Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik Published by Del Ray on September 17, 2024
Genres: Science Fiction Fantasy
Pages: 448
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
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 & 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.
Novik had created some worlds I’ve really enjoyed. I was excited to get her anthology of short stories. Most of these have been previously published throughout the years, but I hadn’t read any of them previously so I was intrigued. Like most anthologies of short stories, some I really enjoyed and others are just so so for me but it always great to see how an author’s mind is at work when they aren’t committed to their larger novels.
Of the thirteen short stories in the book, by favorites stories were After Hours since it was set in the Scholomance world after the events of the series and I was interested in seeing what the school was like now. Blessings was a cute story about what could happen if too many Faeries decide to bless a child, it was short but pretty funny overall. Dragon’s and Decorum was an interesting twist on Pride and Prejudice if it was set in the world like Temeraire with Dragonss and war. I am a big fan of Pride and prejudice so I really liked this one, plus dragons of coarse.
The last story The Long Way Around is one I think fans of Novik will be the most excited about. This is a story where Novik is playing around with new characters in a new world as she is developing something that might be her next series. I think it will be a lot like Spinning Silver, where you could see the bones of the short story that turned into a novel. If you only read a few stories in the Anthology I think this should be the first one even though it is at the end of the book.
Of the thirteen stories, I think there were two I struggled to push through, but all the others were fun stories that show how creative Novik can be and how her mind work when crafting a bigger story. The stories in the book were 3 and 4 star reads for me with one being a 2 star read.
If you have enjoyed Novik’s works in the past or if you were interested in seeing if her writing style is one you could enjoy this may be a good find for you.
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.
About Naomi Novik
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.
| Rating Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
|
| Writing |
|
| Characters |
|
| Dialogue |
|
| Overall: | |
Friend me at Goodreads.
- 🎧 Bane of Asgard by Cinda Williams Chima @cindachima @jenniferjillaraya.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social#LoveAudiobooks @RobinBridgeFour @HarperAudio - August 4, 2025
- Castaways by Craig Schaefer @craig_schaefer#KindleUnlimited @RobinBridgeFour - July 28, 2025
- 🎧 Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson @brandonsanderson.com #KaleoGriffith @jenniferjillaraya.bsky.social #LOVEAudiobooks @RobinBridgeFour @BrandSanderson - July 25, 2025
Color me intrigued.
I’ve liked most of her full novels so these were fun.
This is an author I need to read. I have trouble with short stories sometimes too. But maybe I’ll give this a try to see if I like her writing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Uprooted is still one of my favorite books. So if you give her a try possible start there.