# There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

98 Hacker News commenters recommended There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm and 34 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 1.5 years (6 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its strikingly original premise and brilliant opening, a page-turner full of twists; many feel the second half meanders and repeats the same gimmick.

## Why people recommend it

- Highly original premise and ideas (9 comments): "I didn't think "There Is No Antimemetics Division" did very well with its premise, but the premise is quite fascinating" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47672535)) "It's worth it for the originality. Both the plot and the storytelling format are very weird and very original." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47662944)) "The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47661835))
- Brilliant opening and first half (6 comments): "Outside of the wonderful introductory set-up and the initial inverted set-piece of 'Your first day', there is little for the book to recommend itself as a piece of literature" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47676535)) "the introductory short story (this one) brilliant, as it's short, shows a clever and surprising inversion of roles midway" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47411745)) "The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47661835))
- Page-turner with unexpected twists (4 comments): "It's such a page turner that the book has become one of my default recommendations for people looking to get back into reading." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47663529)) "the introductory short story (this one) brilliant, as it's short, shows a clever and surprising inversion of roles midway" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47411745)) "it all kind of clicks at the end, when we realize we had the rug pulled from under our feet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47673225))
- Rewrite improves the ending (3 comments): "2025 paid version has more coherent ending (which is nice) and more linear timeline for your average non-technical Joe." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47016998)) "The rewrite definitely improves on the ending and its delivery, but it's still largely the same plot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47662266)) "the second half got a significant overhaul which fixed almost all of my issues with it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47662731))

## What people warn about

- Second half meanders and fizzles (5 comments): "The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47661835)) "the ideas are so good but then it becomes hard to endure through to whatever resolution was waiting" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47663315)) "It sort of meanders and fizzles out. It starts so strong it seems impossible to finish as strong." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47412759))
- Repetitive, monster-of-the-week feel (4 comments): "The Big Bad Thing has so many manifestations that it feels like monster of the week rather than a true full book that holds onto a core sharply executed identity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47412924)) "the book is very one-note, it's like a horror movie that keeps doing the same jumpscare over and over again" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664650)) "But has that potential but where it lands is closer to monster-of-the-week in book form." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47417224))
- Rewrite largely the same story (4 comments): "The rewrite definitely improves on the ending and its delivery, but it's still largely the same plot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47662266)) "I thought some of the padding out of earlier parts arguably came out worse." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47409852)) "the "editing pass" was minimal. Names changed and some scenes reworked a tiny bit, but it's the same thing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47414394))
- Stiff, heavy-handed writing (2 comments): "It's very stiff and heavy-handed, as if the writer's only goal is to setup the next twist." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47409892)) "It reads as a religious person who accidentally wrote a good sci-fi book then hurridly, at the end, reminds us all that its really a parable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47663707))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend
- [Hyperion by Dan Simmons](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hyperion.md): 66 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1529979242?tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/YOURID/9781529979244) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm", https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).