Quick Thoughts
This is a hard book to review. How do you write a review for a book that is intentionally and successfully defiant of so many established genre norms and tropes? A book that is bucking so much of the genre of which it is ostensibly a part? I could say this book feels like some other properties, but only in a perfunctory way. I could say the characters and plot are wildly unique, but again, what does that tell you about the book? I think the best way to talk about this book is just to tell you what it made me feel, and that is engrossed.
There Is No Antimemetics Division by QNTM takes a premise that is wildly original and crafts a mind bending, genre pushing story which pulls the reader in for a ride unlike any other. The book is an exploration of a concept first and foremost, and it dives into the deep waters which that idea promises. There are fascinating scenarios and questions raised in this book which are then answered in ways which are profoundly unsettling. This leaves the reader with a sense that for as much as the concept of Antimemetics is explored in this book, there is so much the characters, and by proxy, the readers, don’t know. For readers who like that sort of storytelling, and who enjoy muddling through something extremely challenging, this novel might be your next obsession.
Full Review
I was especially interested to read this book when I learned of it’s origins. When you hear a book got its start as part of an online collaborative project, it raises questions as to the quality and content of the work. After all, if a project is open for anyone to contribute, how can you help but end up with an unruly amalgam of confusing threads of varying quality? Well, somehow author QNTM is able to forge a cohesive and rather impressive novel out of the SCP Foundation’s massive online database, presenting us with the strange and unprecedented story of There Is No Antimemetics Division.
And what a story it tells. In as much as I can relay the plot of this book, it focuses primarily on a couple of agents working the titular agency as they hunt, investigate, and neutralize Unknowns. These are beings which have Antimemetic properties, that is, they effect memory. The central conceit of this book is that there is a whole hidden host of creatures, items, and entities that exist alongside us, but that we are typically unaware of due to their abilities to somehow affect our memories of them. Through a combination of techniques, devices, and drugs, the agents of the Antimemetics Division are able to work around these defenses and intervene to protect humanity from the more nefarious and malevolent Unknowns lurking out there just our of our ability to perceive them.
If that sounds like an incredible premise, that’s because it is. QNTM establishes a world that is absolutely brimming with possibilities with a single idea and he runs with it. Right off the bat we are treated to several chapters which act more like vignettes, following characters as they experience snippets of life as an agent for the Division. Each of these has some major twist or turn, playing with the idea of Antimemetics itself, and acts like a miniature exploration of a different facet of the premise. Taken alone, these chapters are some of the best Sci-Fi short stories I’ve read in quite a while. They are gripping and wildly original, making the reader want to dive deeper and deeper into this strange and frightening world alongside these unfortunate agents.
However, this is not just a collection of short stories with a single unifying premise. They build to a grand finale which occupies the second half of the novel. And to be sure, there is a lot to like here. The central mystery is compelling, with the agents fighting a seemingly unknowable and unbeatable force as they grow increasingly more and more desperate to find answers. Alongside this rising tension, some scenes are either so original or bone-chilling that they make the reader immediately stop and take notice. But, unfortunately, I found this central plot to be a bit too confusing and unwieldy. For sure, this sort of mind-bending Sci-Fi is meant to be challenging. But I found there were parts where the plot was strange and convoluted in redaction and esoteric weirdness that I wondered if I missed something by not reading the original internet forum posts.
While this did hamper my enjoyment of the later half of the book, there was enough there that I was totally engaged throughout my read. The premise is so wild and out there that I felt compelled to continue, if only to see what in the world was coming next. After finishing, I was left conflicted. I, personally, had a great time. But, I love weird books, especially those that push the conventions of what expected and, indeed, what is even is possible in genre fiction. For many, this book will be too much, too weird, too experimental. But if you’re like me and enjoy something truly unique ever so often, something that will challenge you and expand your horizons as to what is even possible in the realms of literature, then There Is No Antimemetics Division might be for you.
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