And Then There Were (N-One)

English language

Published March 22, 2017

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4 stars (2 reviews)

"And Then There Were (N-One)" is a 2017 science fiction/murder mystery novella by Sarah Pinsker. It was first published in Uncanny Magazine.

When physicist Sarah Pinsker is murdered at SarahCon — an interdimensional convention where everyone is Sarah Pinsker from a different alternate timeline — only insurance investigator Sarah Pinsker can solve the case.

1 edition

Who wouldn't want to meet their multiverse selves?

5 stars

If I discovered a wormhole technology to parallel worlds, I hope that I would invite all of my other selves to come visit and see if we can identify all of the points of departure.

The scene at the hotel checkin where they are looking up everyone by name reminded me of many years ago I worked as an election judge in NYC for a precinct that consisted of a single apartment building. We had to ask people when they cam e to vote what their address was - they all started by saying the street number and name, but literally everyone in the book lived at that same address so it wasn't helpful for finding them.

The publisher has the full text online: www.uncannymagazine.com/article/and-then-there-were-n-one/

A murder mystery involving many versions of the same Sarah Pinsker.

3 stars

Numerous versions of Sarah Pinsker from different multiverses get together for a convention on an isolated island. But when a murder takes place, it is up to an investigative version of Pinsker to figure out who did it.

As in mysteries of this sort, the clues are scattered throughout the story, and it might be possible for an attentive reader to figure out who is the suspect. But the motive is science fictional and would involve a yearning for living a different life, when the numerous Sarah Pinskers have already lived multiple lives.