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I really liked it and all the little interesting ideas within it, like the antimimetic worms that live everywhere. I actually found it very creative and clever. However, I didn't think the recent rewrite was as much of an improvement as others seem to. The later parts were improved but I thought some of the padding out of earlier parts arguably came out worse.

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Edit:

To give an actual example, Marion's description in the original, from the scene in the video:

She is turning fifty this year and slowly greying, well on her way out of "petite" towards "little old lady".

In the updated edition:

She turns fifty this year. She is diminutive and flint-eyed, very dark-haired but rapidly greying. Today, her hair is strictly pulled back and up into a silver clasp. She wore her good suit for this, one button, very dark grey, with a solid blue blouse underneath. Ankle boots with stout heels, two silver stud earrings in each lobe. Contact lenses, not the usual glasses. On a lanyard around her neck she wears a security pass with a bright orange and red diagonal stripe.

Two uses of 'very dark' right after each other? And I actually liked how snappy the original was but that might be just me.

Another line in this first chapter that I love from the original:

"What…" O5-8 asks carefully, "would happen if we did know?"

becomes in the new edition:

"What…" Mahlo asks carefully, "would happen if we did know what happened to him?"

Why pad that out? It sounds less natural now.

by johnke12 hours ago|

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There were also some examples of sloppy editing in the updated edition, like multiple uses of the word "perimetre" which the author acknowledges was an 'incautious find-and-replace from the US English "meter" to UK English "metre"' https://qntm.org/antimemetics#komment6913d2eb6c240

by ethmarks9 hours ago|

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Which is especially odd because the author (Sam Hughes) lives in the UK and wrote the original in UK English, but apparently wrote the rewrite in US English. For example, a chapter in the original was titled "Case Colourless Green", but in the US edition of the rewrite that chapter is "Case Colorless Green" (without the 'u'). So Hughes, a native UK English speaker, wrote the rewrite in a non-native (to him) dialect, then had it (lazily) translated into his native dialect.

by rtkwe8 hours ago|

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It was probably to deal with the transposition [0] out of the SCP universe into a new one. SCP is vaguely 'set' in the US because that's how a majority of the contributors naturally write and spell things, which sets the voice of the world indirectly.

[0] AKA "filing the serial numbers off" when it's explicitly fanfiction instead of a shared universe model like SCP

by LeifCarrotson4 hours ago|

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I liked it for the interesting ideas within it. My favorite part of a story is the worldbuilding, the author's unique take on an idea, the special ways that different characters think and act. There's not a great deal of artistry I require in the introduction of a 49-year-old greying woman deep in some giant bureaucracy to imagine how other people relate to her, I'm interested more in the idea of a bureaucracy that deals with antimemes.

Perhaps that comes from reading too many online stories - including the whole of qntm's site [1], including the rough drafts. The quality of the editing, prose, or dialog isn't that important to me if the quality of the worldbuilding and the concepts are high enough.

https://qntm.org/fiction

by throw3108229 hours ago|

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I did find the introductory short story (this one) brilliant, as it's short, shows a clever and surprising inversion of roles midway, but especially because the premise- antimemetics- is actually extremely interesting. I even wonder if it has been developed seriously- I mean the study of antimemes as a communication/ propaganda technique.

It's true that the whole novel, despite a few good moments, seems mostly interested in plot and entertainment. Having read quite a bit of qntm's stuff online, I'd say he excels in the short story format where he can quickly present a clever or surprising idea and there isn't the need to sustain a plot or work on character development etc.

Anyway, comparing a random author to one of the best and most influential sci-fi authors ever is a bit pointless, don't you think?

by InitialLastName2 hours ago|

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> I even wonder if it has been developed seriously- I mean the study of antimemes as a communication/ propaganda technique.

Tell me you can't see the fnords without telling me...

by pinkmuffinere13 hours ago|

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I loved the ideas! The premise was novel to me, and I also don't think I've encountered the same idea since (except for in reference to the original story). I'm not a fan of the writing style though. It's very stiff and heavy-handed, as if the writer's only goal is to setup the next twist. But I can't complain that much, it reminds me a lot of my own writing.

by axus11 hours ago|

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My standard for website fiction is lower. When you're unknown, there's less pressure to go through a long editing cycle. Pale and SEEK have been good though.

Would not consider myself well-read, if I read enough PKD stories I could probably find some mediocre ones; really liked the popular ones I did read.

by pwdisswordfishy13 hours ago|

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Indeed, it works fine as an introduction to a longer series, but on its own feels pretty unfulfilling.

I think the story where she detains her own husband would work much better in a stand-alone adaptation.

by tgv10 hours ago|

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I thought the short movie was also mediocre. It should have been much shorter.

by jpfromlondon7 hours ago|

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thought the idea quite fun, the execution incredibly amateurish.

by renewiltord8 hours ago|

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The idea was entertaining and I enjoyed the read. The author is clearly accustomed to shorter works. The final book has the feel of an anthology. Regardless, one my top 1000.