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A review by adenhailemariam
Memetic by James Tynion IV
4.0
Creepy and haunting! 3.5 stars. I seemed to have had one or two dreams related to Memetic right after reading it so I'm inclined to write a review. I like that you don't get all the answers about why what's happening is happening. I actually wish the story pulled back on the explanation it did give OR that it explained the situation more.
I was compelled by the 2-3 main character groups. I think of them as three groups I was concerned about: Aaron/Aaron and Ryan, Marcus and crew, Barbara (and Marcus and crew). I liked following Aaron and was glad he wasn't alone when Ryan came along. At a certain point I knew that Ryan's time with us as would be short. I felt so bad as he recounted what he saw with his family and when he opened the laptop. Experiencing the evolution of the meme with Marcus and crew was a ride. Barbara felt like the last person on Earth.
I thought the evolution of the meme was a great twist. It helped to fill in some possible plot issues. Early on I wondered what would happen to the meme once the internet was gone.
I did lose a bit of suspension of disbelief around who the meme affected. The evolution of the meme helped fill in how it could affect different people (like people in the world without internet or people who couldn't perceive the meme), but there was also something about the focus on a city. It made sense as the center of the "outbreak", though.
I was interested in who created the meme and getting some answers but was also interested in the futility in the story. The "villain" was very villain-y and didn't fill in much for the story for me. I was gripped when Marcus and crew were affected. In Aaron's conclusion.
The sort of fourth-wall breaking here where you have seen the meme before realizing it sticks with me!
I was compelled by the 2-3 main character groups. I think of them as three groups I was concerned about: Aaron/Aaron and Ryan, Marcus and crew, Barbara (and Marcus and crew). I liked following Aaron and was glad he wasn't alone when Ryan came along. At a certain point I knew that Ryan's time with us as would be short. I felt so bad as he recounted what he saw with his family and when he opened the laptop. Experiencing the evolution of the meme with Marcus and crew was a ride. Barbara felt like the last person on Earth.
I thought the evolution of the meme was a great twist. It helped to fill in some possible plot issues. Early on I wondered what would happen to the meme once the internet was gone.
I did lose a bit of suspension of disbelief around who the meme affected. The evolution of the meme helped fill in how it could affect different people (like people in the world without internet or people who couldn't perceive the meme), but there was also something about the focus on a city. It made sense as the center of the "outbreak", though.
I was interested in who created the meme and getting some answers but was also interested in the futility in the story. The "villain" was very villain-y and didn't fill in much for the story for me. I was gripped when Marcus and crew were affected. In Aaron's conclusion.
The sort of fourth-wall breaking here where you have seen the meme before realizing it sticks with me!