“No Sweeter Art”
Beneath Ceaseless Skies #155, September 4, 2014 (fantasy short story)
also available as a podcast
“As a candy dog I lazed between two street-kitchen buckets. Through the legs of passers-by I glimpsed my real self resting at my stall. Next, I animated the sugar-horse. Nong had convinced an herbalist to hang my horse figurine under his ‘running horse’ lamp. I had worried about the flame but needed this vantage point covered, and so dangled the horse a hopefully safe distance under the lantern’s base.”
2015 Prix Aurora Awards Finalist for Best English Short Fiction
Named a 2015 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction Story: Small Cast.
Reviews
In “No Sweeter Art” by Tony Pi, magician Ao possesses his candy sculptures on a mission to foil an assassin’s plot. Pi writes a compelling main character and packs a lot of intriguing Chinese-themed magic into the quick, tight plot. An entertaining piece with excellent pacing and detail.— Michelle Ristuccia, Tangent Online
2014 Tangent Online Recommended Reading List
Clavis Aurea (Apex Magazine): “A spark of colourful adventure…tidy, refreshing, and smart; a pearl of uncomplicated fun.”
Short Fiction You Need to Read (The Alternative Typewriter): “Ancient China, assassination attempt, the Zodiac spirits and a magic based on animating caramel sculptures. It’s incredibly imaginative and magical. Tony Pi has an effortless style that takes you to the end in a heartbeat.”
Locus Online: “A strongly-realized setting here, and an effective Zodiac-based magic system.”
The Best Podcast Short Fiction of 2014 (SF Signal) & The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Podcast (Diabolical Plots)
Book Riot (Kristel Autencio): “This is a rollicking adventure story about a wizard that works primarily through the medium of candy. Yup.”
Tony Pi, F&SF Writer 