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"Tekkai Exhales His Avatar" Intergalactic
Medicine Show
#11, March 2009. (science fiction)
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"Well into the ninth year of Tekkai's incarceration, Kagami Maeda came again
to tempt him."
"Also interesting in March is Tony Pi's "Tekkai Exhales His Avatar", where
virtual entities maneuver and fight and double-cross each other through a
game world influenced by Far Eastern metaphysics. -- Gardner Dozois,
LOCUS Magazine (June 2009)
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"Silk and Shadow" Beneath Ceaseless Skies
#11, February 26, 2009. Reprinted in The Best of Beneath
Ceaseless Skies, Year One (fantasy)
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"I had not written the truth of all I had risked to achieve the hard-won
victory. Had I told of my covenant with the witch or of the Stormlord's
dying curse, my mother the Tsarina would command Lord Fabek to ship me home
to Nobylisk at once."
The most satisfying pair of issues yet from this ezine...Moody dark fantasy,
grim and beautiful at the same time. RECOMMENDED -- Lois Tilton,
Internet Review of
Science Fiction, March 2009
...a fine romantic fantasy...All is resolved imaginatively in a well-enacted
magical puppet show. -- Rich Horton, LOCUS Magazine (May 2009)
Of the short stories I really liked [in Beneath Ceaseless Skies this year], Tony Pi's "Silk and Shadow" (February 26), fine romantic
fantasy, about a Prince exacting revenge against the man who killed his
father - but having to pay a dark price to a witch in the process. --
Rich Horton, 2009 yearly summaries
Two stories on the menu of this ezine which, you have to admit,
keeps getting better with age. And here we have two stories of exceptional
quality: "Silk and Shadow" by Tony Pi which narrates the fight of a young
prince against a witch who wants to snatch his soul. -- Fabien Lyraud,
Propos Iconoclastes (translated from French)
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"Metamorphoses in Amber" Abyss &
Apex, #24, 4th Quarter 2007. Reprinted in The Best of Abyss &
Apex, Volume One, Hadley Rille Books, 2009. (fantasy)
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"My regenerating flesh forced out fragments of lead, repairing
my lung while burst blood vessels and torn muscles stitched back together.
But one piece of amber wasn't enough."
My favorite stories this year included...from the fourth quarter, Tony Pi's
long novelette "Metamorphoses in Amber", an exotic story about a group of
immortals who use amber to maintain their health and to allow shapechanging,
and the rivalry of two of them over time. -- Richard Horton, sff.people.richard-horton
A colorful and different adventure. -- Richard Horton,
Locus (January 2008)
Tony Pi has composed an elegant, multilayered tale...The action in "Metamorphoses in Amber" never lets up, and the plot advances
at a fast clip without sacrificing details. But the strongest feature of
this work is the themes that Pi has interwoven; he touches upon gender, and
what it means to be male or female, and what it means to stay true to
yourself and your purpose while staying flexible enough to survive the
fluctuations that occur with time...I really loved this story. The
characterization and the descriptive language worked especially
well... --Nicole McClain, The Fix Online
...Tony Pi seems to have researched everything you could ever want to know
about amber, and constructs a complex mythology and a compelling tale. -- Chris Butler, The Fix Online
Issue #24 of Abyss & Apex is a thoroughly enjoyable one...issue #24
is a pure delight. All the stories got a Very Good from me...Pi creates an
interesting culture here and details the science of the shape-changing to make quite a
nice novelette. -- Sam Tomaino, SFRevu
2008 Prix Aurora Awards Finalist for Best Short Form Work in English
Honorable Mention, Year's
Best Science Fiction Twenty-fifth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois
Notable Short Story of 2007 as selected by storySouth
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"Zeno's Last Paradox" Abyss &
Apex, #16, 4th Quarter 2005. (fantasy)
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"No one else understood the Gorgon's true power, or what it would
take to destroy her. I was Elea's last hope."
The other Zeno tale, Tony Pi's "Zeno's Last Paradox", is the best piece of
short fiction in the issue...You know it's a variation of a Trickster tale, but Pi's skillful twisting of
mythic and Trickster tropes carry you along..."Paradox" reminds me of Ovid's Metamorphoses - wry, grandiloquent,
and intelligent. I wouldn't be surprised if this tale ends up anthologized
in a collection of modern myths; it's a consummately crafted and
entertaining gem. -- Elizabeth A. Allen, Tangent Online
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"Dynamics of a Hanging" Shred of
Evidence, vol 3 no 2, May 2005. Revised version reprinted in
The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Night Shade Books, September 2009. (mystery)
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"It was in the fall of 1891 that I received a telegram from the
Reverend Charles Dodgson, inviting me to his residence in Guildford,
Surrey. It was not for a medical consultation, but of vital importance to
the present trial of the Moriarty gang: the key to Professor Moriarty's cipher."
...most are worth your time. Here are brief summaries of three such stories:
Tony Pi's Dynamics of a Hanging is set during the time after Holmes's
apparent death at Reichenbach Falls, as Watson and a famous associate may
have discovered the key to bringing Moriarty's cohorts to justice. -- Glenn Dallas, Sacramento
Book Review
...will appeal to codes and ciphers nuts... -- Rod Lott, Bookgasm
"Dynamics of a Hanging" by Tony Pi is a great example of how to write a
Sherlock Holmes story without Sherlock Holmes... --Charles
A. Tan, Bibliophile
Stalker
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"The Mirror King" Flash Me
Magazine, #9, July 2005. (fantasy)
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"On the wrong side of the glass, in a world beyond my sway, my love
lies dying of a broken heart."
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In Print
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"Come-From-Aways" ON SPEC, #76, vol 21 no 1, Spring 2009. (science fiction)
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"I could well imagine him to be an ancient prince."
The Spring On Spec has finally arrived, with nice pieces from Jack
Skillingstead and Tony Pi...Pi's "Come-From-Aways" is about a linguistics
professor in Newfoundland who risks her career - and eventually much more -
when she decides that a strange shipwrecked man is really the 11th century
Welsh Prince Madoc. -- Rich Horton, LOCUS Magazine (July 2009)
My favorite [On Spec] story this year was Tony Pi's "Come-From-Aways" (Spring), about
a linguistics professor in Newfoundland who risks her career when she
decides that a strange shipwrecked man is really the 11th Century Welsh
Prince Madoc. -- Rich
Horton, 2009 yearly summaries
My favourite piece in the Spring 2009 issue was Tony Pi's "Come-From-Aways"
about a Viking ship that washes up in a Newfoundland harbour with a single
survivor on board. Tony Pi, a linguist by profession, handles the technical
material well without swamping the reader, and the ending is up-beat and
satisfying. -- James Doig, Horrorscope
'Come-From-Aways' is an enjoyable yarn by Tony Pi in which a Viking
long-boat washes up in Newfoundland and a forensic linguist tries to
identify the origins of the only survivor on board. The insight into
linguistics and the glimpses of local history and culture are
fascinating. Is the mariner a prankster or has he really travelled through
time? As the story develops and with it the possibilities that the voyager's
arrival suggests, the story takes on a marvellous spirit of adventure
culminating in an endearing and satisfying conclusion. -- Gareth
D. Jones, SF
Crowsnest
Favourite Stories of 2009...Come-From-Aways by Tony Pi -- Gareth
D. Jones, The
Science of Fiction
The Year's Best SF and Fantasy, 2010 Recommended Reading
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"The Shadow-Witch" Cinema Spec, Raven Electrick Ink, 2009. (fantasy)
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"Dusk is the time for dangerous tales."
Wrenching story about choices and those we inflict them on. -- Jude-Marie Green, Abyss & Apex blog
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"Sphinx!" Ages
of Wonder, DAW (March 2009). (fantasy)
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"My weariness fled when he mentioned the word. 'A living sphinx?
But they're extinct!'"
In Ages of Wonder, Tony Pi's "Sphinx!" is a delight, set in a quite
alternate history, in which the land of Ys is threatened by a sphinx that a
film maker has apparently revived for a new movie. But other things are
going on - most notably, perhaps, the jealousy of the movie's director about
his young wife, the movie's star. -- Rich Horton, LOCUS Magazine (April 2009)
Pi and Tirone in particular offer more than an easy tweaking of well-known
conventions, Pi providing some of the most impressive world-creation in the
volume... -- Nader Elhefnawy, Strange Horizons
Tony Pi...managed to catch me for good with his text "Sphinx!"...I liked
the interesting combination of the Sphinx magic with the power of the
riddles...Funny and thoroughly
enjoyable. -- Liviu Suciu, Bogdan Lascu, Adrian Craciun, Fantasy Book Critic
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"Stilts and Straw" Flashing
Swords
#12, March 2009. (sword & sorcery)
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"So, Stilt Knight, you wish to be a Worldstrider? If so, chase me,
chase your dream, but I will not make this an easy road. A strider's
strength is as much his soul as it is his body."
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"Aesop's Last Fable" ON SPEC, #72, vol 20 no 1, Spring 2008. (fantasy) |
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"What is your name, old man?" she asked. "Why does the mob take
pleasure in your death?"
In the case of the current issue, its first story is one of the
strongest. "Aesop's Last Fable" by Tony Pi uses Aesop's death as a launching
point for a tale that pits the Greek storyteller against the legendary
Sphinx...While I generally lack enthusiasm for reworked Greek mythology,
this story won me over by being well-told and delivering exactly what it
promises...a compact and enjoyable read. -- Dan Alamia, The Fix Online
More good stuff from the colonies. 'Aesop's Last Fable' by Tony Pi is an
untold ancient Greek story about Aesop's death, based on fact and his
afterlife, which is not so well documented...This is quite good fun. -- Eamonn Murphy, SF Crowsnest
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"Come Frost, Sun, and Vine" Tales of the Unanticipated, #29, Autumn/Winter 2008. (fantasy) |
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"I only wanted to ransom it for power, to speed us to our success. Is
that so wrong?"
My favorite stories included...Tony Pi's "Come Frost, Sun, and Vine", a
story with a Russian fairy tale flavor, about three brothers who each woo
the Tsar's daughter. -- Richard Horton, Year End Summaries 2008
In Tony Pi's "Come Frost, Sun, and Vine," three brothers bury their mother
and set off on a journey where they happen across the swan maidens...Pi's writing of mythos has a smooth and engaging appeal. While
not this reader's favorite story of Pi's, this story may appeal to readers
who enjoy a classic magical setting. The choices that these three brothers
make along the way provide a backdrop for reader reflection and
resonance. --
Rae Bryant, The Fix Online
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"The Stone Cipher" Writers
of the Future Vol. XXIII, Fall 2007. (fantasy) |
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"It was the same the world over: statues' mouths spoke a hidden
message. But what? That was the mystery of the Stone Cipher."
Those looking for a new group of classic, hard science fiction writers need
look no further than the latest volume of Galaxy's always-reliable original
anthology series...13 quality stories by relative newcomers touched with imagination and inventive plotting. The
standout is Jeff Carlson's "The Frozen Sky,"...but several others will linger in the reader's mind. Fresh names
worth watching include Tony Pi, who presents a chilling story of the world's
end...While readers will relish these short pieces, many of the ideas
explored in them would likely work well in a longer format, auguring well
for the future of these talented up-and-comers. --
Publishers Weekly
Tony Pi's "The Stone Cipher" has a new and brilliant idea: all the statues
in the world simultaneously begin speaking, and the story surrounds a
linguist, Pierre, and his wife, Marie-Claire, who are trying to figure out
what the statues are saying...Pi's story has a fantastical central premise...
-- D.G.D. Davidson, The Sci Fi Catholic
Imagine that all the statues started talking...Tony Pi's "The Stone
Cipher" is a thought provoking story. -- Barry Hunter, Baryon Online 106
Tony Pi sums up the premise of "The Stone Cipher" with, "What if the whole
history of human sculpture has been a conversation between the planet and
humanity?"...The religious aspects are handled well, neutrally, and the
story itself leaves the reader with a feeling of both damnation and
potential hope. -- Michele Lee, The Fix Online
...overall the stories are quite enjoyable...I really enjoyed reading it, I
think because there is a sense of freshness to things, a sense of writers
trying new things - perhaps because they are new writers! I'll briefly
mention some highlights...Tony Pi's "The Stone Cipher" has one of the
wildest ideas: statues around the world begin to move, apparently in
unison, but very slowly...All in all, this is a very fine showcase for some
promising work by some promising new writers. -- Richard Horton, LOCUS Magazine
This is the first volume of Writers of the
Future that I've read (heard) cover-to-cover, and there wasn't a weak story
in the lot....Two stories really stood out to me. In "The Stone Cipher" by Tony Pi (read by Stefan Rudnicki), every stone
statue in the word starts to speak, in unison, silently and very
slowly...the
payoff is well worth the time. Rudnicki gives the story just the right
ominous tone. -- Scott D. Danielson, The Fix Online (Audiobook Fix)
This is well written with rich characters and a powerful story. I wanted to
know more, but I understand why the author ended it where he did. -- Jennifer Dawson, Flash Me Magazine
Second Place in the Writers of the Future Contest, Q1, 2006.
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"The Pinocchio Cantatas" Heroes issue, Tales of the
Unanticipated, #28, 2007. (fantasy) |
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"I yearn to fly free and race the wind, but I cannot. I am trapped, as
are my brethren, tied to a children's ride. We must wait until our Riders
free us so we may hunt the siren songs that feed off death."
My favorite stories included...Tony Pi's "The Pinocchio Cantatas", about
a living carousel animal. -- Richard Horton, sff.people.richard-horton
...The imagery of this surreal fantasy engages deeply...Mitch, Chivaree's
rider, is sympathetic, and he is intriguingly used in a subplot that explores choices
and change. "The Pinocchio Cantatas" is recommended for fantasy readers who
like dark elements without a dark ending. -- Rae Bryant, The Fix Online
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"He Immortal, Evergreen She" ON SPEC,
#62, vol 17 no 3, Fall 2005. (fantasy)
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"But here in the city, was I a pawn: limited, vulnerable,
dime-a-dozen? Almost an unworkable choice, save that a pawn masked its true
potential."
There is this beautiful goddess. She is looking for her immortal
love. She wants it to be you. All you have to do is let her give you the
powers of a god of war...It's very well written...It has the seeds to be a
work of mythic passion...interesting, worth
reading... -- Paul J. Iutzi, Tangent Online
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"A Gorgon Comes for Hades' Helm" Aoife's Kiss, #14,
print edition, September 2005. (fantasy) |
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"I would have gladly lingered in that simple dream, save that a man's
cry and the tang of blood roused me. I woke to scales instead of skin,
snakes instead of hair, and fresh blood on my viper-tongues."
Companion piece to Zeno's Last Paradox.
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"An Enchantment, With Apples" ON SPEC,
#60, vol 17 no 1, Spring 2005. (fantasy poem)
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"When you loathe your skin and bones, be bold"
Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2006.
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