⭐⭐⭐⭐
I just finished There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm, and I have to say, it’s exactly the kind of weird that gets me excited about fiction. From the very first entries, there’s this uncanny, almost clinical tone that makes you feel like you’re reading a classified briefing rather than a story, and I absolutely loved that. It’s clever, unnerving, and often just bizarre enough to make you stop and think about how reality itself is being twisted around the narrative.
It really put me in mind of the videogame Control. There’s the same eerie, bureaucratic supernatural vibe, the feeling that the world is operating by rules you can’t fully comprehend, and you’re constantly trying to piece things together from incomplete or deliberately misleading information. Like in Control, there’s this tension that simmers beneath the surface — mundane office work and paperwork juxtaposed against truly impossible phenomena. It’s that blend of the familiar and the utterly alien that really hits the sweet spot for me.
I can absolutely see why this wouldn’t be for everyone. The story is fragmented, heavily conceptual, and leans on the reader to make the connections. If you want a traditional plot with neat resolutions and a clear narrative arc, this might feel frustratingly opaque. Some sections are deliberately clinical, almost like reading a research log on things that shouldn’t exist, which can be alienating if you’re looking for a conventional horror or thriller.
But for me, that’s the joy. The weirdness feels like a playground. The antimemetics themselves — entities that resist being remembered or conceptualised — are a fascinating idea, and watching the characters struggle against ideas that are almost impossible to grasp is thrilling in a way that’s intellectually satisfying as well as chilling. There’s a certain elegance in the way qntm handles the mechanics of memory, perception, and the nature of threat.
All told, I’m giving this four stars. It’s brilliant in its ambition and execution, even if it’s not a perfectly smooth read. It’s the kind of strange, unsettling, mind-bending story that I crave, and it left me wanting more entries into this universe. If you love weird, cerebral horror with a touch of bureaucratic absurdity, this is definitely for you — just be ready to lean into the strangeness.
Gareth Ellis - Author 