Naomi Novik is one of my favorite authors writing today, and I am always happy for an anthology of short stories under any circumstance. Most of these had been published before, though all of them were new to me. Two are part of her Temeraire universe (one canon, one not - I think). As I haven’t read Temeraire, I can’t say anything about them beyond themselves. Of the two new ones, one is a Scholomance story, set after the end of The Golden Enclaves. And one is a preview of her current work-in-progress.
“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake.” A Regency Romp about the daughter of a nobleman who doesn’t adhere to feminine conventions, sent overseas to be married off. She is kidnapped by pirates along the way, though kept safe by being magically disguised as a man. Great fun.
“After Hours,” a Scholomance story. A glimpse of a different part of the magical world than the one we saw with El. The protagonist here is a witch from a remote forest in eastern Europe/Russia - no one in her family had ever been to the Scholomance or even visited an enclave. They have their own traditions, but with the end of The Golden Enclaves, the opportunity was there and she took it. Very interesting glimpse of the new Scholomance - it’s not the place it was before, but it’s still far from safe. El doesn’t appear, but we do see Orion.
“Vici,” a Temeraire story. Mark Antony becomes the first person to train a dragon. Enjoyable enough, especially when all Antony wants to do is annoy his neighbor Cato but his dragon shuts him up because she enjoys Cato’s poetry recitals. I’m sure someone who has read Temeraire would get more out of this.
“Buried Deep.” A retelling of the story of the Minotaur. When Minos’ monstrous son is imprisoned in Daedalus’ labyrinth, Minos’ daughter remains above and speaks to her brother everyday even though he cannot answer. An ambiguous and challenging story.
“Spinning Silver.” The original short story that grew into the novel of the same name. I love the novel; this made for a very interesting read. The plot of the novel goes in a very different direction from the plot of the short story, so if you haven’t read the one you’re not going to be spoiled for the other. The protagonist is very much the same person though.
“Commonplaces.” Irene Adler reacts to the news of Sherlock Holmes’ death at the Reichenbach Falls. The only story I wasn’t a huge fan of; it went in directions I don’t think really work.
“Seven.” Very intriguing story about a potter given the honor (against her will) of making a sacred statue out of poisonous clay.
“Blessings.” New parents are seeking fairy blessings for their baby girl. They get them, but when the fairies keep trying to one-up each other it doesn’t go quite as well as might be hoped.
“Lord Dunsany’s Teapot.” World War I story about an officer and a soldier bonding over many cups of tea in the trenches. Every bit as cheerful as you would expect from a WWI story.
“Seven Years from Home.” Science fiction rather than Novik’s usual fantasy. Fascinating story about an ambassador sent to observe a society of genetically engineered humans living in communion with nature on their planet, and persuade them (through … less than admirable means) to join a galactic confederation.
“Dragons & Decorum,” a Temeraire story. Elizabeth Bennett gets a dragon. Is there anything else you need to know?
“Castle Coeurlieu.” The young bride of an absent nobleman living in a castle with many legends told about it finds herself lost in those legends. Dark & ambiguous.
“The Long Way Round.” This one is the preview of her next book(s), though in her preface to this story Novik warns that the tale will almost certainly grow in the telling - so don’t expect the novel to match up perfectly to this. The protagonist of this is a captain & master navigator, who (along with her shipbuilder younger brother and their sorcerer patron) decides to try what no one else has managed, and reach the eastern lands of their world by sailing west. Unlike Columbus, the land they find in the middle seems to be uninhabited, though with very odd and, as far as they can tell, pointless structures scattered all over. I’m excited for this.
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