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There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

Hacker Approved

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.

Summarized from 156 comments.

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.

recommend
98
criticize
34
months recommended
9 of 13
median owned, 6 owners said
1.5 years

Why people love it

  • Highly original premise and ideas · 9

    I didn't think "There Is No Antimemetics Division" did very well with its premise, but the premise is quite fascinating

    Apr 2026 · comment

    It's worth it for the originality. Both the plot and the storytelling format are very weird and very original.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that.

    Apr 2026 · comment
  • Brilliant opening and first half · 6

    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

    Apr 2026 · comment

    the introductory short story (this one) brilliant, as it's short, shows a clever and surprising inversion of roles midway

    Mar 2026 · comment

    The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that.

    Apr 2026 · comment
  • Page-turner with unexpected twists · 4

    It's such a page turner that the book has become one of my default recommendations for people looking to get back into reading.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    the introductory short story (this one) brilliant, as it's short, shows a clever and surprising inversion of roles midway

    Mar 2026 · comment

    it all kind of clicks at the end, when we realize we had the rug pulled from under our feet

    Apr 2026 · comment
  • Rewrite improves the ending · 3

    2025 paid version has more coherent ending (which is nice) and more linear timeline for your average non-technical Joe.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    The rewrite definitely improves on the ending and its delivery, but it's still largely the same plot

    Apr 2026 · comment

    the second half got a significant overhaul which fixed almost all of my issues with it

    Apr 2026 · comment

What people warn about

  • Second half meanders and fizzles · 5

    The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    the ideas are so good but then it becomes hard to endure through to whatever resolution was waiting

    Apr 2026 · comment

    It sort of meanders and fizzles out. It starts so strong it seems impossible to finish as strong.

    Mar 2026 · comment
  • Repetitive, monster-of-the-week feel · 4

    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.

    Mar 2026 · comment

    the book is very one-note, it's like a horror movie that keeps doing the same jumpscare over and over again

    Apr 2026 · comment

    But has that potential but where it lands is closer to monster-of-the-week in book form.

    Mar 2026 · comment
  • Rewrite largely the same story · 4

    The rewrite definitely improves on the ending and its delivery, but it's still largely the same plot

    Apr 2026 · comment

    I thought some of the padding out of earlier parts arguably came out worse.

    Mar 2026 · comment

    the "editing pass" was minimal. Names changed and some scenes reworked a tiny bit, but it's the same thing.

    Mar 2026 · comment
  • Stiff, heavy-handed writing · 2

    It's very stiff and heavy-handed, as if the writer's only goal is to setup the next twist.

    Mar 2026 · comment

    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

    Apr 2026 · comment

What hackers pick instead

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 156 comments. Each links to the original.

  1. 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

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  2. 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.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  3. It's such a page turner that the book has become one of my default recommendations for people looking to get back into reading.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  4. the introductory short story (this one) brilliant, as it's short, shows a clever and surprising inversion of roles midway

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  5. 2025 paid version has more coherent ending (which is nice) and more linear timeline for your average non-technical Joe.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “MMAcevedo aka Lena by qntm”

  6. I didn't think "There Is No Antimemetics Division" did very well with its premise, but the premise is quite fascinating

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  7. It's worth it for the originality. Both the plot and the storytelling format are very weird and very original.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  8. the book is very one-note, it's like a horror movie that keeps doing the same jumpscare over and over again

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  9. The second half was garbage, but the first half was so good and original I'd recommend it just for that.

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  10. if you like antimemes as a concept then this is a nice treatment that introduces people to what it means

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  11. The rewrite definitely improves on the ending and its delivery, but it's still largely the same plot

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  12. the ideas are so good but then it becomes hard to endure through to whatever resolution was waiting

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  13. Technically, I read "There Is No Antimemetics Division" last year, but I'd already kind of read it

    Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)”

  14. It sort of meanders and fizzles out. It starts so strong it seems impossible to finish as strong.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  15. more than "There is not anti-mimetics division" which I felt lost itself in the second half

    Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”

  16. it all kind of clicks at the end, when we realize we had the rug pulled from under our feet

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  17. It's very stiff and heavy-handed, as if the writer's only goal is to setup the next twist.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  18. But has that potential but where it lands is closer to monster-of-the-week in book form.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  19. The core conceit lent itself so well to a (subverted) introductory "As you know" chapter

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  20. the second half got a significant overhaul which fixed almost all of my issues with it

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  21. The book did a commendable job.But I was ready for it to be over when it was over.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  22. One of the more original titles I've read in recent years that gives that feeling

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Rendezvous with Rama”

  23. Still one of the more original bits of sci fi / horror to be published in a while

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  24. Great idea, brilliantly executed. Definitely worth it for the first third alone.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  25. I thought some of the padding out of earlier parts arguably came out worse.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  26. It has many interesting ideas and a plot with some truly unexpected twists.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  27. 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

    Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  28. the "editing pass" was minimal. Names changed and some scenes reworked a tiny bit, but it's the same thing.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  29. I don't see a coherent plot so far. But all the chapters seem to have the same gimmick

    Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  30. I also didn't think it was quite as good as it was hyped to be, but as someone who has long been into the web-based SCP stuff, I did appreciate how the book is introducing SCP to a wider audience.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  31. It's an enjoyable read, hopefully it's the start of a whole new arc in the series with more to come.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  32. Qntm is great and their latest book, There Is No Antimemetics Division, recently was on HN as well

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “The Future of Everything Is Lies, I Guess: Culture”

  33. I read the original antimemetic division book a few times, and gifted the book to few friends too

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “MMAcevedo aka Lena by qntm”

  34. I feel like is just looming as a possible and frustratingly shallow justification of the book

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]”

  35. it's entirely consistent with the meta-nature of the book, especially the self-conscious part

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  36. trying to cohere the structure of the book with the topic matter which I really appreciate

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  37. but something to appreciate, it allows us to see through the media and into the author

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  38. I'm a big qntm fan. I highly recommend their "antimemetics" SCP stories and articles.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Qntm's Power Tower Toy”

  39. a great book recently called There Is No Antimemetics Division, to rave reviews on HN

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Incredible Story of Troy”

  40. the general idea is much better than just verbally stating it is hard to remember

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

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