There Is no Antimemetics Division by qntm (Del Rey, £18.99)
There have been stories before about mysterious alien entities existing, hidden, within our world, and secret government departments tasked with protecting humanity. This debut novel by software engineer Sam Hughes writing under the pen name qntm pushes the idea to the most terrifying extreme: the antimeme. Memes are ideas that easily spread; antimemes are literally unthinkable, “self-keeping secrets”, impossible to record or to remember. Some feed on memories and pose an existential threat. But how is it possible to win a war when there’s no identifiable enemy, and every attack is immediately forgotten? Against these odds, the Antimemetics Division somehow exists, part of a secret organisation with bases deep underground in the English countryside, as related in this unforgettable, mind-bendingly brilliant novel.
The Merge by Grace Walker (Magpie, £12.99)
In a near-future, dystopian Britain, population pressures on scarce resources have resulted in a new technology that promises to cut the problem in half. Any two people who agree to “merge” by having the consciousness of one transported into the other’s body will be rewarded with lower taxes and a better standard of living. The promise is that the two minds will gradually meld into one new person, preserving the best of both. When Laurie is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, her daughter Amelia signs them up to join a trial group, hoping the merge will preserve Laurie’s mind. They have three months to learn how the process will work, and if they are still doubtful they can call it off – but it seems no one ever does. Moving between the viewpoints of the two women, this is a compelling and disturbing story of love and sacrifice, control and resistance.
