Scan barcode
A review by dan_tee
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
I bloody loved this book.
The premise is a world very much like ours contains a foundation dedicated to stopping the weird ruining the world. So far, so x-files. Except we're talking weirder stuff than normal aliens; think more "we found out cthulu was real and put it in a box" type of weird.
So yeah, a cool premise for any sci-fi nerd. Within that organisation are, obviously, different departments. This book focuses on the antimemetics division. If a meme is a thing that propogates, an antimeme does the opposite.
You can learn a thing, but that information erases itself. Think of a book you can read which you then immediately forget everything about. Actually, that hits too close to home.
In this novel we see people trying to combat world-ending creatures that have antimemetic properties. So how do you fight against a thing which you can't remember exists?
That's the hook of the book, and it hits the bullseye repeatedly. It's a series of short stories set in this world which introduces us to some of the ideas listed above, and more. We follow a few key characters and see how the Foundation and the entities they try to contain effect not only reality, but their interpersonal lives and their worldview.
There's so much to love about this book. It's clever, somber, gross, and sardonic, but with enough of a dark sense of humour to not make it all feel overly dramatic or grimdark.
The author is apparently rewriting this book to no longer include the SCP foundation, which makes sense for proper publication. I'm sure a generic shady government organisation will make do instead.
The only thing I didn't really enjoy was theheaven stuff. It felt a bit vague, although I did enjoy Marion coming back to talk to Adam. Incredibly sad. The ending was also fine but frankly I don't know how you'd end this entirely satisfactorily, especially because of how far the story goes.
So yeah, loved it. Can't wait to read more by qntm!
The premise is a world very much like ours contains a foundation dedicated to stopping the weird ruining the world. So far, so x-files. Except we're talking weirder stuff than normal aliens; think more "we found out cthulu was real and put it in a box" type of weird.
So yeah, a cool premise for any sci-fi nerd. Within that organisation are, obviously, different departments. This book focuses on the antimemetics division. If a meme is a thing that propogates, an antimeme does the opposite.
You can learn a thing, but that information erases itself. Think of a book you can read which you then immediately forget everything about. Actually, that hits too close to home.
In this novel we see people trying to combat world-ending creatures that have antimemetic properties. So how do you fight against a thing which you can't remember exists?
That's the hook of the book, and it hits the bullseye repeatedly. It's a series of short stories set in this world which introduces us to some of the ideas listed above, and more. We follow a few key characters and see how the Foundation and the entities they try to contain effect not only reality, but their interpersonal lives and their worldview.
There's so much to love about this book. It's clever, somber, gross, and sardonic, but with enough of a dark sense of humour to not make it all feel overly dramatic or grimdark.
The author is apparently rewriting this book to no longer include the SCP foundation, which makes sense for proper publication. I'm sure a generic shady government organisation will make do instead.
The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the
So yeah, loved it. Can't wait to read more by qntm!