In many ways, this is another “What I do in the lull” post, because of course that includes catching up on reading. In this case, Naomi Novik‘s Buried Deep and Other Stories, which is a collection of the author’s short fiction, with stories from her Temeraire, Scholomance, and Uprooted worlds.

One of the short stories is even titled Spinning Silver and was (I gather) a precursor to the novel of the same name. The collection also includes an excerpt, titled The Long Way Round, from a forthcoming series (working title Folly.) The story definitely drew me in, so I shall be looking out for the series once it arrives.

You’ve probably detected, rightly, that my tone is positive. As a general rule, I prefer long to short form fiction, but I did enjoy this collection. My favourites included the Spinning Silver tale, Dragons & Decorum (in which Captain Elizabeth Bennett & her dragon Wollstonecroft help defend the realm against Napoleon Bonaparte), After Hours, and Castle Coeurlieu.

So if you like the writing and worlds of Naomi Novik, and also short stories, I think you’re bound to like this collection.  In terms of my usual declaration of interest, I purchased Buried Deep and Other Stories (published 2025; 428 pages) from a local bricks-and-mortar bookshop. 😀