Mélyre temetve és más történetek

by Naomi Novik, Mónika Heinisch (Translator)

Naomi Novik tizenhárom izgalmas novellája a New York Times bestselleríró korábbi népszerű regényeinek világába kalauzolja el az olvasóit. Ezek közé tartozik a sárkányoktól hemzsegő Temeraire-sorozat, a gótikus mágusiskolában játszódó Solomancia-trilógia, valamint az Ezüstfonás és a Rengeteg kelet-európai ihletésű, tündérek lakta tája. Emellett egy történet erejéig betekintést nyerhetünk az írónő készülő, új művébe is. Tündérmesék találkoznak a fantasyvel, mítoszok keverednek a történelemmel, és krimi elegyedik a sci-fivel.

Ízelítő a gyűjtemény lenyűgöző témái közül:

- Egy gombatermesztő boszorkány rájön, hogy legfőbb ellenlábasa a Solomanciában a saját szobatársa.

- Az első sárkányhadtest kialakulása az ókori Rómában, ahol Marcus Antonius kertjében kikel egy sárkányfióka és szövetséget köt gazdájával.

- Egy középkori várúr fiatal felesége leül a Halállal kártyázni, hogy megnyerje a legnagyobb tétet.

- A Büszkeség és balítélet szórakoztató újragondolása, ahol Elizabeth Bennet egy sárkány hátán védi országát.

- Az első történet Novik következő nagylélegzetű fantasysorozatából, az új földrészt felfedező hajósokról, akik emberek helyett néma és titokzatos építményekkel találkoznak.

Bár minden történet gyökeresen más, egy motívum összeköti őket: a sorssal való hadakozás, és az elszántság, amellyel a főhősök igyekeznek megtalálni saját magukat és küldetésüket.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Dragons, Adult, Anthologies, Audiobook

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2024

About the author

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers. Her website is at naominovik.com

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although they're not split this way, I'd divide the 13 short stories in this anthology into 3 groups: one for Novik's existing series of books ("Temeraire," "Scholomance"), a second for those based on her fairy tale retellings ("Uprooted," "Spinning Silver"), and a third for standalone stories.

Unless you're a fan of the series which they complement, the first group of short stories that are part of them are going to feel mediocre at best.

I've not read "Temeraire," and don't intend to, so I'm judging the two short stories that were meant to be part of or inspired by those books on their own, and I found them both terrible. Granted, I'm no fan of talking dragons and I'm less of a fan of dragon tales set in Rome, my bloodthirsty little soul wants my dragons to be terrifying weapons of mass destruction like in "Game of Thrones," not be sentient loudmouths sassying at me in terrible Latin. So whilst both Temeraire-related dragon stories were a trial to me, the first was by far the worst in the entire collection. I mightily hated "Vici," a shortie about Marc Antony and a sentient dragon he uses for the Conquest of Gaul with Caesar. I get that it was meant as humour, but it was annoying and the humour felt forced and slapsticky. I got stuck on this awful story for so long I feared I'd never finish the anthology! I had to leave it for last after a number of failed attempts at reading it.

The story set in the Scholomance universe fared better with me. I haven't read "The Scholomance," either, and don't intend to; magic academies float my boat about as much as mouthy dragons. But this story, "After Hours," was amenably quick and uncomplicated, though quite forgettable, and gets no comments from me because of that easy ride.

Then there are the two short stories connected to Novik's two novel-length fairy tale retellings, which were my reason to pick this anthology up in the first place. "Spinning Silver" is a short story I originally read in another anthology years ago, before Novik decided to expand it into a novel, and is by far my favourite of her retellings. Rereading it again here, I remain convinced it was a great choice by the author to make it into a novel, both because the characters were begging for it (and it's so much more obvious now from rereading it after years that it wouldn't have worked as a Rumpelstiltskin retelling without the added context from the novel; the shortie sure lacks a lot to be considered a proper retelling) and because, to be frank, Novik is much, much better at long form than short stories. Her short stories tend to be amateurish, though maybe it's because she wrote them when she didn't have that much experience? In any case, I'm so very happy she made this story and "Blessings" into novels. Well, "Blessings" wasn't really made into a novel, but it sparked her investment in Polish fairy tales, which in turn sparked "Uprooted," which with all its flaws is still a good retelling. Seeing the shortie that led her down the rabbit hole for the first time was enlightening, she had the potential but was too new to the genre and made mistakes, some of which she corrected in her second retelling.

The rest of the stories are 9 standalone shorties Novik had previously published in various collections. I suspect readers will find their favourites amongst these, at least I did find my most favourite short story amongst them. "Buried Deep," the story that lends its name to the collection, is a Greek mythology retelling that is asking to be expanded. Me? Asking for a Greek myth to be retold? I assure you I'm sober and have had a good breakfast today. I'm saying this because I really think this story needs to follow the "Uprooted"/"Spinning Silver" route and be turned into a novel. Yes, I'm mightily fed up with Greek myths being made into Boss Girl rubbish to please modern readers, but I think Novik doesn't do that, not with this one at least, and she understands this is one of the few myths with a strong female in it. Ariadne is a promisingly nuanced character with much potential the way Novik has created her, and though the plot mightn't be the most original twist for the myth of the Minotaur I've encountered in this short form, if expanded could be a good story.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[EveStar91 · Rating 5 out of 5]

''What if we went the long way round instead, next time?'' Aston said.
Why not?

Buried Deep and Other Stories is a fantastic collection of stories from worlds old and new, told and retold by Naomi Novik. Most were published previously in other anthologies, but I haven't read these and was happy to see this book come out! There must be something for everyone in this collection of thirteen stories, whether one likes the Scholomance or Temeraire worlds, retellings of fairy tales, mystical stories, Regency romances, or even a glimpse into a new world!

Finding magic, finding a thing of magic, while you were still young enough to truly believe, could open the door, and then if you had some little gift as well, a powerful magic could awaken it to bloom.

The foundation for all these stories is the strong world-building, fascinating magic systems and intricate societies. Whether the length is a short few pages or more like a novella, the glimpses we see are of full-fledged worlds.

Lady Araminta - the possessor of several other, more notable names besides, here omitted for discretion - had been caught twice trying to climb out her window, and once in her father's library, reading a spellbook.

The characters, some bright and sharp, some delicate sparks, some rough and sturdy, and some even matte and resilient are all relatable or at least empathizable (is that a word?)

The real story isn't half as pretty as the one you've heard.

Novik can masterfully spin (yes, I said that) both mystical and practical stories with action as well as intospection. I enjoy reading character driven stories, and there are plenty here. Some are just vignettes with only a small story arc, but satisfying nonetheless.

She was armored against incivility, however, by the knowledge that a dragon waited eagerly for her to return and give a full accounting of the gowns and jewels worn by every lady present.

Lastly, the writing is adapted well to the different settings and stories. It drew me into the story, set appropriate vibes and even interspersed humour, all while flowing smoothly!

As with every anthology, there are one or two stories and settings I couldn't get invested in, but that's more to do with personal taste than the story itself I believe.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The rating for this collection is 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads, as most of the stories are simply great!

[One star the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters; One star for the writing; Half a star for the story arcs; One star for the world-building and description - 4 1/2 stars in total.]


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April 23, 2024

Very excited to receive an ARC through NetGalley! Can't wait to dig into ( 😉) more of Naomi Novik's work 😀.

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me and anthologies have never been 🤝 but I've adored several of Naomi Novik's novels so there was no way I was going to pass this up (especially the Scholomance story). While there were several duds in here, I think that she just has such a way with fairytales that any of those stories more than made up for it.

As I read this intentionally in short bursts over several days, I often found myself getting distracted by fixating on scenes and lines and settings from some of my favourite tales in this anthology.

And if I ever stop laughing about the drunk fairy godmothers one-upping each other, someone please get me to the doctor asap.
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POST RELEASE EDIT: I normally prefer paperbacks to hardcovers because they're cheaper, take up less space, better for the environment, easier to read from. But since this was one of my favs this year and I knew it would be coming without a dustjacket, I pre-ordered it.

And I was betrayed. There is NO linen texture on the book. IT'S PRINTED ON WITH THE REST OF THE ART. The linen texture is a lie and I will not recover from my disappointment for at least a month. I cannot tell you how much I was anticipating receiving and touching my linen texture book only to discover it was false advertising the whole time.
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Disclaimer: There are 13 stories and I will be doing a review for each individually. I have prior knowledge only of her Scholomance series, Uprooted, and Spinning Silver which may impact how I receive these stories.

I also think that Novik's grown considerably in her craft over time, so it makes sense that many of my favourite stories in this collection are much more recent. I've included the dates here as I feel it better contextualizes my reviews.
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Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake (2008):
I am determined that good pirate stories exist, but I've yet to find one apart from Amina. It's just a category that, for whatever reason, is dreadfully hard to get right. Likewise Regency is really not my era (nor Victorian nor World Wars, but that's unrelated), so this story wasn't really for me. Short, fine, hard for me to pay attention all the way through. 2/5

After Hours (Scholomance):
Part of the magic of the Scholomance series is El's particular voice. I'm happy to say that even though she wasn't a part of this story, I still loved it (and the glowing ghost mushrooms omg!). I love the old world, cottage, curses and nature magic type of witch that Beata is. And I think the story maintained the spirit and themes of the original trilogy. 5/5

"She didn’t know many incantations or recipes, she didn’t have a bag of artifice, but she’d been taught in stories, and she recognized the lesson of the one she was standing in right now."

Vici (Temeraire, 2010):
This is my first interaction with the Temeraire series. I imagine this short story would be a lot more satisfying if I was more familiar with the universe (or often thought about the Roman Empire), but the glimpse did at least make me intrigued-- this series appears to be dragons done right: talking, flying, fire-breathing, at the forefront of the story, and brimming with personality. 3/5

Buried Deep (2019):
Oh, I'd kinda forgotten this was the titular story. 2.5/5
But I gotta say-- my fav retelling of this myth is actually an oglaf comic


Spinning Silver (2016):
"A power claimed and challenged and thrice carried out is true."

The short story that later was turned into a full length novel, though it diverges from the story we've all read into an alternate ending. 4.5/5

"The real story isn’t half as pretty as the one you’ve heard."

Commonplaces (2009):
A short story regarding Irene Adler from Sherlock Holmes. I admittedly am most familiar with the BBC adaptations and have never been super into the IP. Her initial actions in this short story did interest me, but ultimately it's just too short and about characters I don't really have feelings for so it didn't impact me. 2/5

Seven (2019):
This one was excellent and just a little bit eerie. There were so many delicious world-building details just in the first 3 paragraphs alone. 5/5

"Kath’s work seemed like a joke when one of her squat cups was put next to one of the grandmaster’s triumphant fragile pieces, but if you looked at it too long, you began to feel the terrible sneaking suspicion that you liked the cup better."

Blessings (2019):
My only complaint with this one is that it's too short and I want more! This was hilarious and had me laughing and repeating bits aloud to my partner.

What happens when a family of middling regard invites a half dozen fairies to their baby's party (hoping to reap at least one blessing for her) and gets them all absolutely sauced? 4.5/5 5/5

(This story reminded me in all the best ways of "Armor-ella" by Holly Lisle, which is a free to read, short, Cinderella retelling that I've held close to my heart since I stumbled on it ~2005. If you enjoy this story, do yourself a favor and look that one up too.)

Lord Dunsany's Teapot (2011):
Oh no. I feel like I tempted Fate earlier when I mentioned how I don't care for stories set during the World Wars. Two soldiers find solace with tea and stories between bouts of trench warfare. 1.5/5

Seven Years From Home (2010):
This is a me thing, but I struggle with an old-timey writing style (at least when it's not constantly infused with humor/witticisms). Like I can literally feel my eyes glazing over when I read sentences like "A few moments’ conversation was sufficient to disabuse him of this hope."

Is there a term for retrofuturism where the origin point of technological advancements is not 1950's America, but a more Victorian sensibility? Cause that's what this felt like. And while I enjoyed the evolution/bioengineering/plant life of the alien planet (very "Avatar" if the alien species had advanced science that they controlled and directed), the writing style was a real barrier for me. 2/5

Dragons & Decorum (~Temeraire?, 2017):
A sweet retelling of Pride and Prejudice in which Elizabeth has become an officer in the Corps and flies her own dragon. Once more I was utterly charmed by the dragon in the story. 3.5/5

Castle Coeurlieu (2016):
“Strange things happen at night, or when the doors are shut... And not all who go within come out again.”

Not only is this a fairytale, but it also has several shorter tales within it. Tale-ception! Hubris and greed and -in the end- Death. Equal parts cozy and haunted. 4.5/5

The Long Way Round:
"Why not?"

What draws me to Fantasy more than any other genre is the world-building: I love imagining the possibilities, being presented with the eerie and mysterious unknowns, and slowly building a mental sandbox -growing more and more detailed over time- to play in.

A brother and sister, unmatched in their time (she a sailor, he a shipbuilder), set off on a foolhardy adventure with a beautiful sorcerer in tow. 4.5/5

ARC note: I can see that they've set aside room for 5 maps to be added at a later date, but cannot comment on how the text is impacted by their absence nor inclusion.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Original Review
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[chanting intensifies]

More Scholomance! More Scholomance! More Scholomance! More Scholomance!

[BJ Lillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Anna Bartłomiejczyk]

W gwiazdkach tego zbioru nie ocenię, bo z publikacjami takimi jak ta jest tak, że trudno mi ująć w tak szorstkiej ocenie wielorakość zawartych w niej tekstów.
Głęboko pogrzebany nie jest antologią, która została w jakiś sposób zaplanowana przez autorkę, tj. opowiadania w niej opublikowane nie były pisane z myślą o konkretnym zbiorze. To raczej kolekcja krótkich tekstów, które dla fanów czytających w języku angielskim może być częściowo znana, bo większość z nich została opublikowana w innych zbiorach.
Są tutaj teksty rewelacyjne i niezwykle wciągające, a są takie, które jakoś specjalnie mnie nie obeszły, stąd właśnie trudność w gwiazdkowej ocenie. Niektóre opowiadania nawiązują do powieści Novik, czyli do Scholomance i Mocy srebra (to drugie zostaje w pewien sposób "streszczone", bowiem powieściowa Moc srebra narodziła się z opowiadania właśnie), a także do smoczej serii autorki, której w Polsce już chyba nie uraczymy. Książki zostały przetłumaczone na polski, ale wydawca stracił do nich prawa i póki co nikt nie pokusił się o wznowienie. Zaznaczę tu przy okazji, że to raczej seria przygodowa, wariacja nt. historii wojen napoleońskich. Gadające potoczyzną smoki raczej mnie nie interesują, ale przyznam, że ujęła mnie nawet ta wersja skrótu Dumy i uprzedzenia, w której Elizabeth lata na smoku, a co więcej, jest kapitanem korpusu wojskowego (Siódmego Skrzydła, by the way).
Najmocniejszym opowiadaniem bezwzględnie jest to tytułowe, choć Novik pokazuje, że nieźle odnajduje się w takich opowiadaniach-kolażach, w ramach których dostajemy mieszankę powieści regencyjnej, przygody, awantury, a co więcej, statków i piratów. Mam tu na myśli konkretnie pierwsze i ostatnie opowiadanie zbioru; aż człowiekowi zachciewa się poczytać jakieś morskie przygody (powieść o Aminie Shannon Chakraborty patrzy na mnie teraz zza pleców).

Jeśli kompletnie nie znacie Novik i zastanawiacie się, czy to autorka dla Was, sięgnijcie po ten zbiór, bo udaje się w nim ująć całą gamę zainteresowań autorki, a także konstrukcyjnych kluczy, którymi posługuje się w dłuższych tekstach.

[Akankshya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a magnificent collection of short stories. Some of them are based on Novik's previous work, and add a different flavor to those stories. The rest are around new fantasy worlds, mythologies, re-imagined fairy tales, alternate histories, and retellings. Naomi Novik is an author who is very well-known and acclaimed in the fantasy sphere, but this collection cements her as someone I would recommend to all to read, at least once.

Out of the 13 stories in this collection, my favorites were:
❆ After Hours - A Scholomance story, obviously would have been a favorite no matter what. A beloved character reappears! Best read only after reading the entire series.
❆ Buried Deep - Oh, I do love a good Greek mythology retelling, especially the ones told from a female perspective, with a twist in the entire affair.
❆ Seven - A unique, eerie, fairytale/fantasy story set in a land with seven statues, discussing art, and what perseverance and love of one's work really mean.
❆ Blessings - A wonderful rendition of fairy blessings and their complications. I know it's a 5/5 read if I want an entire-length novel to read based on a short story.
❆ Spinning Silver - Now I haven't read the original one, but I love the eerie imagery in this version (that apparently has a different ending).
❆ Dragons and Decorum - Every time I encounter a Pride and Prejudice rendition, I rejoice in the experience. When that rendition has a dash of fantasy in it, it is everything. P&P with dragons - need I say more?
❆ An honorary mention to Vici and Castle Courlieu for being hilarious and spine-chilling, respectively.

Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

[Gali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naomi Novik is one of my favorite authors. I have read most of her books, except for the Temeraire series, which I hope to read someday (too many books, not enough time). I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but I make an exception for my favorite authors.

This is a delightful collection of 13 short stories by the master tale spinner, Naomi Novik. Each story stands alone, some with more of a bite than others. Each tale is accompanied by the author’s note giving us background on the tales, which I loved. A couple of the stories were previously published, and I had read them already. The stories are:

1. Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake - A pirate story set during Regency times. Young lady Araminta is sent abroad to marry a young noble due to her un-womanlike behavior and gets more than she bargained for when pirates attack her ship.

2. After Hours (Scholomance) – A story that takes place shortly after the events of the Scholomance trilogy (a series that I loved). A young mushroom witch is sent to the Scholomance for her safety and finds it isn't as safe as she thought.

3. Vici (Temeraire, 2010) - (2008): Roman Empire and dragons! It is based on the Temeraire series and follows the life of a young Roman, Mark Antony, after he hatches a dragon’s egg.

4. Buried Deep (2019) – A retelling of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. A child with the head of a bull and the body of a man is born to King Minos and his wife, Pasiphae, as a punishment for keeping a snow-white bull sent to him by Poseidon for sacrifice. The story is told from the POV of the Minotaur's sister.

5. Spinning Silver (2016) – An earlier and shorter version of the full-length novel loosely based on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. A young Jewish girl outsmarts an elf-like Staryk. I have read the full-length story and loved it more.

6. Commonplaces – The author's version of Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes story from Irene's POV. Irene is married and lives peacefully with her solid husband. After reading about the death of Sherlock Holmes in the papers, Irene tries to find out if it is true.

7. Seven (2019) – A story about art and clay-shapers. An artist is charged with fixing a statue using a deathly white clay.

8. Blessings (2019) – A fairy story about fairy godmothers and their blessings. It somewhat reminds one of the Sleeping Beauty tale with a twist. Drunken fairies bless a child, but some blessings are worse than others.

9. Lord Dunsany's Teapot (2011) – A war story revolving around two soldiers and a magical teapot. Two soldiers find comfort in tea and believe in the teapot's protective powers. A somewhat depressing tale.

10. Seven Years From Home (2010) – A colonialism tale that takes place on an alien planet. The heroine is a female version of Lawrence of Arabia. I didn't connect to the tale and found it a bit dull.

11. Dragons & Decorum (~Temeraire?, 2017) – A retelling of Pride and Prejudice with Dragons! Elizabeth is a Captain, and a dragon is her companion in this version where England is at war with France (Bonaparte times). I love Pride and Prejudice and enjoyed this version.

12. Castle Coeurlieu (2016) – The story of a young bride in the Middle Ages during the Black Plague, including some fairy tales.

13. The Long Way Round – The sea-travel adventures of a brother and sister who set forward to find a new continent.

I enjoyed the collection, and although I liked most of the stories, there are four that are my favorites: Dragons & Decorum (I hope the author will make it a full-length novel), After Hours, Blessings, and Castle Coeurlieu. Some of the stories were open-ended, and the endings were too vague for my taste. Even though I loved the full-length novel "Spinning Silver", I thought including its short version was unnecessary and made for dull reading for those familiar with the tale.

In summary, all of these stories have four things in common: good writing, interesting storylines, strong heroines/solid characters, and vivid settings. The theme of destiny and free will runs through them like the red thread of fate. As the stories were uneven in their level, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars. Fans of the author will surely enjoy the tales. If you haven't read her work before, this collection will give you a taste of her writing.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

* Review in my Blog: https://galibookish.blogspot.com/2024...

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

You cannot ignore the range of Novik and she still remains an author I will always read from!

The main negative of this short sorry collection is that I think you would have to be familiar with all of Novik’s other works to have a full understanding and enjoy most of the stories. This seems to be a splattering of short fiction Novik wrote in tandem with her main works but couldn’t fit in.

As a short story collection, I believe it should be accessible to anyone who wants to dip their toes into an author’s work whereas this is not the case for this.

There’s some standalone stories, but there’s also some from the Schoolmance universe set after the Calling.
One from Temeraire where Antonius of Rome becomes the first dragon rider.
My personal favourite which is a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in the world of Temeraire with a gothic literature-loving dragon.

One which is verbatim a shorter story version of her novel Spinning Silver which Novik admits to in the introduction. However, I do think I enjoyed this shorter version! Despite foregoing the atmospheric descriptions, the writing was crisper and more engaging.

Here it was the dark of being a thing in the wrong place, soft and vulnerable and fallen between the turning wheels of a machine, like one of the poor little hedgehogs that tried to cross the road and were flattened by cars into useless pulp.

Novik ventures into science fiction which I thought was fascinating and would love to see her attempt a full length novel!

Children of virtually any society are an excellent resource for the diplomatic servant or the anthropologist, if contact with them can be made without giving offense. They enjoy the unfamiliar experience of answering real questions, particularly the stupidly obvious ones that allow them to feel a sense of superiority over the inquiring adult, and they are easily impressed with the unusual.

It is undeniable Novik is a master of words and delving into different niches. I thought this would make her short story collection outstanding. Sadly, for the aforementioned reasons, it did not.

Thank you to Cornerstone for providing an arc in exchange for a review!

Bookstagram

[Tijana]

Naomi Novik je poznata pre svega kao autorka romana a ne pripovedaka, i posle čitanja ove zbirke jasno je i zašto - mahom su ovo ugodne, inteligentne i prijatne priče koje ponekad jasnije odaju autorkine fanovske korene i deluju kao uvodi u romane (a u dva slučaja to i jesu) ili kao talentovano razrađeni fanfik (ima i njih) i prosto vape za time da se nastave u širinu i dužinu.

Jedna pripovetka je, međutim, baš to: pripovetka. Zove se "Sedam" i bavi se razvojem stilova u grnčarstvu. I dok sam posle prvih par strana pomislila "Oh, Naomi omažira Ursulu Legvin, baš lepo" do kraja sam stekla jasan utisak od koga neću odstupiti: da je ovo autorkin umetnički kredo u vidu priče a asocijacija na Ursulu izazvana čistim kvalitetom pisanja (ovo je kompliment od koga teško mogu dalje). Nigde i nijednom u svom opusu Naomi Novik nije sebi dozvolila ovakav zaplet i naročito završetak, nikad muški pripovedni glas nije bio ovako uverljiv (pitanje je i koliko ga je bilo, svi oni nastavci Temerera na stranu) niti pozicija antagoniste ovako protivrečna. I sam kraj - ono što nam likovi saopštavaju, ili autorka kroz njih, ili prostor koji se pred čitaocem otvara za (veliko) neslaganje sa svima njima: e to je ono zbog čega se ovo konkretno delo može izdvojiti od svih ostalih iz ove zbirke.

[mag_book_]

To była moja pierwsza styczność z twórczością autorki ale czuję, że nie ostatnia.

Zbiory opowiadań mają to do siebie, że przyciągają swoją zwięzłą i krótką treścią oraz są idealnym sposobem, by sprawdzić czy styl autora do nas przemawia.
Trzynaście historii pozwoliło mi zrozumieć, dlaczego Noami Novik jest tak cenioną autorką fantasy.

Tworzy ona bowiem wyjątkową nastrojowość w swoich powieściach, dbając o detal, by zagrać na wyobraźni czytelnika i pociągnąć go w ciekawie wykreowane światy i barwnych bohaterów.
Nie brakuje też w nich mroku oraz polskich akcentów ze względu pochodzenie autorki.

Każde z tych opowiadań ma coś innego do zaoferowania, pokazując jak autorka sprawnie porusza się na kanwach różnych historii, bawiąc się słowem, dając się pokazać z różnej strony.
Książka zaczyna się i kończy powieściami o morskich podróżach, nadając efekt klamry - co bardzo mi się podobało, z resztą jak same te przygody. Jednak dwa opowiadania z pewnością zapadną mi w pamięci.

Tytułowy "Głęboko pogrzebany" to retelling mitu o minotaurze, w innej narracji bohaterów. Wysoce klimatyczna, przepełniona niepokojem i mrokiem historia, powodowała ciarki na plecach i trzymała mnie w napięciu.

Moje serce jednak skradł retelling "Dumy i uprzedzenia" ze smokami! Elizabeth będącą kapitanką w wojsku i dosiadającą smoka, który... schrupałby pana Darcy'ego. Dawka humoru jak i błyskotliwego romansu sprawiła mi uśmiech na twarzy i aż zapragnęłam przeczytać tę historię w pełnowymiarowym wydaniu!

Niektóre historie jednak nie zaskarbiły sobie mojej pełnej uwagi, inne były neutralne gdyż odnosiły się do pozostałych książek autorki, których nie miałam okazji jeszcze czytać przez co wydarzenia i bohaterowie nie byli dla mnie tak istotni. Sprawiły one jednak, że poczułam chęć sięgnięcia po serie z których się wywodzą.

[Obsidian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

I did end up finishing the whole thing. Sigh. This was a collection that never really sang.

I only really liked two of the short stories, and one was surrounding her longer novel, Spinning Silver, and the other was her take on Ariadne. I have found Novik to be hit or miss with me. Full RTC.

Full review:

You all know how I do collections at this point, I rate each story, and then you can see the overall rating above. I unfortunately did not like many of the stories. I just felt bored and wish that Novik had done more with the fantasy elements like she did in "Uprooted" and "Spinning Silver." But most of the stories were either off or seemed to have some point I was totally missing.

"Armanita, or The Wreck of the Amphidrake" (1 star)-I had such high hopes, but this story about a young nobleman sent off from her family because she keeps getting into trouble was so boring. It took me almost a month to get through this story.

"After Hours" (1 star)-This apparently features characters from her other work, "Scholomance trilogy" and because of that, I had no idea who anyone was and was bored throughout. And honestly that is my number one complaint, if I have to read your other books to get your short stories, hard pass. Do readers like it when characters though are familiar with pop up in other books, yes. Do you still need to make sure a cold reader gets there, also yes.

"Vici" (1 star)-Same issue here, this short story is based on the Temeraire universe. It takes place in Romance times. Yes, at this point was when this almost became a DNF for me.

"Buried Deep" (4 stars)-This short story follows Ariadne, for those who devour Greek mythology like I do, this was a great retelling I thought. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is that the story after a while stalled a bit I thought.

"Spinning Silver" (5 stars)-Honestly think of this as an alternate take on her longer novel, "Spinning Silver" I loved this story and thought her following a moneylender's daughter, who has to grow cold inside to take care of her mother and father was great.

"Commonplaces" (3.5 stars)-A retelling of the character of Irene Adler from the Sherlock Holmes series. I don't know, this was good, but it didn't really fit the whole fantasy theme that Novik had going for her.

"Seven" (2 stars)-A city called Seven and the people who live there. I honestly can't even recall this story and I just went back to refresh my memory and kind of shrugged about it. Once again though, there's fantasy elements here so it's odd we had "Commonplaces" before that.

"Blessings" (2 stars)-A bunch of fairies cause a whole mess due to them drinking during a baby's blessing. I don't know if Novik was going for comedy or something more serious. The ending was so abrupt I thought I was missing something.

"Lord Dunsany's Teapot" (1 star)-Bored throughout.

"Seven Years from Home" (1 star)-Honestly this was just not good. I don't even know what else to say really. Reading about the "adjustments" and everything else just made my eyes glaze over.

"Dragons and Decorum" (1 star)-Just think Pride and Prejudice with dragons. And look, at this point, I was just fed up with this collection and was determined to get through it, but once again, I wonder what the heck "Commonplaces" was doing in a fantasy collection and just tossed my hands up. Also, look, this story did nothing for me. I just sighed and went okay, thanks again for not setting much of anything up. I think that's my number one criticism. Novik did a good job with just two stories in this collection, but I think I only liked them because I was familiar with both so didn't need the set up. But other readers who don't know Greek mythology or have not read her other works are going to be completely lost. And yes, I read Pride and Prejudice (loved it) and felt 100 percent annoyed through this whole thing.

"Castle Coeurlieu"-No stars because I skipped this.

"The Long Way Round" (2 stars)-Honestly, this is just a set up (maybe) of something that Novik is working on. I did not like it. So there you go.

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naomi Novik, never stop writing. I neeeeeds my Slavic folklore, fantasy and fairytales, precious.

Fair warning, most of these short stories have already been published in other anthologies and books, etc. However, you do get two brand-new stories, one from the Scholomance world, and another from a new world. The former left me feeling a little bit disappointed, but only because I wanted MORE. I anxiously await additional stories in both worlds.

My absolute favorite story in here is “Castle Coeurlieu”, and I was left deliciously unsettled at the conclusion. It’s the stuff of nightmares, but in a “please tell me more” way. I loved the short story “Spinning Silver” on its own, and also because it was fascinating to see where Novik’s mind went initially, as compared to the resulting novel-length tale. “Buried Deep” was both haunting and heartbreaking.

There were a few stories that didn’t do it for me, mostly the Temeraire ones, only because I can’t seem to get into that world. However, the tales that work are simply brilliant, and for those reasons, I can’t give my lady Novik less than 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine/Del Rey for gifting me an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. I wrote this review voluntarily.

I can’t wait for the new epic fantasy series!! 😍

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Novik fan, I was looking forward to this, and it’s a good and enjoyable collection, with some serious range—several of these stories belong to different genres and are written in impressively different styles. The 13 stories are so different that I’ll go straight to the individual comments.

“Araminta, Or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake”: What a great opener! This is the perfect fun, plot-driven short story. It’s Regency-style (and Novik absolutely nails the language), involving a rebellious young woman, cross-dressing, and pirates. More involved worldbuilding than some novels—I had to double-check that Novik hadn’t written more in this world—and a perfectly satisfying ending. Loved every minute.

“After Hours”: The Scholomance short story. Happily I liked it a lot, though it’s slightly spoilery for the trilogy so best read afterwards. This one features a young Polish forest witch whose assigned roommate is a rich girl from Chicago, which goes exactly as you would expect. Resonates well with the themes of the trilogy despite featuring new characters, got me quickly invested, fleshes out a fun corner of the world, and delivers a satisfying ending.

“Vici”: Mark Antony with dragons; or, Temeraire fanfic set in ancient Rome. Quick and snappy but very lightweight. Might have enjoyed it better if I knew more about Mark Antony or had seen the show “Rome,” which apparently inspired it.

“Buried Deep”: A Greek myth retelling featuring Ariadne and the Minotaur. Very good, and made me think half the problems with the current Greek retelling trend would be solved if they were all 35 pages long—or perhaps that Novik should write a novel in this vein. The setting, vibes and language are spot on. The end seems a little premature though: did Theseus kill Minotaur, or just find his body and claim credit? And what to make of Ariadne’s big moral decision, when (if we take our version of the myths as evidence) the world does learn who was in the labyrinth, but also buys Minos’s reasoning for it?

“Spinning Silver”: Turns out, I love this novel too much to want to see an early draft of its beginning. Miryem was so much more complex and interesting in the novel… uh... she was, right??

“Commonplaces”: Sherlock Holmes fanfic featuring Irene Adler. This is a perfectly decent short story, though my lack of familiarity with the source material meant it didn’t do much for me.

“Seven”: A sort of fairy tale or morality play, asking questions about the value of a legacy in art vs. family. Potentially interesting but lacks the emotional oomph to really bring it home for me.

“Blessings”: A cute short piece about fairy godmothers one-upping each other, that I think I’d have liked better if it either focused exclusively on the fairies or gave us a lot more of the godchild’s story.

“Lord Dunsany’s Teapot”: A competent WWI story about a connection between two soldiers in the trenches and the value of imagination. Caused me to read up on Edward, Lord Dunsany (who seems a bit young for his age here) but I’m afraid I don’t understand what the epiphany could’ve been that he didn’t know already.

“Seven Years From Home”: Novik does political/anthropological sci-fi! This one is fascinating: a highly imaginative world with some great solarpunk/biotech elements, an ecologically-oriented society that avoids the usual tropes and creates food for thought. It’s smart and creative and I’d definitely like to know more, though Novik falls down a bit on making the narrator’s personal story make sense; I think perhaps she struggles to write a worldview she fundamentally disagrees with.

“Dragons and Decorum”: Pride and Prejudice fanfiction in the Temeraire world, in which Elizabeth Bennet is a captain in the draconic air force. Definitely the best P&P retelling I have read! The language is pitch-perfect, which is hard enough to pull off, but Novik also gets the characters right, from Mr. Bennet’s sense of humor to Lizzie’s personality—she realizes what many modern authors miss, which is that Lizzie is a badass and if she has a job, it should be a cool and adventurous one. Anyway, this is great fun. I don’t think it depends too heavily on having read Temeraire, but it’s definitely helpful to be familiar with Pride and Prejudice.

“Castle Coeurlieu”: A great medieval story about a young girl and a creepy castle. This one was apparently inspired by the history book A Distant Mirror, and it nails the culture and vibes—far better than George R.R. Martin, who was also apparently inspired by it. I especially enjoyed the incorporation of Christian mythology, including the queens personifying death, war, plague and famine, i.e., the four horsemen of the apocalypse!. Now I want to see Novik write a full-length medieval historical fantasy because from this story, she’s definitely up to it.

“The Long Way Round”: Sadly for me, this is what Novik is actually working on and it’s by far my least favorite. Caveat that I don’t like fantasy journey/quest stories in general, and hated Novik’s prior seafaring novel, and so a mariner and her brother circumnavigating the globe is a hard sell. But I also found the plot lacking in stakes, the characters dull, the worldbuilding generic (Novik has worked the facts out—geography, history, magic—but culturally and in terms of the characters’ actual lives, it feels like every other fantasy world), even the style feels a bit too similar to her other work. It’s flabby at 63 pages and I definitely don’t want more.

Overall it’s a good batch of stories, though. I do get the sense, as the protagonists of Novik’s novels tend to be immediately complex and memorable in ways those in her short stories are not, that she perhaps needs more time with a character to make them stand out. But these are still fun and engaging stories with quite a lot of variety, imaginative settings and strong writing. I look forward to Novik’s next work (… other than the Long Way Round)!

[✨ A ✨]

DNF 40%

Turns out there is no Uprooted short story and the Spinning Silver short story is just a Sparks Notes shortened version of the full novel 😃 yay

[Sarah (berriesandbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naomi Novik has created a diverse anthology with original ideas, retellings, and stories based on her existing novels. No matter the category, Novik creates imaginative and (mostly) engaging stories. The only issue I kept coming across was wanting more. I understand this is supposed to be short stories, but her writing and ideas are so lovely that I would have been more engaged if she had expanded on them with just ten or more pages. Still, overall a great collection!

Since I’ve read the Scholomance series and her stand-alone novels Spinning Silver and Uprooted, those stories were more exciting to me than the others. I have not read the Temeraire series, but I still enjoyed those stories since I adore dragons. I would recommend going into this anthology after reading at least a few of her novels to get the most out of it.

Below is a quick note and rating on each story.

“Arminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake”
3/5 stars: I will never pass on a pirate story, especially LADY pirates, but overall this was quite forgettable for me.

“After Hours”
5/5 stars: This was written for me, mark my words. As an avid Scholomance fan I will take any opportunity to revisit this beloved world. Little witches and monsters and a magical school, what more do I need?

“Vici”
3/5 stars: Naomi Novik’s somehow made dragons and ancient Rome come together gorgeously, I just wish it was longer.

“Buried Deep”
4/5 stars: Novik handles Ariadne’s and the Minotaur’s story with love and care. She chose to build onto this beloved myth instead of overhauling it to make a point. I love heartfelt and tragic sibling bond.

“Spinning Silver”
2/5 stars: Unpopular opinion, but I did not enjoy Spinning Silver, despite a couple of rereads, so reading it as a short story did not offer much for me.

“Commonplaces”
4/5 stars: Irene Adler, the woman you are. Novik kept the enigmatic aura that Sherlock and Adler are known for while expanding their story in a way that makes perfect sense for these characters.

“Seven”
4/5 stars: A gorgeous story reflecting on how life’s satisfaction depends on the love we give.

“Blessing”
4/5 stars: This story examines what women could consider a curse versus what men consider a blessing through fairies one-upping each other while blessing a baby girl.

“Lord Dunsany’s Teapot”
3/5 stars: Two soldiers find comfort in friends and imagination in extremely difficult times.

“Seven Years from Home”
1/5 stars: My least favorite story of the collection. This has potential but it needed to be at least novella-length. There is so much world-building crammed in the story that I lost track of the plot.

“Dragons and Decorum”
4/5 stars: Pride and Prejudice but Elizabeth is a Captain with a dragon? A fan-fic girl’s dream. This stayed relatively true to P & P and the changes Novik implemented made sense in the form of a short story.

“Castle Coeurlieu”
3.5/5 stars: A gothic and mysterious medieval tale with friends who become monsters and a mysterious card game that determines the fate of others.

“The Long Way Round”
1/5 stars: While the world piqued my interest a few times, there were so many descriptions of just sailing around that made the story boring.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

[inês · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating a book is hard enough, but rating a short story anthology is almost unmanageable as I've enjoyed each story very differently. There is no overarching theme to this collection with some short stories taking place in the worlds Novik crafted for her other series and standalones, so it very much just feels like a compilation of all the things she'd written thus far rather than something cohesive. Regardless, Novik's writing and imagination clearly comes across and I have particularly enjoyed some of the stories. I will provide ratings and fire-rapid comments for each of the stories as I think that's the only way I can review this book!

1. Araminta or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake (3 stars): If you are looking for a pirate adventure that is short and sweet, but still has a strong feminist message, this could be for you. I personally felt it was one of the weakest stories in terms of pacing and structure, but it was entertaining enough.

2. After Hours (3 stars): This is set in the Scholomance world and whilst I read the series and enjoyed it, it is not my favorite work of Novik's and returning to this world for a story that didn't feel all that important was not on my bingo card of literary needs and wants. It was at least fast-paced.

3. Vici (4 stars): As someone who likes to think about the Roman Empire once a day, this fulfilled the imagery I needed. It's about the first (and Roman) dragon tamer and it was very funny at times. Definitely a silly story but well paced and structured.

4. Buried Deep (4 stars): I sort of wish this was a full-fledged novel. It is a retelling of Ariadne from the Greek Mythology with interesting sibling dynamics and analysis of how we're so biased to think ugly = monstrous that we can miss out evil.... The structure was not great but I still enjoyed it.

5. Spinning Silver (5 stars): I loved revisiting an alternative to the novel SPINNING SILVER. It's probably her second best short story. Perfect structure and pace, well-developed characters and an enchanting world.

6. Commonplaces (2 stars): I didn't care for this one at all but at least it was short.

7. Seven (2 stars): No plot just vibes and I didn't care for the vibes.

8. Blessings (4 stars): This was silly, goofy fun and I wish she would take this and turn it into a cozy fantasy novel. I'd purchase that.

9. Lord Dunsany's Teapot (3 stars): I liked the concept but didn't care for how it was executed. It's well written and all, but I found the plot to be a little boring.

10. Seven Years from Home (5 stars): This is the only one that felt like a true sci-fi story and it was my favorite of this collection (despite not fitting in with the remaining short stories). I loved the observations of our main character as she explores a new society/world and how her betrayal deeply affected her. Absolutely a solid read! I hope Novik tries her hand at sci-fi because if this is any indication, I have a feeling she'd do amazing!

11. Dragons & Decorum (5 stars): This is Pride & Prejudice with dragons and it was a fun little retelling.

12. Castle Courlieu (4.5 stars): This one was extremely atmospheric and it reminded me of Ava Reid's style quite a lot. A little eerie and tense, but ultimately more vibes than plot.

13. The Long Way Round (2.5 stars): This one is a story set in the world Novik is currently developing her upcoming series in, and it was one of my least favorites. Maybe it's because it felt underdeveloped in comparison or maybe it was the fact that the pacing wasn't great. The characters were interesting but not enough to hold my attention. It just felt like Novik was still trying to find her way in this world so I'm cautiously optimistic that when the series does come out it will be much better.

[Jessica]

If you, like me, are a Novik fan, there is much to celebrate here! Not the least of which: a retelling of Price & Prejudice with Captain Elizabeth Bennet's Longwing, Wollstonecraft, absolutely stealing the show!

*I am not rating books read for the World Fantasy Award.*

[h o l l i s · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t as smart as Micky to only pick favourites as I found them and by the time I’d gone halfway through with note taking I was already committed. Also, I really overestimated how many selections were in this anthology of short stories. Which I guess is a good thing, something for everyone and many different flavours of somethings. So let’s break it down.

ARAMINTA, OR, THE WRECK OF THE AMPHIDRAKE : This was something of a queer pirate story complete with magical discuss and monsters. It was an interesting concept but I didn’t really get invested. 2.5 stars.

AFTER HOURS : I certainly expected a Scholomance story in here and I’m hoping there might be more than one because while this was a fun glimpse of life at the school post-series events, with even a little cameo from a certain hero!, I want moooore. 3 stars.
Spoiler alert : there were no more Scholomance stories.

VICI : Having not read any of the Temeraire books (I know I know) my knowledge of the world is vague and limited to dragons. This was a good little taste though and definitely has re-ignited my intrigue to get to this series one day. 3 stars.

BURIED DEEP : I was struggling over whether I liked this one or not and then by the time I came back to this review I couldn’t even remember which one it was. Maybe the Minotaur story? Either way, lack of memory says it all. 2 stars.

SPINNING SILVER : If you’ve read the novel of the same name you know this story.. but maybe not the ending! I maybe actually liked it more than the full-length? 3 stars.

COMMONPLACES : I absolutely did not expect anything Holmes-centric from this collection but even more so it’s Irene Adler who takes the stage. Would absolutely read more of this. 4 stars.

SEVEN : I want MORE of this!! This is about claymaking and curses and sacrifice and selfishness and art. The ending is so unsatisfying mostly because it’s over so soon. But this was so interesting. 4 stars.

BLESSINGS : Oh noOoo I’m a broken record because this is another that is way too short when in fact it deserves to be extra long. Absolutely would read pages and pages more of this overly blessed woman’s journey. 4 stars.

LORD DUNSANY'S TEAPOT : I can sorta go either way on this one. I like the concept of storytelling and fantasy and hope in such a grim and hopeless setting but that’s all I really got from it. 2.5 stars.

SEVEN YEARS FROM GOME : This was one that sadly inspired a bit of skimming at certain points just because I sort’ve wasn’t following things anyway. Near the end it was giving Ferngully and Avatar vibes but that’s all I’m really taking from the experience. 2 stars.

DRAGONS & DECORUM : A PRIDE & PREJUDICE retelling with, you guessed it, dragons! This was super cute. 4 stars.

CASTLE COEURLIEU : I find myself rather confused by this one. I sorta get it but I sorta don’t. It gives medieval and plague and knights and fates and while I love all that I obviously didn’t love this. 2.5 stars.

THE LONG WAY AROUND : This is apparently a taste, or at least a vibe?, of Novik’s upcoming story. I enjoyed some aspects of this world, it is very sea-faring-leaning with a side of unexplored land long abandoned by unknowns and magic wielders who sorta rule the particular town we’re based in and the people who live there. I don’t quite know how I felt about dynamics that were set-up by the end but let’s be real I’ll be picking up whatever Novik comes out with next and apparently it’ll be something like this! 3 stars.

If you do math (gross) I think this averages out to almost a perfect 3 however I’m going to be generous and round this up because I did enjoy the experience even if I didn’t love all the stories themselves. But the ones I did like are definitely worth it.

3.5 stars

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Fred Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read Novik before. This collection might not have been the best place to start, although I now know which of her works I might read and which I will avoid.

Araminta was a fun pirate story. I have read few regency romances and not in many years (my mother often had some Heyer around the house), so no idea how it reflects that genre, but Araminta is a great character, who goes against all social norms and succeeds in the end.

After Hours, from the Scholomance world, was a nice piece of light entertainment. The characters were likeable, the story had a decent resolution. I would read the Scholomance books; I like schools and magic.

The fairy-tale based stories were pretty good. Nice takes on traditional folk-tales. I wish that Novik had included a glossary. She uses a lot of terms from Mitteleuropa (mostly Polish) that take time to look up and distract from the stories.

The dragons I can do without. I have spent too many years reading Roman history and Latin to endure a drunken Marcus Antonius taming a smartass dragon with bad Latin. Novik's Antonius pretty much reflects the tradition on him (minus the dragon): a violent, drunken lech. This may well have been the reality, although we need to remember that the tradition is heavily filtered through Augustan propaganda against Antonius and Cleopatra. The Napoleonic dragons don't do much for me either. I will stick to the real Jane Austen. I did like the dragon, Wollstonecraft, who had a great personality (a dragon yenta?).

The Long Way Around lived up to its title; I thought it would never end. Tedious.

So, a pretty mixed bag. One thing true of a number of the stories (and many short-stories for that matter) is that they just seemed to end without much in the way of resolution; more fragments than complete tales. Maybe I am too Aristotelian, but I like stories with clearly defined beginnings, middles, and end.

[Aldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute treasure trove of short stories, loved it so much! The one about Captain Elizabeth Bennet (!) and her dragon (!!) was probably my favourite, but really, I adored them all, including the teaser for her new novel – like, yes, appetite properly whetted, give me the damn thing now!

Also, this may sound weird, but every time I pick up a Naomi Novik book, I find it such a pleasure to read her writing on a sentence structure level. I admit I love a long sentence. The Ernest Hemingway, chop-everything-down-to-five-words-or-less, super-minimalist style bores me to bits. I love it when sentences are unafraid to take up space, when they take me on a long, meandering journey and point out some of the cool sights along the way. I'm not saying her writing is convoluted at all, in fact I find it very precisely placed in all kinds of satisfying ways, and it always says exactly what needs saying, but it doesn't shy away from taking up a paragraph for one sentence or using dashed asides and a semi-colon or three, and I think it's wonderful.

[Elevetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

*an ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

On the whole, one of the better anthologies I've read. I love her writing in most cases, and ratings would be even higher on a few of the stories were it not for some sexual content additions.

Araminta - I did in fact DNF this due to the off-putting sexual content. A pity, because otherwise it was going alright.

After Hours - 4 stars. Scholomance short story, set after the trilogy, and it was lovely returning to this world, despite the horrors it holds. But now there's a bit more light to be seen, and his name is Orion Lake.

Vici - 2.5 stars. I read this one once and hated it. Read it again and tolerated it. Roman settings are historically not my thing, but the addition of the dragon made it bearable.

Buried Deep - 3.5 stars. Mythology based. I want more of this story and more of this world, thanks!!

Spinning Silver - 4 stars. Really enjoyed this one. It's been ages since I read the novel of the same name, but at this very moment, I like the short story more.

Commonplaces - 1 star. I don't actually like most Irene fanfiction, and this was no exception.

Seven - 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters here, the plot lost me a little.

Blessings - 3 stars. Fairly standard christening party with perhaps more gifts than expected. Not bad, not very noteworthy either though.

Lord Dunsany's Teapots - 2.5 stars. Didn't really follow along with the story all that well.

Seven Years From Home - 1.5 stars. Didn't care for this in the telling or the characters or the world or really anything.

Dragons and Decorum - 2.5 stars. I enjoyed it for what it was, not taking things too seriously but did she just imply that her Darcy and Lizzie had sex?? For shame, I can handle flying dragons and woman lieutenants but many of the customs seem to be the same and you absolutely lose me there.

Castle Coeurleiu - 2 stars. The latter half of the story lost me.

The Long Way Round - 3.5 stars. I liked the writing, the world overall, even the characters but I DO wish we had less romantic entanglements taking place. WHY are we always proposing open or polyamorous relationships or whatever? It's gross and unhealthy and could we please stop.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buried Deep is a collection of Naomi Novik’s previously collected stories. Overall, it is definitely worth the read. Some of the stories near the end of the collection did lose some momentum and were less engaging. However new fans to Naomi Novik’s work will appreciate getting to dive into her backlist of works.

Novik shows an accomplished skill in character work and building fantastic worlds. Even in the more humorous stories, there is still an impactful and insightful look into humanity and relationships. Three-dimensional characters populate these stories, and they show diversity in personality, experiences, ethics and moral viewpoints, but all the point of view characters are intriguing. Novik shows a keen interest in the motivations and interactions of her characters that draws in the reader, and even for the stories I was less interested in, I still wanted to find out what they would do next.

My thoughts on each story:

"Araminta, Or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake": The beginning of collection, and one of the best stories to my mind. It’s a fun, adventurous story with a heroine who knows what she wants and what she doesn’t, and is willing to do what is necessary to achieve it. It’s a good mix of swashbuckling and Indiana Jones-type adventure with some Regency manners thrown into a fantasy that is thoroughly satisfying. Rating: 4.5 stars.

"After Hours": This is a side story in the Scholomance series (I’ve read the first book and really enjoyed it) about Beata, a girl who comes from aboriginal magic, like an herb witch, in her native land (I think Russia) and is sent to the school. She hates it there and doesn’t feel like she fits in. She came woefully unprepared, not understanding that she had to bring everything she needs for the school term. As such, she has to scavenge for materials to make her magic mushrooms, a key part of her magic. She works with a few other students to go into the storage area at night, which is an exceedingly dangerous venture, as the monsters love a good student midnight snack. This series is so entertaining, I love a magic school setting, and this book features a school chock full of creatures that exist to kill its students. This story might be my favorite in the collection. Rating: 5 stars.

"Vici": This could be considered a prequel to the His Majesty’s Dragon series, set during the Roman era. The main character is Marc Anthony, who obtains a dragon egg, which hatches and puts this rather lazy person in a series of situations where he has to work harder than he wants to, including becoming the first member of the future dragon corps. A funny story with a dragon who 100% won me over, even if I wasn’t completely sold by the ne’er do well main character. Rating: 4 stars.

"Buried Deep": This is a retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur from the perspective of Ariadne, his older sister. I found this story to be very melancholy and surreal. It showed a different side to Novik’s writing I wasn’t previously introduced to. The ending hit me like a pang in my heart, and took me in a direction I didn’t expect. Rating: 3.75 stars.

"Spinning Silver": The original version of the full-length book of the same title shows the promise of the novel. The ending is slightly different, and it reads like an alternate reality where a different choice was made. Novik captivates me deeply in the way she delves into the deep waters of folklore and fairy tales to explore women’s stories. Rating: 5 stars.

"Commonplaces": I love Sherlock, the BBC show, and my favorite episode is the one featuring Irene Adler. So of course, a story from the viewpoint of Irene definitely had me intrigued. This takes place after the Reichenbach Falls demise of Sherlock Holmes, but Irene, now happily married and settled down into domesticity, very much disbelieves he is dead, and goes on a search to find him. It’s a tender, intimate story that feels so handmade for fans of Sherlock Holmes in all its forms. And if you are intrigued with Irene, then definitely read it. Rating: 4.5 stars.

"Seven": Another story that is essentially about relationships between people, merely set in an intriguing fantasy world. Kath, the widow of a potter (called a clay-shaper in this world), continues to make pottery in his name, but she’s much, much better than he was. She’s an artist. Grovin, a curmudgeonly member of the guild goes to investigate, initially to shut her down, but he is enthralled by her artistry and wants her to work with the dangerous white clay, even knowing it could shorten her life. To me, the clay is Grovin, and Kath is shaping him back into someone who is in touch with his humanity. That was the central focus of this tale. Rating: 4 stars.

"Blessings": A story centered around the “Sleeping Beauty” story in which the awaited princess is bestowed blessings by her fairy godmothers. Her blessing comes in a unique way. This was good, but it was pretty short and ended very abruptly. I was confused and had to reread the end. Rating: 3.5 stars.

"Lord Dunsany’s Teapot": This story lacked an impact on me. While Novik normally excels with her characterization, I felt no connection to the characters, and it was too short. Rating: 2.75 stars.

"Dragons and Decorums": While it was a fun idea doing a Dragoncore version of Pride and Prejudice, I wasn’t that invested in the story. Maybe I’m just a little burned out on this particular Jane Austen story in its various forms. It’s well-written, just not for me. Rating: 3 stars.

"Castle Coeurlieu": I appreciated the imagery and dreamy feel of this story, but I was confused about what was happening. I did like the end. Rating: 3 stars.

"Seven Years from Home": This story was written like a crewmember’s log as it documented a covert mission for a member of a colonizing federation.who is working with the members of a native tribe to fight off invaders (her goal is to recruit them to join the federation). It is not as easy as she thought to maintain a distance from the people she fights alongside. I really liked the world-building. The native tribe has a fascinating type of bioorganic technology that they use with devastating effect against the invaders (who are more like Earthlings and destroy in order to reshape to fit their own standards). It was interesting to see how her perceptions and feelings change over the course of the story. I didn’t expect to enjoy this story so much, but I did. Rating: 5 stars.

"The Long Way Round": This story had a lot of depth and detail to it. It’s well-written, but I didn’t feel emotionally impacted by it. It’s a story about seafaring and exploration, and pursuing one’s dreams despite the obstacles one faces. It’s also about family and commitments. The magic remains understated and mysterious. I am one of those fantasy readers who enjoys my stories to have magic, so I wanted more of the small tidbits that were offered. I don;t feel like my questions were answered in a satisfying way with this story. It’s a good story, but just not a favorite of mine in the book.

Overall, this is a very good introduction to Naomi Novik, who is a very good writer. I am eager to read more of her. I feel like the arrangement of the stories wasn’t the best. In general (there are a few exceptions) stronger stories were towards the beginning and I would have done it the other way around. That said, I still recommend this collection for readers who are curious to explore the breadth of Naomi Novik’s work.

[The Bookish Elf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Journey Through Time, Magic, and Human Nature

You know that feeling when you stumble upon an old chest in your grandma's attic, filled with trinkets and treasures from different eras? Each item tells a story, whispers secrets from the past, and makes you wonder about the lives it's touched. That's exactly how I felt diving into Naomi Novik's "Buried Deep and Other Stories." It's like opening a magical box of literary wonders, where each tale is a gem polished to perfection, reflecting different facets of human nature, history, and the fantastical.

Novik, already a household name for fantasy lovers (I mean, who hasn't gushed over the Temeraire series or stayed up way too late binge-reading Scholomance?), proves once again why she's a master storyteller. This collection isn't just a hodgepodge of leftover ideas or half-baked concepts. Oh no. It's a carefully curated journey through time, space, and imagination that leaves you breathless and craving more.

A Tapestry of Tales: From Ancient Rome to Alien Worlds

Let's break it down, shall we? The collection spans an impressive range of settings and genres:

1. "Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" - A delightful pirate tale with a feminist twist
2. "Vici" - Mark Antony meets dragons. Need I say more?
3. "Buried Deep" - A haunting retelling of the Minotaur myth
4. "Spinning Silver" - The story that spawned the novel, a perfect blend of fairy tale and historical fiction
5. "Commonplaces" - Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler, reimagined
6. "Seven" - A mysterious island tale that'll make you question reality
7. "Blessings" - A fairy tale with a punch
8. "Lord Dunsany's Teapot" - A whimsical WWI story with a touch of magic
9. "Seven Years from Home" - Sci-fi diplomacy gone wrong (or right?)
10. "Dragons & Decorum" - Pride and Prejudice meets... you guessed it, dragons!
11. "Castle Coeurlieu" - A medieval tale of plague, magic, and growing up
12. "The Long Way Round" - A new story set in Novik's upcoming world

Themes That Bind: Destiny, Choice, and the Human Spirit

While the settings and genres vary wildly, there's a common thread running through these stories: the search for one's destiny and the choices we make along the way. Whether it's Araminta choosing a life of piracy, Elizabeth Bennet balancing duty and desire, or the unnamed protagonist in "Seven" grappling with an impossible choice on a mysterious island, Novik explores the human drive to find meaning and purpose.

What's truly impressive is how she manages to infuse each tale with its own distinct flavor while maintaining her signature style. Her prose is like a chameleon, adapting to each setting with ease. In "Vici," you can almost smell the dust of ancient Rome and feel the heat of dragon breath. Switch to "Commonplaces," and suddenly you're in Victorian London, with all its propriety and hidden passions.

Standout Stories: The Gems That Shine Brightest

While every story in this collection is a treat, a few stood out to me:

"Buried Deep"

This retelling of the Minotaur myth is hauntingly beautiful. Novik takes a familiar tale and turns it on its head, exploring themes of family, sacrifice, and the monstrous nature of humanity. The prose is lyrical, almost dreamlike, and the ending... well, let's just say it'll stick with you long after you've finished reading.

"Spinning Silver"

It's fascinating to see the seed that grew into the novel. Even in its short form, the story of Miryem, the moneylender's daughter, is captivating. Novik's take on Rumpelstiltskin is clever, subversive, and empowering. It's a perfect example of how she breathes new life into old tales.

"Seven Years from Home"

This sci-fi tale is a masterclass in world-building. In just a few pages, Novik creates an alien culture that feels fully realized and complex. The story grapples with themes of cultural imperialism and the unintended consequences of "good intentions." It's thought-provoking and unsettling in the best way possible.

New Territories: A Glimpse into Novik's Future

The collection includes two new stories that give us a taste of what's to come from Novik. "After Hours" revisits the world of Scholomance, showing us the aftermath of El's revolution. It's a bittersweet homecoming for fans of the series, offering closure while hinting at new adventures.

But it's "The Long Way Round" that really piqued my interest. Set in the world of Novik's upcoming series, it introduces us to a mysterious land filled with enigmatic structures and untold secrets. The story is tantalizing, offering just enough to make you desperate for more. It's like getting a movie trailer for a film you know you'll love, but having to wait months to see it. Cruel, Novik. Cruel but effective.

Novik's Craft: A Master at Work

What sets Novik apart as an author is her ability to blend the familiar with the fantastical. She takes historical settings or well-known stories and injects them with magic, creating something entirely new yet comfortingly recognizable. Her characters are complex and relatable, even when they're dragons or fairy tale creatures.

Her prose is a joy to read. It's rich without being purple, descriptive without bogging down the pacing. She has a knack for finding the perfect detail to bring a scene to life, whether it's the smell of salt air on a pirate ship or the oppressive silence of a plague-ridden medieval castle.

The Verdict: A Must-Read for Fantasy Fans (and Pretty Much Everyone Else)

"Buried Deep and Other Stories" is more than just a collection of short stories. It's a showcase of Novik's versatility as a writer and her boundless imagination. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to her work, there's something here for everyone.

For Novik devotees, it's a chance to revisit beloved worlds and characters while discovering new facets of her storytelling. For newcomers, it's a perfect introduction to her work, offering a taste of her various styles and settings.

The only downside? You'll finish the book wanting more. But isn't that the mark of a truly great collection?

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

As with every short story collection, this has stories I loved and some I didn't as much. I liked the overall mix of stories and how varied they were but I think the retellings were easily my favourites. I've included a breakdown of each story review below:

Araminta or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake - I liked the strong pirate adventure theme, interlaced with the story of Araminta and her struggles with female oppression and an overarching desire to be free. 4 stars.

After Hours - I haven't read the Scholomance series so this story was a little lost on me. I liked the dark magical school vibes, and air of menace between two rivals but it lost me a little in the middle. 3 stars.

Vici - I loved this one, and I've never read the Temeraire series (which needs to change). It's about the first person a tame a dragon, set in Rome during the time of Ceaser, by a layabout with a lot of luck. It was fun and adventurous and pretty much a perfect short story. 5 stars.

Buried Deep - Greek mythology, and Ariadne in particular, is my jam. And I loved the exploration of sibling love in this, and the idea that the monster might not be the one that looks the most hideous. It looses it's way a little bit towards the end, but overall very good. 4 stars.

Spinning Silver - The short story version of the full novel. It was interesting to see where the two stories diverge, and I still really like the interpretation of turning silver into gold. 4 stars.

Commonplaces - A very short story about Irene Adler. This is more of an added flavour of Adler, a hint of the woman described by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was OK, but not mind blowing. 3 stars.

Seven - Wasn't really a fan of this one. The city itself was well described, and feels like a character all on its own, however the plot left a lot to be desired. 2 stars.

Blessings - Think Sleeping Beauty but with more drunken fairy Godmothers. I loved this one, but thought the ending too abrupt. 4 stars.

Lord Dunsany's Teapot - War and guardians of teapots. I, for some reason, got Five Children and It vibes but without the kids and more trench warfare. It was OK, but didn't leave a lasting impression. 2.5 stars.

Seven Years from Home - Not a fan of this one, mainly because I don't like Sci fi or war and this was both. I liked some of the planet scenes, with an anthropological spin. I would have liked a bit more of that and less of the warfare espionage. 2 stars.

Dragons & Decorum - Pride & Prejudice with dragons. I really liked this love letter to Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, set in the world of Temeraire. I actually thought the inclusion of the dragons didn't take away from the love story, but I'm quite obviously biased as I love both dragons and Pride & Prejudice. I did find the timeline jumped around a bit too much, to the point where at one point 3 years had gone passed and I hadn't realised. 4 stars.

Castle Courlieu - Probably my favourite story. It was incredibly atmospheric and full of tension, with the added joy of a card amongst queens of fate that decided the outcome of the Black Death. The ending was very abrupt, and left a few questions, but overall this was great. 5 stars.

The Long Way Round - The final book, and this one is written in the world that Naomi Novik is currently working on. And.... I found it fine. It's quite similar in vibes to the first story, with high seas and trading spices. I liked the sibling relationship (and wizard/brother relations) but I found the pacing to be very off. There's a lot of talk about lands and charters we know nothing about and too much backstory without action. I'm intrigued by the 'follies' but I'm unsure if I'd be interested enough to read a full novel set in this world. 3 stars.

[Christina Baehr]

I’m sending this one back to the library after one story which I found deeply distasteful. Thinking about whether to say more about it as I don’t like to be negative about living authors.

Update: the story in question, which is a fanfic about Irene Adler (which I read eagerly, as she comes from one of my favorite story worlds, that of Sherlock Holmes), portrays adultery in a positive light. This is a sympathetic, intelligent character who lies to and cheats on her husband and then returns to their “happy” marriage without a confession of what she’s done or even any regrets. She is explicitly said to love her husband, and there is no implication that he has ever treated her similarly.

After this story, I wanted to bleach my brain. It wasn’t graphic, but it was ideologically filthy. I had other issues with the representation of Holmes in this story, but this specific issue was a deal-breaker for me.

I can’t speak to the rest of the stories in this collection, and I make no assumptions about Novik’s personal beliefs. I found her novel SPINNING SILVER very beautiful and satisfying.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

There are terrific! Exactly what I needed right now.

The only bad thing about these stories is that now I want full size novels of most of them, especially Vici and Dragons & Decorum. I also enjoyed learning a bit about the talented author's creative process.

[TimetoFangirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all, I love it when fantasy authors release short story collections - I wish it was more common. Plus I'm a Naomi Novik fan, so this was an obvious add to the TBR. I'm happy to report I really enjoyed it and, if you like her writing in general, you're going to like this too. There's a context blurb Novik provided for each story, and that was a neat extra.

Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake - A fun, strong opener to the collection, with a surprisingly fleshed out pirate world. An interesting take on gender, even in a market saturated with the topic.

After Hours - Takes place in the Scholomance world AND I AM DESPERATE FOR MORE CONTENT. AH takes place after the main trilogy, and it was cool to see the changes. I also loved the inclusion of a Polish magic tradition. The thing I love most about Novik's writing - her ability to make you feel the magic - was very much on display here.

Vici - Ancient Roman dragons. Do I really need to say more?

Buried Deep - A beautifully written re-imagining of the Minotaur myth.

Spinning Silver - I'll let Novik's explanation for why she chose to include this short story (which the novel of the same name grew from) stand on its own. I skipped it, solely because I had just re-read the novel and didn't want the comparison to rob either version. I do plan to check this story out once the novel has slipped from my mind a bit.

Commonplaces - A Sherlock Holmes story, following Irene Adler. It was one of my least favorite, simply because of the strong competition, but was very charming.

Seven - Creative worldbuilding, if a bit vague. No heads in boxes.

Blessings - This one felt a bit generic, more "of the moment YA fantasy" than I typically associate with the author.

Lord Dunsany’s Teapot - Heartfelt AF. All the emotions.

Seven Years from Home - The first sci to I've read from NN, this also had an interesting structure. SYFH uses the "gone native" trope but in a pretty fresh way.

Dragons & Decorum - Literally Pride & Prejudice but with dragons. Probably the most I've ever related to a winged beast of the sky.

Castle Coeurlieu - The most "horror" of all the stories; also one of the ones that felt weak against the competition.

The Long Way Round - There are graphics included in this story that didn't come through in the ARC, so I can't adequately review it. Maybe I'll update when I pick up a physical copy.

[ancientreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useless to pretend that anything Naomi Novik writes is going to get less than five stars from me. Even a short-story collection, never mind the inevitability that some stories will be less good than others. A less-good Novik story is still going to be arresting; there will still be sentences that start off sounding as if they're going someplace perfectly ordinary but then go rocketing off into parts unknown. The second sentence of the very first story, "Araminta, or, The Wreck of The Amphidrake," goes like this:

She departed in the company of not one but two maids, a hired eunuch swordsman, and an experienced professional chaperone with the Eye of Horus branded upon her forehead, to keep watch at night while the other two were closed.

See what I mean? The selfsame story includes a pirate introduced as "the notorious Weedle," because this is Naomi Novik's take on the Regency romance.

"After Hours," set in the Scholomance post-Golden Enclaves, is something of a mini-Scholomance, in that it shares the theme of kindness and generosity winning out against the temptation to return cruelty for cruelty. There's also a cameo by someone from the books, who's living his best life. After that, "Vici," kind of a prequel to the Temeraire books, quite startled me with its utter amorality -- but it's set in ancient Rome, so viciousness is only to be expected.

Well, I shan't go through story by story any further; I'll just say that every one exercises Novik's gift for reminagining the familiar -- for estranging it -- sometimes comically, sometimes darkly. Pride and Prejudice and dragons? Check. (Temeraire world again!) A Minotaur whose sister loves him with all her heart and who proves to be a chthonic deity -- mostly. (But "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.") World War I, the trenches, and the meaning of safety. What can I say, they're all wonderful, and the last one, "The Long Way Around," is set in a world that Novik is still in the process of imagining, so it left me wanting to go pound on her door and tell her to write faster. Though that would probably be counterproductive, and she writes pretty fast anyway.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was, as anticipated, and absolute delight! I'll admit, I generally prefer novels to short story collections, and I've been eagerly awaiting her next book for a while, but I'll take another from this author that I can get, and this was truly wonderful. A combination of stories taking inspiration from her existing universes (Temeraire, Scholomance, Spinning Silver), original stories, and a big teaser for her next planned series. I think they all work well on their own, but I think you'll get the most of the Temeraire/Scholomance stories if you've read the original canon. As always, utterly impressed with Novik's writing skill and style, her characters, and the utterly fascinating worlds and plots her brain is capable of fabricating. Cannot WAIT for her upcoming epic fantasy series!

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not all of these landed with me 100%, those that did where simply delicious. Especially the fairy tales. Give me a Novik fairy tale and I'll be the happiest person.