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**There Is No Antimemetics Division** by qntm
[lots of jokes about not remembering any of this book here etc etc etc ok anyway]
For the first half of this book I was having a grand time. Some of that was nostalgia for SCP, maybe, as someone who read a bunch of those when I was like 13, but all the same the structure of a loosely connected series of short stories centering around the Antimemetics Division worked really well for me. There's even hints of a myth arc being dropped here and there — and I do like 90s/00s TV.
Some of these MOTW TV shows jump the shark once they become overly concerned with their myth arc, and unfortunately this was one of them for me. The second half is much more of a traditional, linearly told novel, and it's... kind of boring! The threat that was cool and mysterious when in the background just ended up becoming a bunch of "spooky scary stuff" to me. New concepts get introduced at a slower rate, and the ones that do get introduced aren't as exciting (less "new", more "like that old idea but Bigger"). Ending stuff: ||The whole Jesus aspect of the ending fell totally flat to me, and did not feel like it particularly cohered thematically with the stuff earlier in the book. Also, while this obviously opens me up to accusations of "just not getting it", everything basically turns to mush in the end: our heroes are fighting evil ideas that are super evil and dangerous and must be defeated with Other Big Ideas, but we obviously can't know anything about what these ideas actually *are* (because then they'd affect the reader, right); as a result you're reading about characters doing indescribable things to other indescribable things through vague allusion and metaphor and it just ends up a little silly. That's a long way of saying the plot is basically resolved with technobabble, which kinda sucks!||
In terms of character there's not much to talk about here. Love that most of the book centers on a badass middle-aged lady, and her lack of character can be pretty easily excused by the fact that she's married to her job ||(which has eaten her memories)||. It's also not what the book is focused on, and I wouldn't really *want* it to focus on it either.
In short: great premise, really fun first half, but the second half is a bit of a letdown. One of those books where I think not tying up so many loose ends would have resulted in something I'd have loved more.
3/5 ⭐
**There Is No Antimemetics Division** by qntm
[lots of jokes about not remembering any of this book here etc etc etc ok anyway]
For the first half of this book I was having a grand time. Some of that was nostalgia for SCP, maybe, as someone who read a bunch of those when I was like 13, but all the same the structure of a loosely connected series of short stories centering around the Antimemetics Division worked really well for me. There's even hints of a myth arc being dropped here and there — and I do like 90s/00s TV.
Some of these MOTW TV shows jump the shark once they become overly concerned with their myth arc, and unfortunately this was one of them for me. The second half is much more of a traditional, linearly told novel, and it's... kind of boring! The threat that was cool and mysterious when in the background just ended up becoming a bunch of "spooky scary stuff" to me. New concepts get introduced at a slower rate, and the ones that do get introduced aren't as exciting (less "new", more "like that old idea but Bigger"). Ending stuff: ||The whole Jesus aspect of the ending fell totally flat to me, and did not feel like it particularly cohered thematically with the stuff earlier in the book. Also, while this obviously opens me up to accusations of "just not getting it", everything basically turns to mush in the end: our heroes are fighting evil ideas that are super evil and dangerous and must be defeated with Other Big Ideas, but we obviously can't know anything about what these ideas actually *are* (because then they'd affect the reader, right); as a result you're reading about characters doing indescribable things to other indescribable things through vague allusion and metaphor and it just ends up a little silly. That's a long way of saying the plot is basically resolved with technobabble, which kinda sucks!||
In terms of character there's not much to talk about here. Love that most of the book centers on a badass middle-aged lady, and her lack of character can be pretty easily excused by the fact that she's married to her job ||(which has eaten her memories)||. It's also not what the book is focused on, and I wouldn't really *want* it to focus on it either.
In short: great premise, really fun first half, but the second half is a bit of a letdown. One of those books where I think not tying up so many loose ends would have resulted in something I'd have loved more.
3/5 ⭐
The hottest new sport in the UK is Ranked Competitive Breast Growth, where cis men (and ONLY cis men) compete to see who can grow the biggest tatas in three years. Winner gets a million dollars. Obviously this sport would appeal to lots of cis guys, and no other demographic! But if you do get exposed to not be a cis guy you're instantly booted from the competition. (Despite this, orchiectomies are considered meta.)
This should be ridiculous, but somehow it manages to seem grounded by the end. The first half is a bit like an absurd trans sitcom: four roommates all participate, and hijinks ensue, all of them basically convinced they're the trans one going undercover in the competition who must keep their cover lest the others get them booted from the competition. However, the narrative doesn't shy away from what a hostile situation this is, and it's crystal clear about what drives them all to participate. (Surely there are no parallels to reality here, it's pure fiction I'm told.) For this reason the second half shifts to be less of a sitcom and more of a (sad) character study.
I'm beginning to think I don't treat my fellow trans girls very well.
This really worked for me! I would say I found the first half more fun, but the second half was what got me hooked.
It's not perfect — for example, there's a segment that basically goes on a long tangent to summarize one of Bhatt's essays. While it's a good essay I found it a bit grating; it does get weaved in afterwards in a way I liked, but in the moment it was still very clunky.
All in all though I'd recommend it as a fun read, at least if a transfeminist sitcom sounds appealing. Quite similar to Sisters of Dorley but also distinct enough to have its own things to say. If the next book was already out I'd be reading it immediately
The hottest new sport in the UK is Ranked Competitive Breast Growth, where cis men (and ONLY cis men) compete to see who can grow the biggest tatas in three years. Winner gets a million dollars. Obviously this sport would appeal to lots of cis guys, and no other demographic! But if you do get exposed to not be a cis guy you're instantly booted from the competition. (Despite this, orchiectomies are considered meta.)
This should be ridiculous, but somehow it manages to seem grounded by the end. The first half is a bit like an absurd trans sitcom: four roommates all participate, and hijinks ensue, all of them basically convinced they're the trans one going undercover in the competition who must keep their cover lest the others get them booted from the competition. However, the narrative doesn't shy away from what a hostile situation this is, and it's crystal clear about what drives them all to participate. (Surely there are no parallels to reality here, it's pure fiction I'm told.) For this reason the second half shifts to be less of a sitcom and more of a (sad) character study.
I'm beginning to think I don't treat my fellow trans girls very well.
This really worked for me! I would say I found the first half more fun, but the second half was what got me hooked.
It's not perfect — for example, there's a segment that basically goes on a long tangent to summarize one of Bhatt's essays. While it's a good essay I found it a bit grating; it does get weaved in afterwards in a way I liked, but in the moment it was still very clunky.
All in all though I'd recommend it as a fun read, at least if a transfeminist sitcom sounds appealing. Quite similar to Sisters of Dorley but also distinct enough to have its own things to say. If the next book was already out I'd be reading it immediately
Added to listOn holdwith 2 books.
