Short Stories I Read In March

It’s the twenty-ninth of April. So it’s time to write about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in March.

Vici by Naomi Novik [Buried Deep and Other Stories]

In March, I read a little more of Novik’s Buried Deep and Other Stories with the third story in the collection: Vici. This was an ancient Rome inspired tale set in the Temeraire universe about a man, Antony, who escaped death, seemingly got everything he wanted and then some, only to have a wrench thrown at him in the form of a dragon. Antony wasn’t a particularly likeable character, but the story surrounding his mishaps and misfortune was thoroughly entertaining enough for me to fly through the story (no pun intended).

From around the web…

• Taking the “Shoulds” Out of Reading [Molly Templeton; Reactor Magazine; February 27, 2025]: This was an essay on removing arbitrary “shoulds” (pressure, or maybe obligation is the better word for it) when approaching reading. It’s a good reminder to simply embrace your individual taste in fiction, or at least try to.
• Homes to Remember and Forget [Ai Jiang; Uncanny Magazine Issue Sixty-Two]: This was the second of the essays I read on Uncanny, and, as I’ve said a number of times on the blog, I like house stories—or stories with settings which act as another character, or have enough of a presence in a story to be memorable. So, it’s no wonder I liked an essay that essentially looks at the concept of home in genre fiction.
• A Mug of Insights: Books That Made Us Who We Are with Ruby Granger: I recently got into this podcast after checking out Robin Waldun’s YouTube channel. Specifically, I listened to this episode since anything about books (and other people discussing their favorite fiction or nonfiction) usually interests me, and this one scratched that particular itch.
• Everything You Didn’t Know You Needed to Know about Writing Swords [Suzanne Walker; Uncanny Magazine Issue Sixty-Two]: I enjoyed this essay a lot. It talks about craft, specifically—and as implied by the title—a look at swords from someone who actually trains with them.
• The Abyss: The Nuts-and-Bolts Approach to High-Pressure First Contact [Kali Wallace; Reactor Magazine; March 5, 2025]: I liked this column over on Reactor Magazine about the practical effects used to make the 1989 film, The Abyss.