I thought it was awesome that the author managed to explore such emotions with such a short book, so that was what bumped it from a 4 to 4. 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. It felt different enough from the original ending of Antigone that it was somewhat hopeful, even though it is alluded to that it will end differently. stars until the very last 20 pages and then it sort of almost made me cry which usually shoots a book up to five stars for me, but I wasn't feeling it for this one, so I gave it 4.

Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth | Goodreads Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth | Goodreads

Yes, men confuse protection with control and that was good but you have three different types of women dealing with this in their own way but they are just in their head about it and what they are saying isn’t anything new. I'm coming at this with absolutely no working knowledge of Antigone besides vaguely recognizing the name via cultural osmosis, which is to say I have no idea what the original story is (but many reviews seem to say it's a very faithful adaptation).Replacing burial rites with genetic preservation is one of the many twists to Sophocles' Antigone in Veronica Roth's novella. It could’ve been confusing, but I thought she did a good job of altering the voice just enough to make them distinct. Those elements had to do with homosexuality, which I prefer not to read about, since it goes against my beliefs as a child of God. Given how short this is, it's a little light in places but in a sea of mythical re-writings which fail to pay any sort of homage to the original source(s), this uses the myth to explore its politics in different ways without losing the shape of the original story. There are a couple things I'd have liked to have been more fleshed out (namely, the Trimere), but overall I'm happy with it.

Veronica Roth Bio - Veronica Roth

Not in the way that the ending was - I love a good bittersweet and uncertain ending (and I can make up a happy ending in my head and no one can tell me otherwise! 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. It just feels thrown together otherwise with quick mentions on how they interact and inform other decisions instead of truly seeing how each element bleeds into the others. There is a lot going on here, particularly in world building which is rather expansive and effective given the short length of the novella, and while it may often feel like there is just one element too many to properly balance in the framework of a Greek myth retelling, I applaud Roth for a solid effort and attempt.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. I love what she is doing, and for the most part I think she is doing it well and doing something really cool with the story, it just never quite came together well enough to fully land.

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

Veronica Roth, of “ Divergent” fame, brings to life an imaginarAs you can see, there’s no shortage of challenges to writing a sci-fi reimagining of an ancient classic, which requires bringing together elements that by all accounts should not mix well or readily. I also feel like it would've given us more space and time to truly connect to the characters, especially Antigone, her sister, and her betrothed, which would've made the final ending even more hard-hitting.