"How the Trick is Done" by A.C. Wise is on my list of the Best Short SFF of July 2019: https://1000yearplan.com/2019/08/01/t...

My favourite fiction from this issue was:On the Impurity of Dragon-kind by Marie Brennan - 4How the Trick is Done by A.C. Wise - 4.5A Champion of Nigh-Space by Tim Pratt - 4.5And of the non-fiction:Beware the Lifeboat by Marissa Lingen - 4.5Sir Elsa of Tortall, Knight of the Realm by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry - 4.5

Very nicely written, though I think there just wasn't enough for the story of the magician and his cohorts.Merged review:The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye is a horror story about a writer trying to get away from it all with her assistant, but things take a turn for the worse as she's trying to work on her latest novel. I was suspecting different causes!

This one just didn’t work for me, sadly. I liked Pinsker’s writing and I was enjoying the story up until the reveal came, after which I felt like I was watching an episode of Poirot, or something, where I was having the entire point of the story explained to me because Pinsker hadn’t found a way to drop enough hints that I could figure it out for myself. I think I would have loved this if it had been longer.

"The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye" and "How the Trick is Done" available from Uncanny online:https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...https://uncannymagazine.com/article/h...

Reviewing "How the Trick Is Done" by A.C WiseThere is a secret trick in reading “How The Trick Is Done” by A C Wise. The trick is to see past The Magician as just a flat character. And understand the abuse and narcissism that a figure like the unnamed Magician represents. The tragedy of this well-crafted story is not the death of The Magician. All creatures die, some deserve it, some don’t. But in the immortal words of The Dixie Chicks, “Earl had to die, goodbye Earl.” The real tragedy is the lo...

Read for the 2020 HugosStory: The Blur in the Corner of Your EyeThis story pushed a bunch of my buttons. It's a weird, creepy mystery. I can't say much else without spoilers. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Good stuff.

New review added for another award-nominated story. This issue includes two current Hugo and/or Nebula award nominees: "The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye" by Sara Pinsker and "How the Trick is Done" by A.C. Wise. free online at Uncanny Magazine (links in the titles below). Reviews first posted on Fantasy Literature: 3 stars for "The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye": A cheap, remote cabin with no amenities, but with lots of dead wasps and at least one dead mouse, seems like just the place for aut...

The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker — Hugo and Nebula nominee for best novelette:Zanna chooses to start writing her next mystery book in a remote (and creepy) mountain cabin, far away from any distractions. Except that the next morning she comes across a dead body, which one can argue is the ultimate distraction. And something about that death seems odd to the seasoned mystery writer. Not to mention that something is off about a comment her assistant Shar makes about the whole s

• The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne (Uncanny Magazine Issue 27: March/April 2019)Taken with permission from Dennis, who's a dear.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

***How the Trick Is Done by A.C. Wise***A stage magician that is catching bullets, dies, reappears. How the trick is done? There’s real magic involved. This is a fantasy story. And a quite entertaining one. But the magician is an asshole. So you can probably guess how I wanted this story to end.Actually, I’m not sure there are many good characters, as in good people, in this. But it doesn’t matter. It was still fun. And there are a few almost magical moments. Okay, that was probably the lamest p...

Review and rating for two stories:"The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye", by Sarah Pinsker1.5 stars. I forgot that I actually have read this one (which makes it not memorable to me). And I did not enjoy it. There's something about Sarah Pinsker's works that do not sit well with me (although apparently the other award voter think otherwise), not sure what. I just found it gross at the end. I read many better novelettes that could have been better Hugo nominees. Still rooting for For He Can Creep!“H...

Read "The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye" by Sarah Pinsker (3.5-4 stars)

An excellent short sci-fi story, putting together family ties, regret and grief in possible future simulation systems.You can read it in linear form, through the Uncanny Magazine, July 2019, n29: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/c...Or in an interactive form, through Sub-Q , The interactive magazine for interactive fiction, August 2020: https://sub-q.com/play-compassionate-...I've experienced the interactive form, adapted by Aster F., and must say it works very well, making you feel like you'...

Another fantastic issue with a variety of stories and perspectives. Some of my favorites were Greg van Eekhout's "Big Box," Tim Pratt's "A Champion of Nigh-Space," and A.C. Wise's "How the Trick was Done." The nonfiction was especially relevant to me this time around with a fantastic piece of JRPG nostalgia with Aidan Moher's "Was Trails of Mana Worth Growing Up For?" and several essays about one of my favorite shows, The Good Place.

Read:"How the trick is done" by A.C. Wise, 1 starThe Magician not noticing other characters' romantic feelings is characterised as him "not seeing them". Their dissapointment, even anger directed at him for not noticing their crushes/answering them and the story implying that accordingly the Magician is at fault for Meg's suicide and Rory making a move on him i can not see as any way or form valid - no one should be responsible for other's romantic/sexual feelings towards them and what they do w...

A really well done horror story that makes for some interesting thoughts on the creative process.

One of the novelette nominees for the 2020 Hugo Awards.This was a fine horror/fantasy story, but it didn't particularly resonate with me. I'm not sorry I read it, but it felt like it was much more about plot than theme (view spoiler)[especially once we found out the creature didn't have anything to do that Zanna's creativity, which while uncomfortable, would have been more interesting (hide spoiler)]. I also wasn't hugely impressed by the ending. This was my least favourite of the Hugo novelette...

2.5 stars. Unfortunately almost all the stories in this didn't live up to their potential for me. Nothing was terrible, it was just very meh. The one exception was "A Champion of Nigh-Space" by Tim Pratt, quite fun and not too ambitious thematically. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. "A Blur in the Corner of Your Eye" by Sarah Pinsker would have been a favorite if the reveal had been something different. I loved the beginning...and just didn't think the actual explanation worked in any way. Ah...

I read this online at Uncanny Magazine: The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye .