Great review, Mogsy:). I don’t recall the story of Antigone, other than it didn’t end well for the female protagonist – but then, that’s the norm for Greek myths anyway. I love the sound of this one. In Arch-Conspirator, Veronica Roth retells the story of Antigone, now set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic city that’s filled with the last remnants of humanity. These people now survive through gene editing and are under the strict rule of Kreon, Antigone’s uncle. But when Antigone’s brother tries to stand up to Kreon’s leadership and is killed, Antigone must make a choice about how she will choose to live her own life, and how she will honor those who came before her.

Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth Book Review | Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth

Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth, the bestselling author of the Divergent series, is a dystopian sci-fi retelling of Antigone, an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in 441 BC. If you're looking for a fairly accurate retelling of Antigone but set in a sci-fi world, I think you'd really enjoy Arch-Conspirator. I am BEGGING Veronica Roth to release more novellas like this. Her writing style completely changed. It was poetic and so full of beauty. I don’t know the origin story this is based on, but I loved every bit of this. It’s uncomfortable and powerful and so gorgeous. The concepts in here were fascinating. This is my favourite thing Roth has ever published. When your time comes and you die, your ichor (soul and gene material) is extracted and stored in the archives. The prospective parents can wander the halls of the Archive and made a choice -be that looking for something like their parents or grandparents. It’s the closest thing to a designer baby that could be imaginable. That being said, it truly is incredible what Roth managed to accomplish in this novella. It makes some really harrowing insights into female autonomy and family loyalty. Arch-Conspirator is unlike anything I read before and I adored how unique and engaging it was. I simply couldn’t put it down. It’s disturbing, powerful, and unforgettable.The earth is a barren landscape, nothing survives, and nothing grows. Funny – I could imagine this coming to be in a few decades/generations, climate change is already in full force, is this what we have to look forward to – ground unfit for purpose and the women used for nothing but vessels? Sounds absolutely bleak if you ask me. Perhaps it wasn’t because we were family—perhaps it was because we were children of Oedipus, warped though we were by our genes. And Oedipus had almost started a revolution—he was a symbol, and so were we. And what better way to take the power from a symbol than to claim it as your own?

Arch-Conspirator - Macmillan

I really enjoyed Antigone by Sophocles when I read it in college, so it took very little convincing for me to read this novella. Honestly, all I had to hear was “sci-fi retelling of Antigone” and I was sold. And generally, I wasn’t disappointed. Well done Veronica Roth for writing a cool and imaginative take on Antigone, best known through Sophocles' play of the same name, following the children of Oedipus and Jocasta. This takes a very different approach from Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire which paid fine attention to the politics of torn loyalties with a hard-hitting and nuanced plot leading to an emotionally devastating ending. I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but Antigone’s parents were murdered, leaving her father’s throne vacant. As her militant uncle Kreon rises to claim it, all Antigone feels is rage. When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest. A] taut, defiant reenvisioning of Sophocles's Antigone.... The plot preserves the shape of the original without ever losing the capacity to surprise and, more importantly, prod reflection and recognition. This powerful tale of reproductive oppression is sure to wow." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The stifling of women is presented in the novella not only through Antigone but also through Ismene and through Eurydice, Kreon’s wife, as well as through the specter of Jocasta, whose memory cannot be banished or denied. Before her death, she was working on artificial womb technology that would have freed people capable of childbearing from the obligation to carry on the species through their own personal reproductive labor—no joke, in a world in which we are told that fifty percent of pregnancies end with the death of the pregnant person. A retelling of Antigone was not what I was expecting to see as the latest book by Veronica Roth, but this science fiction reimagining of the Grecian tragedy is fantastic! I ended up really enjoying reading this book, and it's been great to see that I still enjoy Roth's writing, even if we've both grown a lot since Divergent. It was interesting to see her blend this sci-fi setting of a broken world with Antigone, and I really liked how it ended up working together. I hadn't been too familiar with Antigone before reading this, but after reading a summary after finishing this novella, I only appreciated how Roth used the source material even more. Speaking of Kreon, I think it was interesting that Roth changed him from being Jocasta’s brother to being Oedipus’. Honestly, it kind of makes sense—being Oedipus’ brother makes a more direct foil between those two, and Antigone’s relationship with her brother. It was kind of clever, and I can’t complain. Antigone's parents – Oedipus and Jocasta – are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but with her militant uncle Kreon rising to claim her father's vacant throne, all Antigone feels is rage.

Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth | Goodreads

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)Antigone’s parents – Oedipus and Jocasta – are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but with her militant uncle Kreon rising to claim her father’s vacant throne, all Antigone feels is rage. When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest. But her uncle will soon learn that no cage is unbreakable. And neither is he.”