Synopsis:
There is no antimemetics division follows the leader of a secretive agency (I do not remember her name for the life of me), the Antimemetics Division. She and her team are tasked with discovering, containing, and remembering the existance of creatures called "Antimemes" who, by nature, are able to make humans forget their existance entirely. As the MC discovers a history of her agency that exists far longer than she had anticipated, she also becomes increasingly aware of an antimeme more powerful than any she, or the world had seen before.
Review
Overall I think this was an okay read. Definitely for what it is and for the concept present I think it does fairly well with what it is attempting. That being said, the collection of weird cut aways, time spent with characters we never see again and have no reason to care about, time jumps, and overall non-linear plot combined with the high concept makes this a very hard sci-fi book not only to find people to like, but to even follow at times. It should have been explained earlier that antimemes are really just ideas for the end of the book to make cohesive sense and be a fulfilling conclusion, and I feel there is a lack of likable characters, instead keeping the MC as bland as possible and killing off everyone who shows an ounce of humanity (This is an entire novel following Stratt from [[Project Hail Mary]]). This format of not explaining things, jumping between characters, and really letting the audience make sense of things works in the SCP foundation exceptionally well. I am sure anyone who has spent more time in there than I have feels right at home with this novel. I don't think that was toned down quite enough though to make it palatable for the general audience. I cannot however fault the book for not wanting to hide it's DNA. Can't be mad at a horse for neighing.
Closing thoughts
I didn't dislike reading this, but it would have benefitted from a more human MC, more time spent telling stories like Ed Hix's, and a plot that wasn't "the bad guy wins but then the MC comes back to life and turns into God"
Tags: #five #book #mystery #scifi