Hello everybody! I hope you are all doing well. This review is going to be…interesting, to say the least. There might be some context that I am unable to fully give to you as the reader. As someone who grew up on internet horror, I have had a long-time fascination with the fictional organization known as the SCP Foundation, which is an organization that controls all sorts of terrifying and strage creatures that are a direct threat to humanity. Essentially, it is an online creative writing project where writers contribute there own SCPs (aka creatures or beings) that have been captured and/or monitored by the SCP organization. It’s adjacent to CreepyPastas, but it has more of a structure to it. I fear I am not explaining this correctly. There’s plenty of videos and podcasts of people reading these entries. It is a fascinating project. The reason I am explaining this is because the author of this book originally published this as an SCP Foundation piece and then turned it into their own novel. I know that this is all chronically online, but the context matters. Now that I have laid out all of the groundwork, its time to get into the horrors of There is No Antimemetics Division.

Content Warning: Disturbing Imagery, Some Strong Language, Violence

The most horrifying things in this world are the ones you can’t remember. Beings exist with the ability to wipe the memories of those that they prey upon. They could be anywhere, even in the room with you right now. Some of these beings are harmless, but others could destroy the world. The only thing that stands in the way of these apocalyptic events is the Antimemetics Division. There is a war being waged every day to save life as we know it. Yes, you are fighting this war. No, this isn’t your first day. Welcome to the Antimemetics Division.

There is no Antimemetics Division is existential, paradoxical, darkly humorous, and one of the best reading experiences I have had in a long time. There are so many moving parts to the novel, and none of them entirely make sense, but that is the charm of this book. It was so wonderfully imaginative and morbid in its exploration of the unexplainable. QNTM (aka Sam Hughes) dances the fine line of ambiguity as he presents many anomalies. There is just enough explanation to make the premise somewhat believable, but not so much that it takes away from the novel’s mystery. Unfortunately, I can’t go in-depth because I would be giving away too much about this book. I will say, though, that this probably isn’t a novel for everyone. I explained what the SCP Foundation is in the beginning, and while you don’t have to be familiar with that, it is still a very bizarre concept to wrap one’s head around. If existensial horror is not your cup of tea, then I fully understand. If you are interested in the unexplainable and enigmatic, then I highly recommend There is no Antimemetics Division.