3.5 stars

Favorites: Araminta, After Hours, Vici, Dragons & Decorum, The Long Way Round -- I would read FULL novelizations of these tales.

Mid: Seven, Seven Years, Buried Deep Spinning Silver, Blessings

Didn't care for: Commonplaces, Lord Dunsany's Teapot, Castle Coeurlieu

Great little collection and I often struggle to read short anthologies. That being said I do feel I prefer to read a whole piece of literature as opposed to short stories in general. Definitely enjoyed some more than others. The collection starts off powerful with three of my favorites all in a row. Already read and finished Spinning Silver so the first draft of the beginning story that inspired it I didn't feel was necessary, maybe for diehard fans? I didn't like the Sherlock retelling. I didn't really vibe with Lord Dunsay's Teapot or Castle Coeurlieu. Confidently can say Naomi Novik has mastered dragon writing as those stories were all the best, I think we should work on a microgenre of Age of Exploration Military Fantasy. I also preferred the tales with a complete fantastical world requiring original world building!

2.5 As a Novik fan, I was hoping this would be something I really loved. There were a few stories I did enjoy - notably Seven, Castle Coeurlieu, Dragons and Decorum . But the others were for the most part not my cup of tea. A lot tied into Novik’s other works, which is fine, but not what I was expecting or really wanted. Overall this felt lackluster and did not live up to what I know can be felt reading this author’s work.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an eARC of this book!
These stories were my introduction to Novik's writing.
Like with most short story collections I knew this was going to be a good way to familiarize myself with her writing. Also with most short story collections, as a reader, there are ones you really love and ones that aren't really your favorite to read. I read this in its entirety to give an honest review, but in a normal circumstance I would have probably skipped ones I didn't understand or like much. Since I have not read from other worlds that she created, (i.e Scholomance or Temeraire), I did feel in a few of the stories that I may have been missing key information to enjoy them. These stories did, however, peak my interest in reading those backlist series. The stories in this are whimsical and fantastical, with a sprinkle of history and mythology.
Overall, this is a good way for and introduction to Novik's writing if you haven't read or read very much from her and I think current fans of her work will find things they love as well.

As requested in my eARC, I will not release the above review or my IG mini review until the publish date of Sept 17. Thank you again!

For some reason short story collections always make me feel antsy. I’m not sure why, but I always feel impatient to get to the next story and the next and the next and the next. Despite that, I found myself really enjoying some of the stories and wishing they were full novels. My favorites were probably After Hours (I will take as much Scholomance as I can get), Buried Deep (I’m a sucker for Greek Mythology), Seven, and Dragons & Decorum. I wish there had been more short stories that were original to this collection—I think there was just one—but I guess I wouldn’t have run into these stories anywhere else.

I liked that she had a couple stories featuring her version of dragons and that does make me want to check out her dragon series which I haven’t done yet.

Overall, if you find Novik’s writing as enchanting as I do, you’ll enjoy this collection and the opportunity to revisit some of the worlds she’s built.

Note: I received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of stories will especially delight Naomi Novik connoisseurs, for her emphasis on the process of crafting the backstories of novels we know and love. Sometimes this appears as a yarn or a short spinoff of place or setting in the Temeraire world or the Schoolmance one; sometimes it’s a riff on a story previously told, and sometimes it’s a creation that has a handhold in many of her marvelous worlds, but is hard to classify. Each story has an author’s note and as usual Novik’s honesty about the plot and characters, the writing process and her own state of mind-the person she was-when writing these tales is both jolting and enriching (how does she do that?). I immensely enjoyed this collection, which was greatly enhanced by my previous familiarity with her work. For the novice, I would suggest dipping your literary toes into her oeuvre first and then diving into this book.

I adore Naomi Novik's writing so when I received an early copy of Buried Deep and Other Stories I couldn't contain my excitement!

I'm a big fan of a good short story collection and this one was perfect to read in between other novels. The short stories included are fantastic. There is a good mix of standalone stories, spin-offs of her established series such as Scholomance and Temeraire, and a surprise exclusive story from a work-in-progress project that looks really promising. My favorites were a slightly different short-story version of Spinning Silver, and a Temeraire tie-in I can only describe as Pride and Prejudice and Dragons. Enough said.

If you're a fan of Naomi Novik's books and the above sounds like your vibe, definitely give this one a go. I loved every page.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Buried Deep and Other Stories is a collection of short stories written by Naomi Novik. Stories range from original worlds, to retellings, to stories set in worlds from Novik’s other books.
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Overall, this was a solid collection of short stories. There were stories I definitely enjoyed more than others. Buried Deep, Spinning Silver and Dragons & Decorum were personal favorites of mine. Individual story ratings probably ranged between 3 and 5 stars. As someone unfamiliar with Novik’s previous works, I did feel that people who have read her previous works would find more enjoyment out of stories set in the worlds from those works, but it did not detract much from my reading experience.
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I have been interested in reading books by Novik for a while and reading this collection has made me more confident that I will most likely enjoy my time with any of Novik’s other works (especially with that last story possibly hinting at what’s to come in her next one! I was hooked!).
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Thank you Random House Publishing Group for providing this eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

***A Big thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review***
This must be the 4th or 5th book of Naomi Novik’s that I have had the pleasure to read (Uprooted, 3 or 4 of the Temeraire books). Buried Deep and Other Stories is a collection of short stories, some of them almost novella sized, all based in the fantasy genre. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of the stories and they hit on almost all of the fantasy favorite tropes: Pirates, dragons, wizards….you name it. It is really cool that she also throws in 2 dragon tales based in the Temeraire universe.

Each of the stories are wonderfully written and even though they are deep fantasy, they each focus on the characters and their relationships and struggles. My only knock on this title is that some of the stories drag on a bit, which is why I think I stepped away from the Temeraire series and moved on to other titles. That might be a nitpicky thing to bring up and is my personal opinion. I’m sure there are Novik fans out there that love her for that.

Overall, a great read that is well worth the time of fantasy fans. I would recommend this more for seasoned fantasy fans, especially those who are already seasoned Naomi Novik readers.

Overall, I would give the collection as a whole a 3.5/5-star rating. I thoroughly enjoyed the titular Buried Deep, the short story version of Spinning Silver, After Hours, Castle Coeurlieu, Seven, and The Long Way Round, despite its oddly abrupt ending. Naomi’s writing is magical and I love getting lost in the worlds she creates in her stories. There were a few others I also enjoyed, but I felt should’ve been a bit longer. Many of the stories in this collection are retellings, AU retellings set in Naomi Novik’s novels, or new stories from her previous novels. This can be great when the reader is familiar with the inspiration or the author has more time to flesh things out like in a full novel. But in the case of this short story collection, I felt like many of the stories really relied on the reader having a familiarity with the source material(s) to fully appreciate and understand them. All but two of the stories included have been featured in other collections, and were probably very good in that context. However, as someone without much knowledge about her Temeraire series or Sherlock Holmes, the included stories inspired by these and other sources unfamiliar to me, left me a bit disappointed. Before each short story there is a paragraph detailing the story’s inspirations and I look forward to reading some of the novels that I’m not familiar with that inspired her stories and perhaps returning to this collection.

I would've read a full-length novel of almost every one of these stories; I've loved reading these in between books over the last month, and am kind of sad it's over.

This collection really showcased the range of Naomi Novik's work, and made me adore her more. She gave a glimpse into so many magical worlds, both from her own imagination and some inspired by history or literature. There's Ariadne & the Minotaur, another version of my favorite book of hers (Spinning Silver), and Elizabeth Bennet: dragon rider, just to name a few favorites.

This also got me so excited to find out what's coming next for her - "The Long Way Round" was a sneak peak into her next project, and I can't wait for the final product.

Naomi Novik does it again! She truly writes fairytales like no other. I loved this collection of short stories and extensions of worlds. Although I'm a big fan of this author, I haven't read all of her works yet. Some of these stories were directly related to her novels, and as such I don't think they pack the same punch if you aren't at least familiar with some of her previous characters and universes. I still think this is worth a read, if only to get caught up in Novik's beautiful writing.

I forced myself to read this book slowly because I was so in love with Novik's writing that I knew if I let myself I would devour this in less than a day. I BARELY managed to hold myself to reading this slowly and I cannot wait to get this book in a physical form and re-read some of these stories again. I absolutely loved this so much!

Naomi Novik has been and continues to be one of my favorite fantasy authors and I can sing this author’s praises all day long.

Buried Deep is a collection of 13 delightful short stories spanning fantasy, science fiction, and “historical” fiction. For long-time Novik fans, a few of these stories tie into or are in the same universe as some of Novik’s full length works (Temeraire, Spinning, Silver, Scholomance).

These are stories to be savored. Each story is immersive, beautifully written, and just pure magic - perfect bedtime stories. Reading these stories gave me such a warm, comforting feeling, like meeting up with an old friend. This entire collection was such a treasure.

I loved getting an insight into Novik’s mind, writing process, interests, and inspirations. My most anticipated story was a first look at Novik’s current project, the last story of the collection “The Long Way Round”.

I strongly recommend this collection if you enjoy any or all of the following:
- Pirate adventures
- Magical schools
- Dragons
- Fairy tales
- Mythology
- Roman times
- Regency times
- Sherlock Holmes
- Pride and Prejudice

⭐️ 5 stars ⭐️

A dragon-sized thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC!!!

I am not usually a fan of short story collections (mostly because I feel that I am not able to fully understand and appreciate the deeper meaning and symbolism with the shorter format. However, this was definitely an exception! I loved how the stories connected to the worlds in her other books/series and the explanations before each story helped give the context and hints about the underlying meaning I sometimes miss in other short stories. I would recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy, but especially if you have enjoyed this author’s other work.

“He wanted to keep this piece of himself separate, this part that could love her, for as long as he could. Even if he had to stay down there in the dark.”

You don't have to be familiar with any of her Temeraire or Scholomance works but you will definitely be introduced to them in this collection of short stories. I have not yet read Spinning Silver but after reading the short story version of it included in this collection I was immediately interested in the whole other book that came from that. There is even a glimpse from the world of her new project FOLLY.

I have to say "After Hours" the Scholomance related story unexpectedly made me cry. I really loved the strength of this story about friendship, roommates, and magic midnight supply runs.

Another favorite was "Buried Deep" , a retelling of Ariadne and the Minotaur. I loved it so much I wish it was longer. It had so many beautiful quotes.

I already mentioned how I loved "Spinning Silver" but it really is top tier storytelling. The pacing, the wording, the realness of it despite being a retelling of a fairytale.

Those are most likely my top 3 stories but the rest were equally as well told and I love that there is an author's note before you go into each story. "Dragons & Decorum" is also a really cool reworking of Pride and Prejudice but with Dragons. People who love Sherlock will most likely like the addition of "Commonplaces" , the story with Irene Adler. There is also a really cool regency pirate story. I think this is a good starting point to see Naomi Novik's style of writing if you are not familiar with her work. She truly is a gifted storyteller.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine| Del Rey for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

A delightful collection of stories from the various universes and works by Naomi Novik. I have been a long time fan of Naomi Novik's books and this collection just felt like a fun return to many of her previous works. The writing is really well done and the stories themselves are really interesting. I loved getting to see new perspective and characters in the universes and getting cameos of old favorite characters as well. It's a fun collection and honestly you don't have to have read her previous works to enjoy this collection. It's a great fantasy anthology and one I'd recommend!

Release Date: September 17,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

"A thrilling collection of thirteen short stories that span the worlds of the New York Times bestselling author of the Scholomance trilogy, including a sneak peek at the land where her next novel will be set.

From the dragon-filled Temeraire series and the Gothic magical halls of the Scholomance trilogy, through the realms next door to Spinning Silver and Uprooted, this stunning collection takes us from fairy tale to fantasy, myth to history, and mystery to science fiction as we travel through Naomi Novik's most beloved stories. Here, among many others, we encounter:

- A mushroom witch who learns that sometimes the worst thing in the Scholomance can be your roommate.
- The start of the Dragon Corps in ancient Rome, after Mark Antony hatches a dragon's egg and bonds with the hatchling.
- A young bride in the Middle Ages who finds herself gambling with Death for the highest of stakes.
- A delightful reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, in which Elizabeth Bennet captains a Longwing dragon.
- The first glimpse of the world of Abandon, the setting of Novik's upcoming epic fantasy series - a deserted continent populated only by silent and enigmatic architectural mysteries.

Though the stories are vastly different, there is a unifying theme: wrestling with destiny, and the lengths some will go to find their own and fulfill its promise."

AND REGENCY MAGIC! YAROO!

Though this is advertised as a with a unifying theme of destiny, the stories are too varied to feel cohesive. I enjoyed some stories quite a bit, while others I yawned through.

It would greatly enhance the reader experience if one was already familiar with Novik's body of work, but I don't believe it is necessary.

The extra stories about the Scholomance series were enough to give this book an easy 4 stars. I absolutely love how Naomi Novik writes. It's so easy to be swept away in her storytelling and this was no exception. The only stories I didn't read were the ones relating to Temeraire because I haven't read them yet. I loved all the little extra tidbits and almost some behind-the-scenes stories following different characters than who we're used to. I loved the Scholomance story following a new character after the school had been fixed. I was literally kicking my feet while reading it. I'm obsessed and definitely plan to get a finished copy.

I cut my Novik teeth on Spinning Silver when it released in 2018, absolutely entranced with the world building and beautiful prose. It was the first book I ever got in a book box, and I still have my signed 1st/1st on my Novik shelf today. Though I read it first, I quickly followed with Uprooted, which I liked even more, and I knew I may have a new favorite author on my hands. Cue the release of A Deadly Education, which had me so excited I absolutely made an infant of myself whenever I talked about it. But the Scholomance series for me was not Novik; it felt disconnected somehow from the writing that transported me before. Buried Deep, though I hate short stories, gave me back the Novik I first read and fell in literary love with. I read past my bedtime, pushing myself with lies of “just one more story” until I couldn’t keep them open anymore.

To start, I’ll give a brief overview of the contents:

“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake”
previously published in Fast Ships, Black Sails (2008). Ed. by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer.
“After Hours”
New story from Novik’s Scholomance universe
“Vici”
previously published in The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy (2010). Ed. by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois.
“Buried Deep”
previously published in The Mythic Dream (2019). Ed. by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe.
“Spinning Silver”
previously published in The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales (2016). Ed. by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe.
“Commonplaces”
previously published in The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2009). Ed. by John Joseph Adams.
“Seven”
previously published in Unfettered III: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy (2019). Ed. by Shawn Speakman.
“Blessings”
previously published in Uncanny Magazine, Issue 22, May/June 2018.
“Lord Dunsany’s Teapot”
previously published in The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (2011). Ed. by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer.
“Seven Years from Home”
previously published in Warriors (2010). Ed by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin.
“Dragons & Decorum”
previously published in Golden Age and Other Stories (2017), a novella-length anthology of Temeraire short stories.
“Castle Coeurlieu”
previously published in Unfettered II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy (2016). Ed. by Shawn Speakman.
“The Long Way Round”
New story from Novik’s upcoming book universe

Many of these stories are reprints from previously published anthologies. We get only 2 new stories. As I don’t own the preview anthologies and/or haven’t read any of them before (because I hate short stories), I don’t feel so miffed about the recycled/repackaged content. Other readers may not like old wine in new skins, so be advised before purchasing that most of these stories have been out for years.

“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake”

If I hate any kind of story more than a short story, it’s a pirate story. I think because Novik makes up worlds that are interesting and then puts what I would consider boring things in them (pirate stories), they could possibly be not so bad for me. Overall, if this one were fleshed out into a novel, I’d pick it up. I loved the magical realism and time period melded together to make a story about a woman who doesn’t really want to live a typical female life in a time when ladies had no options to do so. Also, I love the small details on the ships for avoiding certain catastrophes while sailing the Atlantic. Not my favorite story of the bunch but not the worst.

“After Hours”

One of our new stories in this anthology comes from the Scholomance universe, and I was incredibly surprised that I didn’t hate this one, considering I did not like the original trilogy at all. Actually, I’d love to see a more fleshed out story with the main character in “After Hours.” I really loved the connections here among the new students, and the end might have warmed my heart just a bit.

“Vici”

If all of Novak’s Temeraire series is written like this, I am going to need to start reading it stat. This was brilliant. Mark Antony doesn’t take himself seriously until he becomes a dragon daddy, and even then only slightly more than before? One of my favorites in the anthology.

“Buried Deep”

The titular short story in this collection unquestionably takes the status of my favorite, and I don’t care for Greek myth imaginings so much nowadays. If the massive flooding of the current offering of Greek mythological retellings/reimaginings possessed the je nais se quoi present in Novik’s story, I’d devour them all.

“Spinning Silver”

I’ll admit, I was disappointed with this one for several reasons. First, I had no idea one of my favorite Novik novels was first a short story. I’m still not sure how I feel about that, and I’ll need time to reflect in order to come to terms with this recyclage. Second, it’s a pretty long short story and it’s in this anthology, which goes back to my first feelings about this new book with old stories. Still, I enjoyed reading the story in its infancy, and I’m happy with the changes that made it into my first favorite Novik novel.

“Commonplaces”

Not necessarily fantasy, but I’ll take it anyway, “Commonplaces” takes a look at a beloved Victorian character in depth and imagines an after for a series that’s been read, made in to TV series, and adapted for the big screen ad nauseam. I quite like this one in terms of its catharsis, but it’s bit short and the character may be off from Novik’s interpretation in my own mind. Nevertheless, Novik can make a person performing daily commonplace tasks the most fascinating in the world for me, so I don’t care if it’s how I imagined it or not.

“Seven”

Novik really drew me in with this one but left me hanging, so I have mixed feelings. The worlds she comes up with in just offhand short stories amazes me. Because it’s a short story, however, the world building is incomplete and I don’t understand how many things work, what’s going on, what happens after the end, etc. I realize this may be the point of short stories—which is another reason I hate them. I loved this one, though, against my own will.

“Blessings”

Possibly the shortest of the stories, I quite enjoyed the fairies in this one and the brief glimpse of a dynamic between a reimagined Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent. As with other stories, I’d love to see this one fleshed out into a whole novel or series. I feel the world building would be amazing.

“Lord Dunsany’s Teapot”

I’m not sure what to make of this one except Dunsany fraternizes and falls in love with one of his men while in the trenches of WWI. He subsequently dies in battle, leaving the man his teapot to grieve over. The telling, as always with Novik’s writing, was mesmerizing, but it was quite short and not really fantasy. The teapot in the trenches felt out of place in the collection.

“Seven Years from Home”

Meant to be a bit of a sci-fi rendition of, what Novik called in the introduction of the story unbelievable events of T. H. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, I can’t testify to the credibility of Lawrence’s account of his experiences, but I can say I really liked this world Novik created for the sake of the commentary. Fantastic places and space travel meet colonized planets with stark dichotomies of environmental practices. I found myself fascinated with the possibilities of living at one with nature while being a technologically advanced warrior with advanced biological warfare skills. Another one I’d love to see fleshed out into a whole series.

“Dragons & Decorum”

Pride & Prejudice iterations are a dime a dozen nowadays, and I tend to not like them very much. It’s hard to beat Austen’s genius on social commentary served with subtle and very insulting wit, but many try. I feel Novik’s “Dragons & Decorum” falls into the better category, with her inclusion of the Napoleonic wars and dragons, but the characters were a bit anachronistic for my taste. I do quite like the steampunk vibes, but I could have done without the wimping down of Darcy. Add to that the fact that this story was previously published in another anthology from Novik already, and I believe this may be one of my least favorite stories.

“Castle Coeurlieu”

This medieval story stole my heart—pun intended—completely. The tale of this connection between the new, young wife of a warrior lord and the young son she becomes the mother of shows excellently the skill Novik uses when creating characters. I grew to love Isabeau and Jerome because of their attachment to one another, and by the end of this short glimpse of the magical world the author weaves around the Heart Place, I had invested much of my emotion into the fates of the characters. As per usual, if I love a short story because it draws me in and grips me, it’s over much too soon; and I’m left with more questions than satisfaction. Once again, my disdain for short stories receives vindication.

“The Long Way Round”

I left the last story last in all respects: I did not wander through the book and skip around to read some stories before others, and I left all of the details about the new world for what Novik appears to tease as the setting for upcoming books until I came to it and began reading it. The story framing disappointed immediately, as I don’t really ever enjoy the type of story it is (I won’t spoil for those who want to read it surprised). While my curiosity is piqued and I’d like to know what the weird structures the characters encounter are, I’m just not so excited about this upcoming series.

My overall rating stands at 3.5/5. A few of the stories kept me truly engrossed, but I would like to have seen more than two new stories in a whole new book for a whole book price. I’m also more thrilled with some of the old stories than the new offering proposed to be from Novik’s new book universe soon to come. I would like some more Spinning Silver and Uprooted Novik, please.

My thanks to Del Rey via NetGalley for the eARC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.