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.

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

If you have read Antigone, then I think you have a good chance of enjoying Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth. This is not a retelling with a specific lens (feminist, marxist, post-structuralist, etc) - instead it is what it says on the tin, a sci-fi reimagining. The primary issue with Arch-Conspirator is that, while having inventive fun with the original tale, it seems like it is trying to do too much at once instead of exploring one theme really well. I love a retelling that really throws you for a loop, but I feel a total resetting of time and place to use the narrative as a modern political commentary was done much more effectively in Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, which dealt with immigration and the Iraq war. I quite liked that we get to see conflicting opinions and perspectives that self-justify actions, though in Home Fire we spend much more time in these perspectives that allow them to be nuanced instead of such broad strokes as we have here. The ending of the story, though likely not a spoiler (this is an ancient Greek tragedy, after all), feels somewhat disappointing. After getting to know Antigone, you wish for a different ending for her. But the rather hollow victory that Kreon has, also laced with sorrow and pain, lends a decent amount of complexity to the situation. It’s not that the villain wins, it’s that no one really does. But at the same time, if you look at it a certain way, Antigone wins. Veronica Roth is the New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones, the short story collection The End and Other Beginnings, the Divergent series, and the Carve the Mark duology. She is also the guest editor of the most recent The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.For some reason, you talk to people about food shortages, power outages, contaminated water, the government disappearing people—you might as well be speaking another language. But if you tell them their High Commander wants to send a pretty young thing into space to waste away? Suddenly they’re listening.’ Despite some criticisms, Arch-Conspirator is a cool story and a really fun retelling, I only wish I felt it was all able to be more effectively juggled. Wh 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

Arch-Conspirator - Macmillan

Veronica Roth, of “ Divergent” fame, brings to life an imaginary re-telling of the Greek myth, “Antigone” with her new novella, “Arch-Conspirator”. 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. Why are they on another planet? What happened to earth? Unless I missed it which is totally possible, it wasn’t explained.

Summary

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. So when Kreon told us we were welcome to live in his house, I knew what the consequences would be: he would let Polyneikes and Eteocles and Ismene and me live, but we would do so at his pleasure. We would live in his house, lending legitimacy to his rule, and he would keep his eye on us. The full narrative was engaging, and I find myself still living in that world in my head – which is disturbing!

Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth - BEFOREWEGOBLOG Review - Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth - BEFOREWEGOBLOG

Tragic and triumphant in equal measure. Roth is a storyteller who reaches new heights with every tale."—John Scalzi, bestselling author of The Kaiju Preservation Society The traditional setting of Antigone is transplanted to a post-apocalyptic Earth and they are all members of a dwindling community. This set up an interesting tension among the characters and the society in general. I think it worked well, but what do I know? I haven’t actually ever read Antigone and only know the bare bones of the story. this book is trying to do too much. I felt like Roth got so excited about our shitty politics and wanted to write about it with a sci if slant but she didn’t know how to incorporate it. 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 was because we were family, and there were rules for family, and Kreon loved rules. Kreon was Oedipus’s brother, Oedipus’s shadow. A man of the blade instead of a man of the mind. At family gatherings when I was young, he was known for breaking things—glasses, plates, toys—just from handling them too roughly. Once, my mother asked him to brush Ismene’s hair for her, and Ismene spent the entire time trying not to cry as he ripped knots out of her head. He didn’t know how to be teased; he only laughed at other people, never himself. For this reason, Antigone and her siblings are considered outcasts in their society, despite their parents Oedipus and Jocasta being the leaders of the last city where the remnants of humanity still cling to life. When her parents are murdered, however, Antigone and her sister are taken in by their traitorous uncle Kreon who keeps his nieces alive even after seizing the throne because of the value they represent: vessels to bring forth the future generation. The Earth as we know it, is in ruins and only one city remains. Within its walls lies a building called the “Archive”, where genes of the dead are stored, to be used again in future reproduction. Antigone’s parents were murdered, their genes lost, and so now she and her siblings are doomed outcasts, unable to pass into the Archive when they die. With their father gone, their uncle Kreon sits in the throne, wielding his power on his family as much as on his countrymen. After the death of her brothers, Antigone is desperate and her final act of revolt leads her uncle to banish her, in lieu of execution. But Antigone is not alone, and Kreon is in for the fight of his life against everyone he thought he trusted. 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.

Arch-Conspirator - Veronica Roth - The Book Dutchesses Review | Arch-Conspirator - Veronica Roth - The Book Dutchesses

I read the play Antigone right before reading Arch-Conspirator and I'm so glad I did. You definitely don't need to read the play to enjoy this novella, but I think it will help reinforce the themes and you'll get a better understanding of what Roth was trying to do with the characters.Roth's performance is intelligent but less emotive: set in a future dystopian world, this makes use of Creon's one-note politics and takes up questions of female bodily autonomy. I especially like the way this re-writes the previous transgression of Oedipus and Jocasta: here they refuse to have 'designer' babies by gene splicing and editing so their crime is not incest but natural conception, tainting their children in a world where the naturally-born are labelled 'soulless'. Oedipus and Jocasta are in the Archive. He was a politician and she was a scientist so brilliant that she could not be denied even though women cannot be scientists. They died in a riot not long after Oedipus won the only election in the city’s history; whether that riot is connected to their crime of conceiving their four children naturally is never made clear. But their actions are infamous, and so Antigone and her three siblings are at best tolerated rather than beloved in the city and in Kreon’s household. 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) This slim novella is tautly written and beautiful presented. Word to the wise: It does help to have a passing familiarity with the classic story of Antigone before reading Arch-Conspirator… but I suppose it would work even without reference to the source. I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.