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There Is No Antimemetics Division
by
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 tried: complex equatio ...more
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 tried: complex equatio ...more
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Start your review of There Is No Antimemetics Division
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. ...more
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. ...more
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 proje ...more
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 proje ...more
Originality is off the chart, storytelling is a little thin in places. Hard to comprehend parts which could only be described in metaphor.
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 t ...more
A great idea, pushed t ...more
A real brain buster
A clever sci fi novel rooted in the creepy pasta universe of the Foundation/SCP, fanciful in its approach to the war of ideas. Written more or less backward and then forward, keeping track of the thread is challenging but satisfying, building to an end that is not necessarily happy but certainly satisfactory.
It perhaps misses a few points for taking a wild approach to the damaging power of memes in a time when QAnon and its ilk do real damage to consensus reality, but perhaps ...more
A clever sci fi novel rooted in the creepy pasta universe of the Foundation/SCP, fanciful in its approach to the war of ideas. Written more or less backward and then forward, keeping track of the thread is challenging but satisfying, building to an end that is not necessarily happy but certainly satisfactory.
It perhaps misses a few points for taking a wild approach to the damaging power of memes in a time when QAnon and its ilk do real damage to consensus reality, but perhaps ...more
I really liked it!
wanted to read all of it at once.
it's fast, feels original, lots of action, & packed with concepts. ...more
wanted to read all of it at once.
it's fast, feels original, lots of action, & packed with concepts. ...more
Brilliant
Insanely clever. Brilliantly written. Every page captivating.
Can’t praise this novel highly enough.
Dark and brutal. Or ... what was I talking about ... um, probably nothing. Who are you again. ...
A very different take on history and the current day. And a set of ideas I haven’t encountered before. Awesome!!!
Insanely clever. Brilliantly written. Every page captivating.
Can’t praise this novel highly enough.
Dark and brutal. Or ... what was I talking about ... um, probably nothing. Who are you again. ...
A very different take on history and the current day. And a set of ideas I haven’t encountered before. Awesome!!!
Nov 12, 2020
James Hughes
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction
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?
This person may be the new Charles Stross...
... and who knows, may be personally less of an a-hole. As binge-worthy as they come!! peanut butter peanut butter
... and who knows, may be personally less of an a-hole. As binge-worthy as they come!! peanut butter peanut butter
“How would you fight something that kills you if you think about it?”
Take a second right now and really think about how a creature like that would work: one that can’t harm you until you know it exists, and by then – it’s already too late for you. A monster that devours not just the victim, but the idea of the victim too. A thing whose footprints are the gaps in your mind where people you knew used to be.
“There is No Antimemetics Division” by qntm is the best kind of science fiction. It’s the ki ...more
Take a second right now and really think about how a creature like that would work: one that can’t harm you until you know it exists, and by then – it’s already too late for you. A monster that devours not just the victim, but the idea of the victim too. A thing whose footprints are the gaps in your mind where people you knew used to be.
“There is No Antimemetics Division” by qntm is the best kind of science fiction. It’s the ki ...more
This book is a great idea in search of a story.
The core concepts are brilliant, and it's a relief to read about memes without any mention of lolcats. qntm spins the "antimemetics" premise into a few clever ideas and amusing situations, but then wanders off into unbounded horror fantasy where the rules become vague and the logic is sloppy, burying brilliance in muck. There are several edge-of-your-seat and laugh-out-loud moments, but there could have been so many more. The prose is fluent and eng ...more
The core concepts are brilliant, and it's a relief to read about memes without any mention of lolcats. qntm spins the "antimemetics" premise into a few clever ideas and amusing situations, but then wanders off into unbounded horror fantasy where the rules become vague and the logic is sloppy, burying brilliance in muck. There are several edge-of-your-seat and laugh-out-loud moments, but there could have been so many more. The prose is fluent and eng ...more
What a book. Ideas contained within are worldclass, stylistic execution and plot less so. Still a wonderful read. Had me thrilled and in a very roundabout way reminded me of certain concepts in (view spoiler) series.
...more
This book is full of the big original ideas that make great science fiction. Eco-disaster, deadly pandemic, alien invasion, and Cthulhu madness novels pale in comparison to the threats imagined here. Yes, it's a little choppy to read, but it will hold you to the end and leave you with unsettling dreams.
...more
I’m always impressed by the genre fiction that can be read and appreciated outside of the genre without any knowledge about the series or about particular fictional universe. This is such a case: I don’t know much about the scp universe more than it exists and is collectively researched on the internet. But still I think that this is a great science fiction book with some Philip K. Dick flavor.
I had no expectations going into reading this story, and i came out excited for the wider material. This story is incredible, engaging and actually quite offputting in places. When people describe lovecraft, this story is what I imagine, I am happy to have discovered it and would recommend it to anyone interested in scifi horror
Great read. Challenging subject. Interesting characters. Not your typical linear novel. A brain worm for me. Changed my way of thinking about memory, reality & the world. Wrapped up well in the end. Want to read something different, this is it.
Twisted, unnerving, and unputdownable
This was a fascinating trip into heretofore unimaginable concepts. How can a thing bear properties that make it unobservable, and, when observed, unrememberable?
This was a fascinating trip into heretofore unimaginable concepts. How can a thing bear properties that make it unobservable, and, when observed, unrememberable?
Wow! One of the most original books I've read. Hard to describe, so just go with the book's cover blurb. Very unusual subject matter, and experimental style. Not for everyone, but if you like weird books (such as Stross's Laundry Files), give it a try.
...more
This was amazing, just as all the previous qntm books I've read. Can't wait the next ones!
...more
Creative and engaging!
One of the most interesting books I have read. This author proves there is still new, fertile ground to be broken within the SciFi genre.
One of the most interesting books I have read. This author proves there is still new, fertile ground to be broken within the SciFi genre.
Amazing!
I could not finish the book. Did not keep my interest or I was not taking the right mind-altering drug.
Wow, what a read.
This book will change you. No need to remember why.
Weird and jumpy, but for all the correct reasons. The jaggedness matched the memetic assault.
Such a great setup: A world with memory parasites, memory blockers, etc. And then a meandering plot, with some magical hand-waving as it ends.
Awesome story.
Incomrehensible
I made it through but don't know what I read. Only gave it 2 stars because I finished it, thinking all would be revealed. But no. ...more
I made it through but don't know what I read. Only gave it 2 stars because I finished it, thinking all would be revealed. But no. ...more
Wow!
The ideas, strange twists and world building keeps coming. Loved it! With an infectious writing style, every chapter opens up a new idea - it’s hard to put down.
The ideas, strange twists and world building keeps coming. Loved it! With an infectious writing style, every chapter opens up a new idea - it’s hard to put down.
Excellent eldritch horror, like Charlie Stross's Laundry Files crossed with Nick Harkaway's Gnomon. Great idea, well executed.
...more
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