There Is No Antimemetics Division {Revised}
by qntm
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Description
Humanity is under assault by malevolent "antimemes"--ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself--in this whip-smart tale of science-fiction horror, an entirely reimagined and expanded version of the beloved online novel. They're all around us, hiding in plain sight. One could be in the room with you now, just to your left. You could be seeing it right now--but from this second to the next, you'll forget that you did. If you managed to jot down a note, the paper show more would look blank to you afterward. These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you you--and you'll never even know anything changed. They can turn you into a living ghost--make it so you're standing next to your spouse, screaming in their ear, and they won't know you're there. They're predators equipped with the ultimate camouflage, living black holes for information, able to consume our very memories of their existence. And they aren't just feeding on us. They're invading. But how do you fight an enemy when you can never even know that you're at war? How do you contain something you can't record or remember? Welcome to the Antimemetics Division. No, this is not your first day. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
WeeTurtle Similar genre and weirdness, liminal spaces, outside perceptions, etc., but different tone. Antimemetics is more serious, John Dies is more wacky.
Member Reviews
Mindbending mindgames as agents of a spooky organisation try to battle impossible enemies - ideas that eat information, most often about themselves, which means they're dealing with things that make people forget they exist, resulting in their own organisation occasionally forgetting that they exist. Plans within plans and gamified moves and countermoves through the utterly inverted logic of the illogical - really brilliant scifi horror.
I have to give this book points for creativity, which is what I look for in a science fiction novel. The author takes an idea (which is that there are all these animate and inanimate objects) that have the ability to selectively remove portions of your memory. Some are benign, unaware and others are like pets that can be fed whatever memories you want to give them (e.g., read them a story every night and they take the memories - you actually end up with no recall of the book itself but can therefore remember the important parts of your day) and still others are quite malicious which can have the power to bring down all of humanity - all of reality, for that matter.
That part is good. The idea is pretty well developed and the author is show more fairly good at weaving a story, even interleaving different times and different character points of view.
However, the story gets pretty dark, and the idea is almost "over-developed" to the point that I thought the ending reminded me of some books written in the 60s when the authors were in a hallucinogenic state. This is why I knocked off 1.5 stars.
Interestingly enough, they talk about some of these truly evil beings being truly powerful in that they can insert a lie and get everyone to believe in it. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed very much a commentary on the times (to which I agree with). show less
That part is good. The idea is pretty well developed and the author is show more fairly good at weaving a story, even interleaving different times and different character points of view.
However, the story gets pretty dark, and the idea is almost "over-developed" to the point that I thought the ending reminded me of some books written in the 60s when the authors were in a hallucinogenic state. This is why I knocked off 1.5 stars.
Interestingly enough, they talk about some of these truly evil beings being truly powerful in that they can insert a lie and get everyone to believe in it. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed very much a commentary on the times (to which I agree with). show less
Workplace eldritch horror is kind of my fictional niche! This entry in the genre seems to have originally been short stories that have been combined into a pretty impressively coherent single narrative for this publication. It was a serious, espionagy story with world-ending ramifications, and took an interesting tack bringing characters through from basically cameos in some stories to the foreground in others. It was also surprisingly romantic.
Where do I begin in even trying to put this book to words? How can I coherently organize my thoughts, after finishing this book?
To say I enjoyed it is an understatement. To say I lost myself in it is closer to the truth. I love books that twist and bend your mind and make you work for the story, in the best way possible. It felt like reading House of Leaves and Annihilation all over again, at the same time.
My brain spun around in my skull a few times, I swear.
I do not often do this, but I need to reread this book. Highly recommend.
To say I enjoyed it is an understatement. To say I lost myself in it is closer to the truth. I love books that twist and bend your mind and make you work for the story, in the best way possible. It felt like reading House of Leaves and Annihilation all over again, at the same time.
My brain spun around in my skull a few times, I swear.
I do not often do this, but I need to reread this book. Highly recommend.
This is a novel about, of course, the antimemetics division of a shadowy organization called the Organization. I'm not going to say any more, because part of the fun is diving into this and figuring it out as you go.
I grew up in the 70's reading Philip K. Dick and Harlan Ellison. I didn't read much SF for many years. When I started dipping into it again, I found much of what I read was just so bland compared to those geniuses. Why has SF gotten so tame? This was the first book in a long time (that I remember - hah!) that blew my mind the way those writers did. Only, the writing is much better than Dick's, maybe more like Ellison in fact. Won't say any more, just read it!
I grew up in the 70's reading Philip K. Dick and Harlan Ellison. I didn't read much SF for many years. When I started dipping into it again, I found much of what I read was just so bland compared to those geniuses. Why has SF gotten so tame? This was the first book in a long time (that I remember - hah!) that blew my mind the way those writers did. Only, the writing is much better than Dick's, maybe more like Ellison in fact. Won't say any more, just read it!
Sam Hughes, alias qntm, has written a debut novel that a fellow on Substack says will be the first book read by his new philosophy of technology book club. Another review calls it a “sub darling of the Reddit world.” Another, more traditional reviewer says “convoluted writing and an incoherent plot” ruin it. I am pretty sure the Reddit world and the book club folks think those are two of its virtues. I will just say that the q-man, for good or ill, has channeled his inner Philip K. Dick. He gives us a covert agency (the one that doesn’t exist) doing battle with transdimensional creatures that make sure we don’t remember seeing them. It has something to do with memes and quantum mechanics. Of course it does.
Did I like it? show more Well, sure, once I pulled up my postmodern socks and dived in. It seems just the book to counter all the fake news our culture produces. show less
Did I like it? show more Well, sure, once I pulled up my postmodern socks and dived in. It seems just the book to counter all the fake news our culture produces. show less
A secret organization combats entities that cannot be remembered.
I read the self-published version of this last year and was very impressed by the concept, even though I thought the execution was a little rough. The revised edition smooths things out and expands parts to add depth to characters and clarity to the story, which is helpful when you're trying to wrap your head around things like asynchronous research and physical manifestations of ideas!
I'd recommend There Is No Antimemetics Division to sci-fi and horror fans who like having their concept of reality messed with.
Received via NetGalley.
I read the self-published version of this last year and was very impressed by the concept, even though I thought the execution was a little rough. The revised edition smooths things out and expands parts to add depth to characters and clarity to the story, which is helpful when you're trying to wrap your head around things like asynchronous research and physical manifestations of ideas!
I'd recommend There Is No Antimemetics Division to sci-fi and horror fans who like having their concept of reality messed with.
Received via NetGalley.
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Is an expanded version of
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- There Is No Antimemetics Division {Revised}
- Original title
- There Is No Antimemetics Division
- Original publication date
- 2025-11-11
- People/Characters
- Marie Quinn; Adam Benjamin Quinn; U-3125; U-4987; Mr. Mahlo; Edward "Ed" Hix (show all 13); Simon Lee {There Is No Antimemetics Division}; Adrian Gage; Andrew "Andy" Hilton; Oli Morgan; Geoff Ives; U-0055; U-2200
- Important places
- Wyeleigh; Stanmoor; Ojai, California, USA
- Dedication
- For Nicola
- First words
- Containment protocol: U-0055 is kept in building 67, vault 3011A at the UO Primary Archive Facility at Black River.
- Quotations
- But an idea can end a world. An idea is alive. It can mutate, it can replicate, it can predate on other ideas...and it can hide.
'Freedom means no fear.' - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The call carries all the way to her mate and children, on the horizon.
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 823.92
- Canonical LCC
- PR 6117.N86 T44 2025; PR 6117.N76 T44 2025; PR 6108.U49 T48 2025
- Disambiguation notice
- This is a revised edition. Do not combine with the self-published edition.
From the publisher:
qntm has reworked these pages from start to finish, resulting in something far stronger and more complete than the self-... (show all)pub version. (Added material throughout; changes on every page; chapters reordered in a clearer way with new connective tissue; a new ending.)
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