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There Is No Antimemetics Division
An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties; an idea which, by its intrinsic nature, discourages or prevents people from spreading it.Antimemes are real. Think of any piece of information which you wouldn't share with anybody, like passwords, taboos and dirty secrets. Or any piece of information which would be difficult to share even if you complex equations, very boring passages of text, large blocks of random numbers, and dreams... But anomalous antimemes are another matter entirely. How do you contain something you can't record or remember? How do you fight a war against an enemy with effortless, perfect camouflage, when you can never even know that you're at war? Welcome to the Antimemetics Division. No, this is not your first day.This ebook is an official release by me, qntm from the SCP Foundation wiki! PM me if you require confirmation. This ebook collects all of my Antimemetics Division SCP-055, SCP-2256 and the complete serials There Is No Antimemetics Division and Five Five Five Five Five.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 825 reviews
July 15, 2020
I'm resisting the urge to write any sort of in-universe or knowing wink of a review, and you should too. It would be like whipping out your recorder and tooting along to a symphony orchestra.
This is a fantastic exploration of a particular SF/horror subgenre by the master himself. There are precursors and adjacent fiction - Langford's BLIT, the concept of "infohazards", The Laundry Files - but this is just on a different level.
Partly thanks to its origins on the web via the SCP Foundation project, the story is told in a series of vignettes, requiring the reader to deduce and piece together the whole story in their mind (until they can dimly perceive the vast outlines of...)
The text is philosophically interesting and narratively engaging. The horror will hit you in the guts, but also eat away slowly at your mind as you puzzle away at the implications (Thomas Ligotti retire binch!)
To say this is just typical of a qntm production is only to point out that he's consistently excellent.
It's only 200-odd pages long and a couple of quid on Google Play. In terms of various ratios (enjoyment/page, enjoyment/price, mindblows/page) this is probably the best book I've read this year. Go buy it!
This is a fantastic exploration of a particular SF/horror subgenre by the master himself. There are precursors and adjacent fiction - Langford's BLIT, the concept of "infohazards", The Laundry Files - but this is just on a different level.
Partly thanks to its origins on the web via the SCP Foundation project, the story is told in a series of vignettes, requiring the reader to deduce and piece together the whole story in their mind (until they can dimly perceive the vast outlines of...)
The text is philosophically interesting and narratively engaging. The horror will hit you in the guts, but also eat away slowly at your mind as you puzzle away at the implications (Thomas Ligotti retire binch!)
To say this is just typical of a qntm production is only to point out that he's consistently excellent.
It's only 200-odd pages long and a couple of quid on Google Play. In terms of various ratios (enjoyment/page, enjoyment/price, mindblows/page) this is probably the best book I've read this year. Go buy it!
November 12, 2020
These stories scared the crap out of me. I think the idea of memes that are self-camouflaging, that eliminate their own traces, reflects a deep existential unease and questions about epistemological uncertainty, in a moment when 40% of Americans are lost in conspiracy theories, compounded by the near certainty of a future in which we will be able to manipulate perception and memory in a far more profound way. How do we fight an enemy that denies its own existence?
February 11, 2021
This book reads like the Laundry Files weird older sibling.
Time jumps and memory gaps are used effectively to convey the struggle against inhuman threats to memory and identity.
The plot spirals inward, sprinkling clues like breadcrumbs for you to piece together. If you like that kind of thing (as I do) it's great. But if you are looking for a fast-paced read with spoon-fed information, then this is not the tale you are looking for.
Time jumps and memory gaps are used effectively to convey the struggle against inhuman threats to memory and identity.
The plot spirals inward, sprinkling clues like breadcrumbs for you to piece together. If you like that kind of thing (as I do) it's great. But if you are looking for a fast-paced read with spoon-fed information, then this is not the tale you are looking for.
January 1, 2021
As a premise, fantastic. Full of interesting ideas and some great storytelling, especially when focusing on human interactions. However, in broad sweep a disappointing book. If you start from an interesting logical premise, then add a shaky idea on top, then continue stacking shaky ideas one after the other, then eventually you get to a point where anything is true, and any statement you make about the storyline can possibly be true as well - but you have no way of knowing.
A great idea, pushed too far.
A great idea, pushed too far.
May 3, 2021
The idea is absolutely brilliant. Its implication on the story are refreshing and very amusing. The story gets mind-bending and the twists are pure pleasure. Honestly "The is no ..." is the most refreshing SF story I've read in a long time. At least the initial 50-60%. The final part gets very abstract - it's not a real world with a crazy twist anymore - the implications of the changes introduced by author are so deep and far-going that it pretty much loses the connection with the reality we can and that makes the book even more abstract. In my case it made me lose my interest.
Nevertheless, I recommend this one wholeheartedly:
* it's short, pure meat
* it's cheap
* it's unique
* it's brilliant
Very good stuff.
4.2 stars.
Nevertheless, I recommend this one wholeheartedly:
* it's short, pure meat
* it's cheap
* it's unique
* it's brilliant
Very good stuff.
4.2 stars.
March 15, 2023
“There is No Antimemetics Division” by qntm is the best kind of science fiction. It’s the kind that asks a smart question about the way the world could be and then answers it. It explores consequences – turning complicated scenarios into narratives that leap off of the page and bury themselves at the back of your mind and the bottom of your gut.
It’s also deliciously gross and horrific, and oddly touching. It’s not a book without faults (the ending got a little out-there, even for me), but a perfect book to me, is a book that I finish and then want to read again. This is a story that's interested in the human ramifications of a smart problem and it hopes the audience is too. It was a thrilling, refreshing, and thought-provoking ride.
It’s also deliciously gross and horrific, and oddly touching. It’s not a book without faults (the ending got a little out-there, even for me), but a perfect book to me, is a book that I finish and then want to read again. This is a story that's interested in the human ramifications of a smart problem and it hopes the audience is too. It was a thrilling, refreshing, and thought-provoking ride.
March 20, 2024
This was a constant challenge to wrap my head around conceptually, as well as follow the disjointed narrative structure. The concepts here are mind bending to the point of making my head hurt, akin to falling into the rabbit hole of a deep time travel paradox. The loosely stitched narrative, with frequent time jumps and memory gaps, feels like a trail of breadcrumbs that's been scattered by the wind, both compelling and confounding in turn. With effort at piecing the bits together, eventually a picture emerges of an epically bizarre struggle against apocalytpic, Lovecraftian horrors that threaten to usurp our reality by means of devouring human memory and identity. The challenge seems insurmountable. How do you combat enemies that actively eradicate all knowledge of themselves? Places and things that defy perception, manifesting as gaps in reality. The thrills and chills reflect a deep existential unease.
Lying somewhere in the hinterland between sci-fi and cosmic horror, this is far from a perfect novel, despite my five star rating. It is patchy and fragmented. Perhaps intentionally so, in fitting with the theme. Info dumps abound, and character development is scant. Nothing is spoon fed to the reader. It exacts a price, and is most certainly not for everyone. Yet the payoff is rewarding, as far as I can recall...
Lying somewhere in the hinterland between sci-fi and cosmic horror, this is far from a perfect novel, despite my five star rating. It is patchy and fragmented. Perhaps intentionally so, in fitting with the theme. Info dumps abound, and character development is scant. Nothing is spoon fed to the reader. It exacts a price, and is most certainly not for everyone. Yet the payoff is rewarding, as far as I can recall...
May 12, 2021
What Sci-Fi was made for.
Suffers a little due to its structure and method of creation, and its goodness is heavily front-loaded, but still warrants a 5 due to extreme creativity and mind-fuckery.
Suffers a little due to its structure and method of creation, and its goodness is heavily front-loaded, but still warrants a 5 due to extreme creativity and mind-fuckery.
August 31, 2021
Truly original science fiction is rare, but somehow qntm has stuck on a whole vein of new ideas. This antimemetics concept is brilliant. There is a Lovecraftian element here, sure, and a whole host of other influences, but the way this narrative is told, and the intellectual core of it is really something that I've never encountered before.
This is a story about creatures that feed on information and memories, such that half of this novel is about people trying to guard their own memories - they are constantly remembering and forgetting. The plot is necessarily fragmentary to accomodate this. At first this book felt more like a collection of short stories than a novel, but that feeling didn't stick around. This is a novel, and all the little details are relevant.
I had never heard of qntm before I bought this book yesterday. To my shame, I just picked it up because I liked the cover and the title sounded cool. It's good to take a chance on something now and again. But in the end, I was really surprised. This is some of the best science fiction that I've read in a long while.
This is a story about creatures that feed on information and memories, such that half of this novel is about people trying to guard their own memories - they are constantly remembering and forgetting. The plot is necessarily fragmentary to accomodate this. At first this book felt more like a collection of short stories than a novel, but that feeling didn't stick around. This is a novel, and all the little details are relevant.
I had never heard of qntm before I bought this book yesterday. To my shame, I just picked it up because I liked the cover and the title sounded cool. It's good to take a chance on something now and again. But in the end, I was really surprised. This is some of the best science fiction that I've read in a long while.
Read
March 7, 2024DNF. Not feeling it. Cool concept though. Might pick it up again in the future, who knows?
January 6, 2024
Surprisingly good — easily the best work of fiction related to SCP, which is mostly mediocre Reddit-teenager creepypasta — though maybe there are some gems out there that I'm not aware of. In this sense, Antimemetics Division is reminiscent of Kane Pixels taking the Backrooms and making actual art out of it.
Anyway, Hughes’s book is good for sci-fi, less impressive as actual literature, but I've slowly learned to lower my standards and just go along for the ride, when possible; the prose is just good enough to not be distractingly bad, and for a self-published $0.99 Kindle novel . . . I mean, I'll take it.
The idea/non-idea of antimemetics has been addressed before — in the Laundry Files and other middling-at-best SF, and most memorably in one of my favorite short stories of all time (Rick Moody's 2003 "The Albertine Notes") — but Antimemetics Division takes the concept in a clever Lovecraftian pop-SF direction.
Anyway, Hughes’s book is good for sci-fi, less impressive as actual literature, but I've slowly learned to lower my standards and just go along for the ride, when possible; the prose is just good enough to not be distractingly bad, and for a self-published $0.99 Kindle novel . . . I mean, I'll take it.
The idea/non-idea of antimemetics has been addressed before — in the Laundry Files and other middling-at-best SF, and most memorably in one of my favorite short stories of all time (Rick Moody's 2003 "The Albertine Notes") — but Antimemetics Division takes the concept in a clever Lovecraftian pop-SF direction.
May 22, 2021
The idea was indeed brilliant but because of it's scattered structure and intentional plot holes I had trouble immersing in it. Each time things started to line up and make sense, author jumped elsewhere in time/memory space therefore it was exploited too far up to a point where unfortunately I didn't care too much about the characters or the plot.
March 25, 2022
The scary thing about this book is that I'm not entirely convinced that it's fiction.
This will undoubtedly be haunting my nightmares for years to come.
So yes, it is scary.
However, it is also excellent. Intriguing, fast paced, surprisingly well written for the length/pace/genre.
The opening 5 chapters are the best by far.
I don't want to tell you anything, just go read it. Not before bed though.
My brain is still reeling.
I'm going to go shelve this somewhere outside of my direct eyeline. Out of sight out of mind?
This will undoubtedly be haunting my nightmares for years to come.
So yes, it is scary.
However, it is also excellent. Intriguing, fast paced, surprisingly well written for the length/pace/genre.
The opening 5 chapters are the best by far.
I don't want to tell you anything, just go read it. Not before bed though.
My brain is still reeling.
I'm going to go shelve this somewhere outside of my direct eyeline. Out of sight out of mind?
October 22, 2023
3.0 Stars
This is a unique science fiction story. It started out as a fun ride, reminiscent of something Peter Clines might write, but then evolved into something more serious.
I’m honestly not entirely sure I “got it” but I enjoy the pieces of the story. I’m always on the lookout for unique stories and this one certainly fits that bill. I would recommend it to fellow sci-fi readers looking for a different kind of story. It might have been a little too weird for my personal tastes.
This is a unique science fiction story. It started out as a fun ride, reminiscent of something Peter Clines might write, but then evolved into something more serious.
I’m honestly not entirely sure I “got it” but I enjoy the pieces of the story. I’m always on the lookout for unique stories and this one certainly fits that bill. I would recommend it to fellow sci-fi readers looking for a different kind of story. It might have been a little too weird for my personal tastes.
February 1, 2024
Welcome to the Antimemetics Division! This is your first day. Or is it?
"But if we have learned nothing else, we have learned this: humans can walk away from, and forget, anything. Civilization can go back to 'normal' after anything."
I’ve rated this story a 5/5, not because the plot was devoid of holes or the characters were perfectly fleshed out, but because it was so damn fun.
I rarely give out 5 stars if the above quota isn’t met, but this rating is based on pure emotion only, fuck logical reasoning. My arms were full of goosebumps the entire time I’ve been reading this book and that honestly tells me enough (I recall shivering once every 5 minutes, at least). The SCP’s were exceptionally creepy and mysterious, and the story, while short, was jam packed with action.
The sci-fi was hand-wavy at times (how are amnestic and mnestic drugs even made/what do they actually do to warrant their brain chemistry altering abilities? What the fuck are the germs the Foundation members seem to be carrying with them?) and the characters could have all been named Marion and I wouldn’t have noticed a difference in their dialogue and mannerisms, but my god was I having a blast through it all. Plot holes weren’t non existent either, but who cares! I was actually physically disturbed during my read and that’s rare for me.
I can’t disclose much more because everything I want to say feels like a spoiler. Go into this blind. Don’t read about SCPs if you haven’t yet (I certainly never knew of them before this novel), just open the book and let yourself get swept up. Happy reading!
Song on loop: ЧЕРНОЕ ЛЕТО - The Toxic Avenger - I’m giving this song partial credit in evoking the chills, it fit so fucking good.
"But if we have learned nothing else, we have learned this: humans can walk away from, and forget, anything. Civilization can go back to 'normal' after anything."
I’ve rated this story a 5/5, not because the plot was devoid of holes or the characters were perfectly fleshed out, but because it was so damn fun.
I rarely give out 5 stars if the above quota isn’t met, but this rating is based on pure emotion only, fuck logical reasoning. My arms were full of goosebumps the entire time I’ve been reading this book and that honestly tells me enough (I recall shivering once every 5 minutes, at least). The SCP’s were exceptionally creepy and mysterious, and the story, while short, was jam packed with action.
The sci-fi was hand-wavy at times (how are amnestic and mnestic drugs even made/what do they actually do to warrant their brain chemistry altering abilities? What the fuck are the germs the Foundation members seem to be carrying with them?) and the characters could have all been named Marion and I wouldn’t have noticed a difference in their dialogue and mannerisms, but my god was I having a blast through it all. Plot holes weren’t non existent either, but who cares! I was actually physically disturbed during my read and that’s rare for me.
I can’t disclose much more because everything I want to say feels like a spoiler. Go into this blind. Don’t read about SCPs if you haven’t yet (I certainly never knew of them before this novel), just open the book and let yourself get swept up. Happy reading!
Song on loop: ЧЕРНОЕ ЛЕТО - The Toxic Avenger - I’m giving this song partial credit in evoking the chills, it fit so fucking good.
October 8, 2022
Aaa, kaip seniai taip PRAMOGAVAU, skaitydama knygą! Susiskaito vienu prisėdimu (kuris gali išsitęsti iki paryčių, žiūrint, kada pradėsi), stilius kaip iš "nosleep" subreddito, o prielaida baisiai įdomi.
Įvelka į tą pasaulį nuo pirmų skyrių, kurie pristato ir personažus, ir grėsmes, su kuriomis jie susiduria. O grėsmės yra IDĖJOS, t.y. kitokį egzistavimo būdą turinčios esybės, kurios pasireiškia kaip sparčiai plintantys parazitai, kaip atminties valgytojai, ar galų gale kaip kolosalus priešas, su kuriuo reikia kovoti ne tik jo nematant, bet ir nesuvokiant - nes vos suvokus, kad jis egzistuoja, jis suvokia ir tave (na, ir iškart užmuša, aišku).
+labai faina pagrindinė veikėja!
Lovecraftian horror, bet visąlaik kažkaip smagu ar net juokinga, toks jausmas, kad autorius(-ė) linksminosi rašydama(s).
Įvelka į tą pasaulį nuo pirmų skyrių, kurie pristato ir personažus, ir grėsmes, su kuriomis jie susiduria. O grėsmės yra IDĖJOS, t.y. kitokį egzistavimo būdą turinčios esybės, kurios pasireiškia kaip sparčiai plintantys parazitai, kaip atminties valgytojai, ar galų gale kaip kolosalus priešas, su kuriuo reikia kovoti ne tik jo nematant, bet ir nesuvokiant - nes vos suvokus, kad jis egzistuoja, jis suvokia ir tave (na, ir iškart užmuša, aišku).
+labai faina pagrindinė veikėja!
Lovecraftian horror, bet visąlaik kažkaip smagu ar net juokinga, toks jausmas, kad autorius(-ė) linksminosi rašydama(s).
January 4, 2024
I did not know this would be a book inspired by (?) the SCP Foundation project and I admit my knowledge about it is limited. I have never read the SCP creepy pasta stuff, but I have played SCP-inspired video games like Lobotomy Corp so I am to a degree familiar with the whole ‘anomalies’ and their files and the vignette-style story telling in-between containment breaches and so forth.
I thought the writing was merely okay, the characters really didn’t work for me (and honestly, calling people by their last name only when you have a married couple is annoying), and the story didn’t provide anything new. If I was less familiar with SCP crazyness, then maybe, but I’ve had so many situations and anomalies causing chaos in my Lobotomy Corp facility to know how things go down. I did think some of the anomalies sounded really cool and I wish we had had more files to just read and other anomalies present.
2.5 rounded down because it just didn’t do anything for me and I skimmed quite a bit at the end because I was getting an aneurysm trying to put things together. I do get that anomalies messing up with reality can be hard to write, but this confused me to a point I didn’t understand why I was reading anything, someone would die, then that someone would be alive but not the other person, then that person would not be there but be alive, etc.
I thought the writing was merely okay, the characters really didn’t work for me (and honestly, calling people by their last name only when you have a married couple is annoying), and the story didn’t provide anything new. If I was less familiar with SCP crazyness, then maybe, but I’ve had so many situations and anomalies causing chaos in my Lobotomy Corp facility to know how things go down. I did think some of the anomalies sounded really cool and I wish we had had more files to just read and other anomalies present.
2.5 rounded down because it just didn’t do anything for me and I skimmed quite a bit at the end because I was getting an aneurysm trying to put things together. I do get that anomalies messing up with reality can be hard to write, but this confused me to a point I didn’t understand why I was reading anything, someone would die, then that someone would be alive but not the other person, then that person would not be there but be alive, etc.
July 30, 2020
Originality is off the chart, storytelling is a little thin in places. Hard to comprehend parts which could only be described in metaphor.
March 25, 2023
Overall this is a great novel. It's confusing at times but it's awesome.
This novel is linked to SCP foundation project (it's basically a a non-official shared world with no marketing value but have countless writers and stories witin). Each SCP is mystery, something odd, a monster and problem to humanity and the Foundation work it out.
This novel deals with antimemetics and although they try to explain several times in the end I can't even understand fully. You have to read it to understand. BTw, the novel is divided in two parts, I prefer the first part. The second part is a bit confusing and I kept losing myself on what was happening. The main issue is the situation of memory loss, memory gain, then after all are fake memories and so so, and you keep failing to understand what is real or not.
I will buy more from this author. They are cheap books. this guy is not interested in money to publish. He wants the books out.
This novel is linked to SCP foundation project (it's basically a a non-official shared world with no marketing value but have countless writers and stories witin). Each SCP is mystery, something odd, a monster and problem to humanity and the Foundation work it out.
This novel deals with antimemetics and although they try to explain several times in the end I can't even understand fully. You have to read it to understand. BTw, the novel is divided in two parts, I prefer the first part. The second part is a bit confusing and I kept losing myself on what was happening. The main issue is the situation of memory loss, memory gain, then after all are fake memories and so so, and you keep failing to understand what is real or not.
I will buy more from this author. They are cheap books. this guy is not interested in money to publish. He wants the books out.
October 28, 2022
Fresh sci-fi ideas. Enjoyable read.
Recommended for those seeking tripping-hard-sci-fi
Recommended for those seeking tripping-hard-sci-fi
June 22, 2023
what a wild book full of mindfucks!! i was super hooked in the beginning but it went a little over the top towards the end imo. or maybe my brain just couldn't handle it lol.
August 6, 2023
This read like a more cerebral and less emotional twin of the first two Witcher books. I had the same childish glee at being shown a fresh idea within a story. The difference is that while the Witcher anecdotes expanded my understanding of both the world and the characters, There Is No Animemetics Division excelled at furthering ideas and concepts, where it perhaps lacked a bit of coherent and sympathetic characters.
Either way, any book that has me smiling to myself over the new ways it made me think has deserved its 5 stars.
Either way, any book that has me smiling to myself over the new ways it made me think has deserved its 5 stars.
October 25, 2021
Actual rating : 4.5
RTC
RTC
March 20, 2024
How does mankind fight an enemy that eradicates all knowledge of themselves? Welcome to the Antimemetics Division! This is your first day.
This is *kind of* a mix of X-files...with more paperwork, cosmic horror, and weird timey wimey travel paradoxes. You're not going to understands some or most of it. It's filled with intentional plot holes and the loose narrative that comes together in the end barely holds things together. I could see this potentially being frustrating, but a genuinely interesting premise holds everything together pretty well, even if certain elements are always threatening to fall out of your grasp.
This is one of those books that's easy to lose yourself in. You're first pulled in by the mystersy -honestly, what the hell is the Foundation, and why does everyone seem to think it's their first day - then by the threats they're fighting. And the threats are actually creepy for a book that learns into hard sci-fi at times.
I slowed myself down several times because I liked being stuck in this weird little word with agents trying to fight a war they can't remember they're fighting and really hope we get another chance to explore it more..
This takes places in the broader SCP universe, but don't have to know what that means to dive into this book. It's fun knowlege to have though, but you can easily sink into that rabbit hole once you've finished.
This is *kind of* a mix of X-files...with more paperwork, cosmic horror, and weird timey wimey travel paradoxes. You're not going to understands some or most of it. It's filled with intentional plot holes and the loose narrative that comes together in the end barely holds things together. I could see this potentially being frustrating, but a genuinely interesting premise holds everything together pretty well, even if certain elements are always threatening to fall out of your grasp.
This is one of those books that's easy to lose yourself in. You're first pulled in by the mystersy -honestly, what the hell is the Foundation, and why does everyone seem to think it's their first day - then by the threats they're fighting. And the threats are actually creepy for a book that learns into hard sci-fi at times.
I slowed myself down several times because I liked being stuck in this weird little word with agents trying to fight a war they can't remember they're fighting and really hope we get another chance to explore it more..
This takes places in the broader SCP universe, but don't have to know what that means to dive into this book. It's fun knowlege to have though, but you can easily sink into that rabbit hole once you've finished.
January 24, 2023
Fun little book about the SCP Foundation.
Can't be lengthy on it's descriptions sometimes. On the Wiki I feel it is much more to the point but, again, it's down to personal preference.
The story is about a concept that is hard to understand until, well, you do. It's kinda like a magic switch.
The book has multiple "side-stories" that explain the main narrative, it can be a a little confusing and I would hope for a more linear approach given the complexity of the villain itself.
Can't be lengthy on it's descriptions sometimes. On the Wiki I feel it is much more to the point but, again, it's down to personal preference.
The story is about a concept that is hard to understand until, well, you do. It's kinda like a magic switch.
The book has multiple "side-stories" that explain the main narrative, it can be a a little confusing and I would hope for a more linear approach given the complexity of the villain itself.
August 16, 2023
Best book I've read in last twelve months. It's rare for something to seem fresh to me, where I feel like anything could happen (and be justified), but this book did that.
The structure seems fragmented throughout, more cameos and short stories, but they do join into a bigger thing when you step back and look at the pieces - a form which exactly matches the theme and contents of the book. Form matching theme isn't easy to pull off, but it works here. So, when I finished the book, I immediately skipped through it all again, clarifying my understanding of how everything interconnected. That's a worthwile endeavour, because at times you may feel slightly lost and confused (just like the characters), especially when there is a shift of time or perspective and you wonder what order things occur in. But even if you just go with it, you will be entertained. Trust that it all makes sense.
There is economy here. Both in the writing (which conjures up pictures without needing heaps of description) but also in the revelations. We're often dropped into a key moment, it resolves, then it moves on to something new. Nothing outstays its welcome. A lesser author would oversalt the stew, but not here. An epic war against an incomprehensible threat is described in bite-size pieces.
I had never heard of qntm.
So far I am only halfway through this book, and my opinions may change, but I'm impressed because it feels fresh and exciting - the concepts are interesting, the structure is unconventional, work is required by the reader to understand some of it, writing is precise and cut back.
Hold on, didn't I finish the book already? I feel like something's missing.
After buying this on Gumroad, I also downloaded a number of short stories from qntm's website. Really short, but many great ideas in there, things that made me excited about fiction, and how quickly threat can scale up.
I'm about to start this book.
I have never heard of qntm.
The structure seems fragmented throughout, more cameos and short stories, but they do join into a bigger thing when you step back and look at the pieces - a form which exactly matches the theme and contents of the book. Form matching theme isn't easy to pull off, but it works here. So, when I finished the book, I immediately skipped through it all again, clarifying my understanding of how everything interconnected. That's a worthwile endeavour, because at times you may feel slightly lost and confused (just like the characters), especially when there is a shift of time or perspective and you wonder what order things occur in. But even if you just go with it, you will be entertained. Trust that it all makes sense.
There is economy here. Both in the writing (which conjures up pictures without needing heaps of description) but also in the revelations. We're often dropped into a key moment, it resolves, then it moves on to something new. Nothing outstays its welcome. A lesser author would oversalt the stew, but not here. An epic war against an incomprehensible threat is described in bite-size pieces.
I had never heard of qntm.
So far I am only halfway through this book, and my opinions may change, but I'm impressed because it feels fresh and exciting - the concepts are interesting, the structure is unconventional, work is required by the reader to understand some of it, writing is precise and cut back.
Hold on, didn't I finish the book already? I feel like something's missing.
After buying this on Gumroad, I also downloaded a number of short stories from qntm's website. Really short, but many great ideas in there, things that made me excited about fiction, and how quickly threat can scale up.
I'm about to start this book.
I have never heard of qntm.
March 30, 2021
I had high hopes for this book. It could have been so much better. The basic premise was outstanding; how do you fight something that changes your memory? Wonderfully original concept. The author played with the character’s memory but also threw in some time-travel as well. Unfortunately for me, the novel’s back and fourth structure became confusing and rather frustrating in the second half of the book, and I usually enjoy this kind of stuff. I give the author points for opening our doors of perception, but I couldn’t grasp an overarching theme. But that’s just me. I would still recommend reading this book; it has much to offer.
April 15, 2021
Smooth, poignant, clever, with almost none of its original context weighing it down. (It is an auteur work appended to the 5000 page group novel “SCP”.)
The redactions of “Ará Orún” make an excellent poem.
The redactions of “Ará Orún” make an excellent poem.
October 24, 2021
Phenomenal, and set a high bar from the first page, a standard it more or less consistently met.
Often reminded me of Roko's Basilisk.
(No. Don't search that up)
Often reminded me of Roko's Basilisk.
(No. Don't search that up)
December 29, 2021
A friend and I watched season 2 of The Witcher recently. It was great, we enjoyed almost every minute of it even though most of our live texts while watching the show basically amount to, "I have no idea what's happening, but I love it!"
I feel much the same way about There Is No Antimemetics Division - I loved it, but most of the time I wasn't sure what was happening.
Like The Witcher, where my only experience is with the world is the TV show, I went into this book knowing nothing at all about qntm, or the SCP Foundation. I have no context for this story, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book at all.
Though the pieces of the science and technology were largely unintelligible to me, the whole of it came together to create a rich mosaic of a world, with a compelling plot and twisty structure. The structure of the book adds to the displacement and confusion in the first third of the book, but this is one of those stories that wouldn't have worked half as well in a linear narrative.
I don't know how to review this book (clearly). I am not going to attempt to summarise it because I would do a rubbish, spoiler-filled job of it. What I will say is there are many reasons why this book shouldn't have worked for me, but somehow it totally worked. I don't even like horror (in any format)! So much so that I stopped reading the book halfway in hoping I'd be able to forget the story and move on. Yet here we are, almost a year later, and I've finished the book in one sitting, the story so fresh in my head I didn't even have to re-read it to catch up to where I left off. I suspect I'm going to be thinking about this for a long time and piecing together bits of plot at completely unexpected times.
All in all, this is a very cool book and a compelling read. If you like your sci-fi hard, confusing and with a terrifying non-human villains, this is the book for you.
I feel much the same way about There Is No Antimemetics Division - I loved it, but most of the time I wasn't sure what was happening.
Like The Witcher, where my only experience is with the world is the TV show, I went into this book knowing nothing at all about qntm, or the SCP Foundation. I have no context for this story, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book at all.
Though the pieces of the science and technology were largely unintelligible to me, the whole of it came together to create a rich mosaic of a world, with a compelling plot and twisty structure. The structure of the book adds to the displacement and confusion in the first third of the book, but this is one of those stories that wouldn't have worked half as well in a linear narrative.
I don't know how to review this book (clearly). I am not going to attempt to summarise it because I would do a rubbish, spoiler-filled job of it. What I will say is there are many reasons why this book shouldn't have worked for me, but somehow it totally worked. I don't even like horror (in any format)! So much so that I stopped reading the book halfway in hoping I'd be able to forget the story and move on. Yet here we are, almost a year later, and I've finished the book in one sitting, the story so fresh in my head I didn't even have to re-read it to catch up to where I left off. I suspect I'm going to be thinking about this for a long time and piecing together bits of plot at completely unexpected times.
All in all, this is a very cool book and a compelling read. If you like your sci-fi hard, confusing and with a terrifying non-human villains, this is the book for you.
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