"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...Jewel thief Felix Lea is one of a small group of humans—the Elect, named after the Greek word for amber: electron—with the ability to tap into the lightning inside amber, shedding his body like a cicada sheds its shell. In the middle of waging his centuries-long war against nemesis Mantis, Felix contracts a debilitating disease, one which will ultimately change him from male to female. Only [with] the help of longtime friend and lover, Spider, and the aid of his hated enemy might he be able to halt a transformation that is not only permanent, but dreaded...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

Issue #24 of Abyss & Apex is a thoroughly enjoyable one with stories by Frank Wu, Tony Pi, Patrick Hudson, Mark Rayner and new author Desmond Warzel. This is the first issue of Abyss & Apex that I've read and issue #24 is a pure delight. All the stories got a Very Good from me...The first story in the Table of Contents is "Metamorphoses in Amber" by Tony Pi. Felix Lea is by day an art dealer. He is also one of the Elect, people who can change their shape within certain limits by using amber with insects caught inside. After a night of stealing a Faberge Egg from his bitter rival, he realizes he is undergoing a metamorphosis that he does not want, The Widowing, in which a male Elect becomes a woman and cannot change back. He must go to his rival to stop the change. Pi creates an interesting culture here and details the science of the shape-changing to make quite a nice novelette. -- Sam Tomaino, SFRevu

For your consideration for the 2008 Prix Aurora Awards

"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

Quarter-Finalist in the Writers of the Future Contest Q4, 2004.

Nominated by editors of Abyss & Apex for a SLF Fountain Award, 2005.

"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."

"On the wrong side of the glass, in a world beyond my sway, my love lies dying of a broken heart."

Nominated by editors of Flash Me Magazine for a SLF Fountain Award, 2005.

"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 year's edition has renewed my faith in the merit of the series and the possibility that some of the authors whose stories are contained within its pages, could be new favorites in the near future...Another high point of this year's anthology is Tony Pi's "The Stone Cipher". A modern-day sci-fi tale whose premise, that the stone statues of the world are trying to communicate with humankind, captivated me from the start and held me all the way through to its conclusion. The story is a must-read. -- L.A. Sorensen, Starfleet News

There are 13 stories here by new writers, professionally presented by several excellent narrators, including Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki, who are both Audie Award winners. 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. The stories are mostly science fiction, with a few fantasies thrown in. 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. Once this is noticed, cameras are brought in so that the speech can be played at normal speed. Lipreaders translate, and ... it's a countdown. The story perhaps is a little highhanded in message, but the payoff is well worth the time. Rudnicki gives the story just the right ominous tone. -- Scott D. Danielson, The Fix Online (Audiobook Fix)

Second Place in the Writers of the Future Contest, Q1, 2006.

"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

Quarter-Finalist in the Writers of the Future Contest Q4, 2005.

"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, except for the occasional spot where the characters speak in civics sermons. It has the seeds to be a work of mythic passion...So, my verdict on this story is: interesting, worth reading, but it should have been so much more. -- Paul J. Iutzi, Tangent Online

"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.

I was Gorgon, still."

Companion piece to Zeno's Last Paradox.
Read it online

"When you loathe your skin and bones, be bold"

Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2006.