Well, here's the final Nebula novella, about a convention of Sarah Pinskers from multiple parallel worlds, all brought together by the first Sarah to discover inter-universe travel.
It's a fun idea, letting all the Sarahs compare their lives, work out how their respective universes diverged and finally disco dance with someone who will understand just awkward they feel on the dance floor. Until one of them is murdered.
And so begins the investigation into which of the Sarahs would be most interested in a...murder?...suicide? It's similar in its way to Dark Matter, but this has a much more pulpy feel, especially since the Sarah given the task of finding out what's going on is an insurance investigator.
It's a rather brilliant piece, that I sat down and read in a single sitting. The main appeal is the thought experiment involved in a convention of yourself, but the mystery plot is well constructed, and feels "fair", even if it breaks rules 2, 7 and 10.
The difficulty involved in making different versions of the same character distinct enough to be interesting is high, but Pinsker (our universe's version) succeeds pretty well.
It's probably the shortest of the novellas I've read in this series, but there's not a wasted word, even when nothing feels rushed. Will definitely have to hunt down more of Pinsker's works.
(And since it was published in Uncanny, there's no cover, so you'll have to cope with my terrible photography.)
Tagged: Book Science fiction Universe hopping Novella Print