“And Then There Were (N-One)” (2017)
Written By: Sarah Pinsker
Read at Uncanny here
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Uncanny Magazine
Why I Chose It: Because Speculative Chic is covering the 2017 Nebula Awards, and because Sarah Pinsker writes great stories, if her track record (check her bio on her site or at the end of the story link) is any indication. I’m being slightly facetious; I’m not always into short stories; I prefer novellas, but I think Sarah Pinsker does well writing in both formats, so I’ll read whatever she writes. And yeah, I got pulled in by that title.
Premise: Although the title may give you an inkling of the plot, Pinsker puts a delightfully meta “what-if” spin on the classic Christie murder mystery. Sarah Pinsker is invited to SarahCon, a gathering of Sarah Pinskers from across multiple realities, on an island where most of these realities converge. And our Sarah Pinsker must… solve the murder of Sarah Pinsker. Who was killed by Sarah Pinsker.
Discussion: All writing professors say to stay away from metafiction, that it’s too much of a cheat (John Barth might disagree). But I was hooked right from the start. The concept alone made my head spin. It’s genius. It’s mind-blowing. Imagine being trapped on an island with multiple yous from different realities. There are some variations (“divergences”), but all of you are you. And before you have time to really digest all of that information—a weekend for this kind of convention really isn’t long enough, is it?—one of you kills another you. If I were in the same situation as the narrator, I probably would have helplessly flapped my hands. Which one of me did it? I’d just start packing and/or try to hide out from all the potentially dangerous mes.
So thank goodness that Sarah Pinsker, Insurance Investigator, is here. Out of all the Sarahs available, she’s the best bet. Character divergences do play into the story (Pinsker does an excellent job at explaining them), but most Sarahs in all their respective realities stick to a limited number of careers. Because they’re all Sarahs. Our narrator has qualms about investigating the murder, not just because of the weirdness level, but because she’s afraid she’s not qualified. But Pinsker’s voice is consistent, and she writes the narrator as straightforward. In addition, she had to do the opposite of other mystery writers. A whole con full of Sarahs equals too many red herrings to handle, so to eliminate confusion Pinsker limits the notable characters to a handful and describes them. So the old axiom is still true: the killer is someone introduced toward the beginning of the story.
In Conclusion: This is a highly entertaining murder mystery with a science fiction twist. Does it deserve the Nebula? Absolutely. Pinsker took on the challenge of crafting such a story and delivered the goods. The nod to metafiction works really well here. The story does slow down, and can get a trifle confusing; in addition, the ending might have been too easily spotted. But this is all part of a crazy, wonderful metafictional experience. I’m actually holding off on rereading it because I don’t want to analyze it too deeply just yet. At the same time, I can’t wait to reread it. That’s a great conundrum to have, for sure.
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