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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
An incredibly unique idea, and a fun easy read. Managed to explain strange concepts in a really effective way to make me understand the weird stuff going on most of the time. Now and again I got a little bit lost but I think I'm supposed to now and again.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There Is No Antimemetics Division is a published version of online SCP articles that the author wrote, with the references to SCP removed (for obvious reasons). I have been aware of SCP, but I tend to be a chicken so never really dived in, which means this was all new information to me so that's the perspective I'm coming from. The republishing of fanfic has been a hot button topic in the book space recently, I don't feel that this qualifies as fanfic because the SCP wiki is a collaborative writing project & the content within this book appears to all have been created by this author under their username, qntm.
This book is both spooky and heartwarming - a tale of defiant hope, of the struggle of restarting from square one over & over again, of the power of learning & building upon what came before. This feels incredibly relevant for the current political climate in the US.
There Is No Antimemetics Division follows Marie Quinn, head of the Antimemetics Division, as she faces creatures capable of making you forget you ever saw them - or uses amnestic drugs to make herself forget for the safety of the entire world. Though, naturally, forgetting whole chunks of time makes her suspicious and leads her back down the rabbit hole time & again. It starts off feeling like a series of separate stories to explore the different antimemes, and builds into a desperate, existential struggle.
This is the style of horror that I find I prefer - creeping dread, dawning realizations, struggle against overwhelming odds, unreal creatures and (mostly) skipping the gratuitous gore of what I usually associate with horror (to be clear - there is some gore. just not the gratuitous kind in my personal opinion). I really, really enjoyed this. My only criticism is that I wish there were an index for some of the symbols used (at one point I was referring to something as "the squiggle" because it was its own symbol that I didn't recognize and it was embedded as a tiny image so I couldn't zoom in on it on my Kindle app to try and see it better or easily search it by highlighting it).
I wish I could take some amnestics and read it for the first time again.
There Is No Antimemetics Division is a published version of online SCP articles that the author wrote, with the references to SCP removed (for obvious reasons). I have been aware of SCP, but I tend to be a chicken so never really dived in, which means this was all new information to me so that's the perspective I'm coming from. The republishing of fanfic has been a hot button topic in the book space recently, I don't feel that this qualifies as fanfic because the SCP wiki is a collaborative writing project & the content within this book appears to all have been created by this author under their username, qntm.
This book is both spooky and heartwarming - a tale of defiant hope, of the struggle of restarting from square one over & over again, of the power of learning & building upon what came before. This feels incredibly relevant for the current political climate in the US.
There Is No Antimemetics Division follows Marie Quinn, head of the Antimemetics Division, as she faces creatures capable of making you forget you ever saw them - or uses amnestic drugs to make herself forget for the safety of the entire world. Though, naturally, forgetting whole chunks of time makes her suspicious and leads her back down the rabbit hole time & again. It starts off feeling like a series of separate stories to explore the different antimemes, and builds into a desperate, existential struggle.
This is the style of horror that I find I prefer - creeping dread, dawning realizations, struggle against overwhelming odds, unreal creatures and (mostly) skipping the gratuitous gore of what I usually associate with horror (to be clear - there is some gore. just not the gratuitous kind in my personal opinion). I really, really enjoyed this. My only criticism is that I wish there were an index for some of the symbols used (at one point I was referring to something as "the squiggle" because it was its own symbol that I didn't recognize and it was embedded as a tiny image so I couldn't zoom in on it on my Kindle app to try and see it better or easily search it by highlighting it).
I wish I could take some amnestics and read it for the first time again.
Thank you netgalley for the arc.
I don't know what to say because I found the second half so confusing. My brain is not big enough for this.
I will say I did love the parts I do get. The idea of fighting something that you can't remember, and must both hide from yourself and also trust your future self to continue is especially horrifying for me. If the book stayed as a monster of the week type of book I would be happy. The beginning chapters where the characters find themselves alone, fighting a monster they can't remember or have any information on and will forget is so entertaining and novel I wish the author included more.
Once the story reached the back half with an overarching antagonist to defeat it became harder the comprehend what was going on. I still understand the broad strokes of the story, but the explanations given at the beginning made sense while as it went on I got more puzzled. The ending fell along those lines so I really do not know how to rate it, but for something out of my depth I am glad the broad strokes are still understandable.
4/5 i think?
I don't know what to say because I found the second half so confusing. My brain is not big enough for this.
I will say I did love the parts I do get. The idea of fighting something that you can't remember, and must both hide from yourself and also trust your future self to continue is especially horrifying for me. If the book stayed as a monster of the week type of book I would be happy. The beginning chapters where the characters find themselves alone, fighting a monster they can't remember or have any information on and will forget is so entertaining and novel I wish the author included more.
Once the story reached the back half with an overarching antagonist to defeat it became harder the comprehend what was going on. I still understand the broad strokes of the story, but the explanations given at the beginning made sense while as it went on I got more puzzled. The ending fell along those lines so I really do not know how to rate it, but for something out of my depth I am glad the broad strokes are still understandable.
4/5 i think?
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
My first exposure to the universe of SCPs was a dizzying descent into the compelling idea of antimemes. This is a thrilling, twisted tangle of vignettes that hooked me with a barrage of reversals and reveals right from the jump.
Characters are constantly forgetting and remembering; aspects of reality are hiding, camouflaging, infecting, and rewriting themselves. This makes for a blistering existential rollercoaster that should become confusing and fatiguing but mostly succeeds in staying coherent and, above all, fun.
There comes a point, however, where the ideas outgrow the competence of the storytelling. It’s safe to say we jump the shark somewhere in the third act, once characters are phasing in and out of idea-heaven or wherever. It gets a little silly and hand-wavy while the stakes flatten and the win conditions become inscrutable. It’s safe to say that the horror is strongest at the start, where unknown unknowns lurk and classified threats remain hidden.
The terror of shattering your memory, of being erased, of the truth being torn from you without even knowing — those are the scares that will haunt me. While not a literary masterpiece, this short and dense read was mind-bending, highly original, and punches well above its weight with trippy concepts and sci-fi horror setpieces.
Characters are constantly forgetting and remembering; aspects of reality are hiding, camouflaging, infecting, and rewriting themselves. This makes for a blistering existential rollercoaster that should become confusing and fatiguing but mostly succeeds in staying coherent and, above all, fun.
There comes a point, however, where the ideas outgrow the competence of the storytelling. It’s safe to say we jump the shark somewhere in the third act, once characters are phasing in and out of idea-heaven or wherever. It gets a little silly and hand-wavy while the stakes flatten and the win conditions become inscrutable. It’s safe to say that the horror is strongest at the start, where unknown unknowns lurk and classified threats remain hidden.
The terror of shattering your memory, of being erased, of the truth being torn from you without even knowing — those are the scares that will haunt me. While not a literary masterpiece, this short and dense read was mind-bending, highly original, and punches well above its weight with trippy concepts and sci-fi horror setpieces.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
medium-paced
Pretty cool and moving story. I listened to it from J&V: SCP Archives> here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw2T-...
The amazing narration and editing add so much for an atmospheric experience :)
The amazing narration and editing add so much for an atmospheric experience :)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail
Mind control
medium-paced