short story “Seven”. I am impressed by Naomi Novik’s ability to write a short story that is interesting and full of so much life and world building in such a small amount of words.
Note: I haven’t read the Temeraire Series but that wasn’t an issue and the stories set in that world can be read without prior knowledge.

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys Naomi Novik’s writing already and wants to read even more from her.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing group for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I am a huge Naomi Novik fan, and loved the Scholomance series, Spinning Silver, and Uprooted.

Buried Deep and Other Stories is a collection of 13 short fantasy stories, some which are set in the familiar worlds from her other books. Each story is stand-alone, range from fantasy and fairy tales to myths and mystery, to history and science, and some are a bit unsettling. I found all of the stories very enjoyable, especially since they all seemed to feature a female protagonist and a theme of Destiny. I also liked that Novik included a note of explanation before each story for why she chose to include it.

Buried Deep (the title story) is a retelling of Ariadne and the Minotaur, and was probably my favorite of the collection. There is also a retelling of Pride & Prejudice involving a dragon; a story where Marc Antony hatches a dragon egg and starts the Dragon Corps; and a mushroom witch with a roommate issues at the Scholomance; among other stories. There is also a sneak peek at Novik's novel, set in the world of Abandon.

I highly recommend this collection to fantasy fans, dragon fans, and anyone who enjoys Novak’s worlds and other writings. The stories were very engaging and compelling, and the sneak peek really made me excited to read her next novel, which sounds like it's going to be part of an epic fantasy series! And if you haven't read anything by Novik yet, I definitely recommend Buried Deep as a starting point -- you won't be disappointed!!

This was such a treat. I love Novik's writing and this collection of stories was not different. Treating us to an abundance of short stories, it's an amazing look into the creative mind that is Naomi Novik.

✨Book Review✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Ebook

I mean, are we really surprised? No, not at all. It’s Naomi Novik. We aren’t surprised.

I usually write a blurb summary about the plot and characters when writing a review. Since this book is a collection of stories, I feel a summary would defeat the purpose, as each story is only a few pages long.

Highlights: (my favorite stories)
⭐️ Araminta
⭐️ After Hours
⭐️ Buried Deep
⭐️ Spinning Silver
⭐️ Seven Blessings
⭐️ Dragons & Decorum - for the Pride & Prejudice/Fourth Wing fans
⭐️ Castle Coeurtieu
⭐️ The Long Way Round

These are most, if not all, of the stories in the book. While I didn’t dislike the few I didn’t mention, it was these stories that captured my reader's heart and transported me into their world.

Pitfalls:
❌ The stories and the book itself just weren’t long enough.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

*Social media will be posted closer to publication date.

4.8 / 5.0

This collection by Naomi Novik is excellent and a necessary addition to the library of the intent Novik fan.

A little bit of all her works are touched on in this book, and I especially loved her forward to the reader about how and when these stories came into existence. For me, Novik is like T. Kingfisher in that both are phenomenal storytellers and comfort reads whether is it the first of fiftieth time reading.

Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley, and to Novik for this book and giving me access to the eARC. This will absolutely be an edition I add to my physical library!

I have never read anything by Naomi Novik so I was hoping that these being short stories would be a good introduction to her writing! Plus the description sounded interesting, but I only made it through the first story. It bored me so much that I had to force myself to keep going. So, I just don't think her work is for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the ARC!

Naomi Novik is one of my favorite authors of all time. That being said, I'm really not a fan of short stories. So while my review will be honest, please take it in the connotation that I read this because of it's author.

Altogether, I did enjoy the collection, but I think the order could have been reworked slightly. I think the book starts out strong with Lady Araminta and then segues into beloved renditions of Novik classics. Then the stories start to slow down (around 'Seven' if I had to put a title to it). Personally I think this is the time when I started to struggle to get through even a story at a time. However, 'Dragons & Decorum' was by far the most exciting entry for me. I devoured it and alarmed some of my fellow companions with how intently I was reading.

All in all, I think it's an eclectic collection of tales with some beautiful homage to Novik's other titles.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3.58 | 😘=3.75 | 🤬=2 | ⚔️=4 | 16+

summary: collection of Naomi Novik short stories—some set in previous Novik worlds or published in previous collections, some not.

thoughts: took the average of individual ratings for the final score and I have notes (singular note probably) on each story:

- “Araminta, or the Wreck of the Amphidrake” — 3.75⭐️
- very bizarre and very fun too

- “After Hours” — 4.5⭐️
- exactly!! also I need to know why Orion was dressed up??

- “Buried Deep” — 5⭐️
- this is so goodddddddd. incredible.

- “Spinning Silver” — 4.75 ⭐️
- interesting to see where a phenomenal novel began

- “Commonplaces” — 3 ⭐️
- not a huge Sherlock Holmes girlie (I’ve only read a couple stories), and I think I’d like this more if I was more familiar

- “Seven” — 4.75 ⭐️
- I loved this, but I wanted it to be longer. I need more of this story.

- “Blessings” — 3 ⭐️
- meh? I liked the beginning—very Gail Carson Levine—but the end didn’t deliver at all

- “Lord Dunsany’s Teapot” — 3? 2.75 ??⭐️
- I don’t think I got this one?? I need more context or a reread or something

- “Seven Years From Home” — 1.5 ⭐️
- I’m sorry that was so boring

- “Dragons & Decorum” — 3.5 ⭐️
- the thing is this needs to be novel-length to be effective, and several an AO3 author has already done this concept very successfully. so like this is cute but this specific idea can’t be a short story. like thematically and plot-wise AND character-wise it just needs a bigger word count.

- “Castle Coeurlieu” — 3 ⭐️
- idk i was kinda bored??

- “The Long Way Round” — 3.5 ⭐️
- I want more of this world!

I ended up dnfing this book. I fully intend to return to it at some point, but would rather be more familiar with the author's backlist when I do. I did flip through and read the descriptions of each story, and can validly say that Novik has created a wildly ambitious collection of stories different in tone, plot, and writing style yet still fully, characteristically her. Existing fans will be delighted by this collection of stories, and I'm excited not only to get to it at some point, but also to read her next book!

A great introduction to Novik. As someone who has never read any of her books, but has heard great things, Buried Deep was a great taste for the breadth of her style and stories. I look forward to reading the full version of more of her works in the near future.

Such a beautiful collection of stories. I hope to read more of the long journey and Tessa someday. It was wonderful to extend my reading of Naomi Novik and to get a glimpse into new worlds!

I kinda skimmed through the book description because I was really in the mood for short stories when I requested this, so I didn't realize you had to be familiar with the author's previous work to enjoy these stories. I tried to get into them, but I just couldn't. I wanted standalone short stories, but that's 100% on me. I suspect readers familiar with her work will love this very much. The writing is very nice and I appreciate the creativity, I'm also now very curious about checking out some of her books, so there's that!

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Naomi Novik presents Buried Deep and Other Stories, an anthology. The stories featured in the anthology are collected, some new and some featured in other publications. Novik has an introduction to each piece providing some background to the piece's creation. Some stories are from worlds known to Novik's readers (Temeraire, Spinning Silver, and Scholomance) and some from current worlds in progress.

This is one of the very few times that I can say this about an anthology. I genuinely enjoyed every story in this collection. There were widely varied settings, vibes, tones, but somehow all of them were positive experiences for me.

I would absolutely recommend this collection to readers who are already fans of Novik's work, but feel like I am not sure who specifically to recommend to otherwise. There is a Pride and Prejudice with Dragons retelling in the world of Temeraire. A story of seatraders and wizards. The story that expanded into the Spinning Silver novel. A Temeraire story by way of Ancient Rome. A story of Irene Adler from the stories of Sherlock Holmes. Fairy tale retellings and explorations. Fantasy worlds and stories of the Regency and the Black Death. There is at least one story that is likely to appeal to whatever reader chooses to pick up this anthology.

I am happy to have read this book early and hope that it will be found by the readers who will enjoy each one of the stories it contains. Everyone should get that joy from an anthology at least once. :)

Writing reviews for short story collections is always hard, but it is especially so when the collection is such a fabulous one. I really enjoyed reading all of these stories and could probably write paragraphs about each one, but I will keep things brief for you and also so that you will be intrigued enough to want to go and read it yourself.

Buried Deep is a wonderful sampling of this author’s style and shows the depth of her imagination. All but one of these stories have been published before in other anthologies but it is really nice to have them all in one place now. Some of them are stories that take place in worlds already created and it was so much fun to revisit them. Others are totally new, but just as well done and fascinating to read.

If you are a fan of this author, than this is a must read. If you have not read her work before, this would be a nice introduction to her work. All of these work well as standalones and give a solid grounding to her style of writing and the marvelous worlds that she creates.

I’m usually not an anthology/short story fan but at this point I’ll read anything Novik writes.

I really loved about half of these, and the other half were still very good. I would love to have more stories set in the Scholomance universe. Novik’s writing is always top-notch and her storytelling is unexpected and beautiful.

This was such a great collection of short stories. If you enjoyed Novik's other works, you'll vibe with these. It is a perfect combination of stories that are told in her familiar prose style, while also making you feel all of the emotions.