Member Reviews

I’m not usually a huge fan of short story collections, but I adore Naomi Novik so I wanted to give this one a shot, and I’m so glad I did.

Getting another peek into worlds I already know and adore - like Temeraire and the Scholomance - as well as seeing our first look at Folly, which I am already intrigued by and can’t wait to get to read for real!

If you’re a fan of Naomi Novik’s work, I would highly recommend Buried Deep.

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I do not think Naomi Noviks writing style is for me. This however does not mean this isn’t an amazing good., therefore I will be providing 3 star review.

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I don’t read many anthologies. I think because it’s hard for my brain to flip to new characters and settings within the same book. I did enjoy Spinning Silver, Buried Deep, Seven, and After Hours.

It’s not that the other stories are bad! My mind seemed to wonder more while reading. I have read Uprooted by Novik and plan to read Spinning Silver as well as the Scholomance Trilogy.

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If you've read a bunch of Naomi Novik's work, this is a familiar collection of stories and characters as well as a few new introductions. Many of these stories have been published previously in other anthologies, but a few are new.

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Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik was fun, but I didn’t love it. I like short stories and this had such a wide variety of subjects. I also really loved having another peek into the Scholomance universe. However, I have not read all of Novik’s other books so I did feel a little like I was missing some context for a couple other stories.

Some stories definitely shined more than others. I really enjoyed Buried Deep, but didn’t love Araminta, or, the Wreck of the Amphidrake. And I really appreciated the sneak peak of her next project in The Long Way Round.

I was also very impressed with Novik’s range of genres throughout the book. The stories are a bit dense so it took me a little time to get immersed into each world, but again, the world building, characters, and background of each world really do speak to Novik’s writing talent. Even with some of the stories shining more than others, I did overall have a good time reading this collection. I think there is a story in this book for everyone.

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I am not normally a short story/anthology girl, but Naomi Novik is one of my favorite authors. And when I saw her new short story collection contained works set in the same world as some of my favorite stories of hers, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read this. Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-ARC of this book.

I just love the way this woman writes. She can be funny, heart wrenching, critical, thoughtful and this anthology collection shows this off so incredibly well. She is a masterful storyteller and each of these short stories is a masterclass in how she is able to utterly suck you into the world she is creating.

There is something for everyone in this collection: from a Pride & Prejudice retelling with dragons, to retellings of famous stories (Buried Deep, a retelling of Ariadne and the Minotaur’s story; Blessings, a take on the Sleeping Beauty story), to science fiction, to brand new worlds.

I have to give dues to my three favorite stories in this collection: Seven, Buried Deep and Castle Coeurlieu. The first because this world felt so real and lived in for me, and it was incredible that Novik was able to do that in such a short time. Buried Deep because I am a SUCKER for Greek mythology, and Castle Coeurlieu which was juuust the right amount of creepy for me this early in the fall season. Commonplaces was my least favorite as I am not a Sherlock Holmes girl, but it was still very fun.

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A collection of short stories that are either stand alone or expansions/pulled from existing books and all with a dash of fantasy.

Personally my favorite was Blessings about a young girl blessed maybe a little too much by drunk fairies to have strength, power, and wealth and also to be decidedly ugly. I would love a fully fleshed out book telling more of her story.

I was also partial to the story about students at the Scholomance as that series is a favorite of mine.

Overall if you've ever enjoyed Naomi Novik's books you'll sink right down into this, even those most stories will leave you wishing for more.

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Naomi Novik's "Buried Deep and Other Stories"
A collection of her shorts from different publications (with a little taste of her next novel) set in some of the worlds of her other works. Uprooted, Scholomance, Temeraire, Spinning Silver and others. Was fantastic just dipping into some of these familiar places for a bit again.

Reasons to read:
-The first dragon rider of Rome
-Awkard roommate interactions in the murder school
-Free real estate on abandoned continents if you cross the ocean that had monsters that can swallow a ship
-Getting stuck with fae bs because you are good at your job
-And more

Cons:
-A person with a dragon is a value add not a detractor!

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I loved every single one of these short stories, but especially the Scholomance one. While I haven’t finished the series, I absolutely love what I have read and it was cool to dip my toes back into the world. There was a little bit of everything from already established world and then a story from a new world that Naomi Novik is currently working on a series from and that has me super excited, because it was my second favorite behind the Scholomance story.

If you are a fan of Naomi Novik, you will love this. If you haven’t read any of her books, but have been curious, this is a great way to sample her writing and most of her worlds.

Thank you to @delreybooks and @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

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Naomi Novik is one of those authors that I always pick up when I find a new release! Buried Deep and Other Stories is a wonderful collection of short stories in Novik's signature worlds. I love the extra Teremeire world-building! If you found Naomi Novik through Scholomance, go try out Teremiere through this short story collection!

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I've been a Naomi Novik fan since I read the first of the Dragon Temeraire series, but I've never read any anthologies from her. I was attracted to this book because there are a couple of Temeraire related stories, but there are also a couple of Dark Academia Scholomance stories here, as well, along with a first look at the newest universe she's publishing soon..

One of my favorite stories was a delightful mashup of the Temeraire series and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It certainly helps to be a Jane Austen fan, and have read that story multiple times. My second favorite was a foundational Temeraire story set in Ancient Rome. My least favorite was the one about a young woman who gambles with death to save her village during the Middle Ages. Not because it was a bad story, I just didn't find it as engaging because it didn't contain any dragons, and I thought that would be the perfect setting in which to have them. I was surprised to like the Scholomance story, since I have not read those books yet, (mostly because I don't usually read Dark Academia books.)

Novik's writing style is clear and open and mostly upbeat even when she's trying to be solemn. There's nothing to point to as being especially problematic, although if you're looking for a lot of diversity of characters, you might be a bit disappointed. Novik tends to stay in her lane, but she is very good driver, so I don't mind.

This was an enjoyable collection and well worth the time reading.

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I really enjoyed this fantasy short story collection by Naomi Novik. I’m a huge fan of hers, and I’ve read all 15 of her prior books - the 10 books in her Temeraire series (including the 9 main books in the series and a short story collection set in that universe), the Scholomance trilogy, and her two stand alone novels, so clearly I wasn’t going to miss this one.

This short story collection touches on the worlds of her previous books, along with lots of other settings, including inspiration from Greek mythology, Sherlock Holmes, fairy tales/mythology, and plenty of original inspiration as well. Like any short story collection, some are better than others, but I genuinely enjoyed them all. My favorites were After Hours, the story set in the Scholomance universe; and Dragons & Decorum, which previously was my favorite from her other short story collection and loved just as much reading it again - how can you not love a story reimagining Pride & Prejudice with added dragons? And the last story in the collection, The Long Way Round, according to her introduction, is set in the world of the new book she’s working on, and left me most intrigued to read more!

I know fantasy is not for everyone, and short stories are not for everyone, but if you’re a fan of either or even better both, I recommend this book.

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Short story collections are always a bit of a toss-up and I'd say this holds true to that; about 50/50 on if I enjoyed them or not. There was one from the Scholomance world which I found to be absolutely fantastic and gave me such immense nostalgia to be back in that world. I also didn't realize that Spinning Silver started as a short story! As someone who found the novel considerably too long, it should've remained that way.
The story that was a spin on a Jane Austen novel but with dragons was a hell of a good time! But the spin on Sherlock Holmes was bewildering and nonsensical to say the least.
I'd say a mid read over all.

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Fairy tale and myth retellings are a bit of a hard sell for me. Too often, turning these wild-caught stories into contemporary genre fiction—no matter how spirited the attempt—feels like a kind of domestication. So many more words to do, somehow, less… In an odd way, “realistic” YA sometimes feels more like the real thing—real fairy tales, real myths—than the average retelling. A novel that obeys its own logic, that reflects, not the world as it is, but deeper anxieties, joys, needs. Will I be loved? Do I deserve it? (The intensity of affirmation—yes, you deserve it, you deserve it, you deserve it, the final measure of the depth of doubt.) The frisson of sexual awakening that underlies The Little Mermaid, Little Red Riding Hood, or Snow White also underlies I Kissed Shara Wheeler, or Novik’s own Scholomance novels. In retellings, it is dangerously liable to be written about, when what it should be is sublimated.

Be that as it may, fairy tale retellings are the highlights of this delightful new story collection from Naomi Novik. “Spinning Silver”—which preceded the novel of the same name—is a wonderful story, as is “Castle Coerlieu.” Domesticated—yes, absolutely, compared to their central and eastern European source material, and to the actual history of those places. But lovely, absorbing, satisfying, just creepy enough. Above all, a pleasure to read. Talking dragons aren’t my style, nor swashbuckling pirates, nor Sherlock Holmes, but if the dragon and pirate and Sherlock stories here don’t do enough to change my mind about those preferences, they are perfectly enjoyable nonetheless; just because I’m not a coffee person doesn’t mean a good box of chocolates shouldn’t include a coffee-flavored bonbon. The last story, a queer, Earthsea-inflected exercise in fantasy worldbuilding, is more my flavor—and a rich treat indeed.

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Buried Deep is a collection of the various short stories that Novik has written and published across multiple collections over the years, plus something new for fans of her existing works. Featuring some familiar faces and new ones alike, Buried Deep is a must-read for any Naomi Novik fans.

While I certainly picked up this one for the chance to revisit some existing worlds like Temaire or Spinning Silver, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed the original short stories in here. Her Ariadne and the Minotaur retelling, for which the anthology is named, was wonderfully atmospheric and compelling, and I would not be opposed at all to a full-length retelling someday. Castle Courlieu was another excellent one that had me on the edge of my seat during my whole plane ride. The final tale in the collection, The Long Way Round, was quite fun even to someone who usually hates seafaring adventures, and I look forward to seeing where Novik takes this story and its setting in the future.

As with all short story collections, some fell flat. Her Roman Empire Temaire story would likely resonate most with fans of her existing series, but otherwise was rather plain. I also didn't love her Irene Adler retelling and found that her Lawrence of Arabia retelling had great potential that wasn't fully executed.

After reading this collection, I might just have to go back and reread some more of my Novik favorites!

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Buried Deep and Other Stories is a great read for fans of Naomi Novik! This collection of short stories was different from anything else of hers that I have read, and it was nice to have little snippets of different universes. As a huge fan of the Scholomance series, my favorite story was the one set in that universe. Getting to have a glimpse as to what is happening after the end of that series was a real treat. Overall, this collection made me want to pick up other books from Novik, so I did purchase the first of the Temeraire novels after reading this! I can't wait to get started on it!

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Such a great collection of short stories from familiar series and mythology as well as new insights and tales.
Naomi Novik is one of my favorite authors because she delivers complex and meaningful tales that reach the core of humanity.
And I loved revisiting familiar worlds and entering new ones.

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This short story collection once again solidified Naomi Novik as one of my favorite fantasy authors.

This book is full of stories, both related to her existing works and completely separate. Some of these stories have inspired me to read her backlist, and others have me waiting with bated breath for her next book! And, of course, mixed in are some beautiful standalone stories with compelling themes and characters.

I would highly recommend reading this collection, especially if you’ve read some of Novik’s previous works and and want to see her authorial voice in other contexts. Some stories are better than others, but they all create magical worlds in such short spans of time. 4 stars

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This is my first Naomi Novik short fiction collection, having somehow missed the Temeraire collection Golden Age and Other Stories. For anyone who has read a lot of Novik, nothing in this collection will especially come as a surprise. Most everything is playing in the same conceptual spaces as her novels, which of course is inevitable for those stories set in the same universes as those novels (or, especially, the story "Spinning Silver," which was the embryo of the novel of the same name). Of particular note is the story "Dragons and Decorum," which imagines a certain Captain Elizabeth Bennet of the Royal Dragon Corps or whatever, and is the most "ah yes this author wrote a series of Napoleonic War+Dragons novels and also founded Archive of Our Own" story imaginable.

So, enjoyable (if you like Naomi Novik generally) but not breaking any new ground, especially, even the new story "The Long Way Round," which is set in the world of the current novel Novik is working on but is another fantasy-seafaring kind of jaunt. Not sure if it's another "Spinning Silver"-type prologue or a standalone work in the same setting, but it's got my interest.

To the Hugo voters out there, in addition to "The Long Way Round" there is another new piece of short fiction in here called "After Hours" set in the Scholomance universe (but after the events of the novels, so it's a little reliant on what came before). Enjoyable and might end up on my ballot if for no other reason than I have a hard time coming across nominatable short fiction in any given year, not reading any of the big magazines.

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Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik is a collection of thirteen short stories that span the different worlds of her works and includes a sneak peek at the world of her next novel. I received an early copy for review from the publisher thorough Netgalley. I've been a fan of Naomi Novik's work for years though this is the first book I've read in a long time and which has inspired me to finally read more of her works. Overall I greatly enjoyed this work and I will be going through each story individually

Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake is a take on regency romance novels. We follow Lady Araminta who is being sent off to be married off but she is not interested in marriage. To protect herself she is gifted with a amulet that turns her into a man and she uses this when the ship she is on is attacked. An interesting take on Pirates and romance but not my favorite story.

After Hours is a story set in the Scholomance world but doesn't follow the characters from that series. We follow Beata in her first year at the school on a night that she decides to sneak out in attempt to take better supplies from the communal supplies as first year students never get the best stuff. We also learn about her conflict with her roommate Jayne and how dangerous the school can be especially at night. This is a good introduction to the Scholomance if you haven't read any before.

Vici is a story set in the Temeraire Universe but during Roman times and how Antonius who is a conman ends up with a dragon. He eventually gets sent to Gaul as owning a dragon is a problem for the magistrate and end up fighting with Julius Cesar. This story lays the ground work for how dragons are part of the military with the Temeraire Universe.

Buried Deep is a story about the Labyrinth and Ariadne dancing on the ground where the Labyrinth exists. A retelling of the story of the Minotaur but focuses more on family and the relationship between the Minotaur and Ariadne.

Spinning Silver is the short story that eventually spun into the novel of the same name and there is overlap in this story but you can see where the novel goes into more detail. We follow Miryem the daughter of a moneylender who is not very good at his job. When Miryem realizes that her family is suffering she takes over her father’s job and excels at it. Eventually, she meets a Staryk who wants her to turn silver into gold. Through Miryem's cleverness and business savvy she is able to accomplish this and Staryk that she would be better as his banker instead of his queen.

Commonplaces is a story about Irene Adler finding out that Sherlock Holmes has died at the Reichenbach Falls and her actions following getting this information. Quick story for fans of Sherlock Holmes and would be more enjoyable if you have recently read those stories.

Seven is an interesting story about a city called Seven that has seven statues and how those statues are created. We follow Kath who learned how to make pottery from her husband and is continuing to do so to feed her family even though she wasn't properly trained. She eventually is tasked with building a new statue when one of them breaks but the clay used often kills those who work with it.

Blessings is a fairytale about what are the best blessings one could get from fairies and Madga who is given the gift of strength and how that changes her story. Very short but an interesting take on princesses being gifted blessings by the fairies at the beginning of their tales.

Lord Dunsany's Teapot is about a teapot that is used in the trenches of World War I and how it ends up keeping some of the soldiers’ safe during this time. Very short but not a story that I was expecting as someone who has researched World War I.

Seven Years from Home is the only story that I didn't enjoy. This is more of a science fiction story than fantasy and if I had read it alone I might have liked it more. Written in first person we follow the account of a researcher who wants to learn more about a specific alien group. I only skimmed this story so I don’t' feel like I can say more than that just I think how the story was told made me not want to finish it.

Dragons & Decorum is a Pride & Prejudice retelling set in the world of Temeraire following Captain Elizabeth Bennet and her dragon Wollstonecraft. I'm not a huge fan of Pride & Prejudice but I felt that this was a unique take as Darcy doesn't know that Elizabeth is a Captain until near the end of the story.

Castle Coeurlieu is a story set during the Black Plague. We follow Isabeau who has recently married and lives in the country side with the son of her husband. On the land is a tower that has many stories and rumors about it and how it may be magical. She ends up in the tower one night when she shouldn't be but is able to save the son. Interesting take on stories influenced by the events of the Black Plague and the stories that were written at that time.

The Long Way Round is a sneak peek into the world that Naomi Novik's next book is set in. We follow siblings Tess and Aston who are sailors and ship builders on a quest to sail the long way around the land verses what is considered the safest route. As they attempt this journey they end up find new locations and how those they meet along the way change their future. Story about family and the family you build along the way. I'm interested in where Naomi Novik plans to take this story/world in the future.

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