Arch-Conspirator

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Somehow I didn't feel like I was making a choice. I felt like he already made all the choices, and I was the response to call, the effect of his cause." A thrilling, profoundly moving science fiction retelling of the Greek tragedy Antigone filled with inevitable doom, heart-break and one final act of courage. 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'.

Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth - Fantastic Fiction Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth - Fantastic Fiction

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? 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. 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. I got the eARC for Arch-Conspirator earlier this year and was pretty excited. Somehow I haven’t read anything by Veronica Roth since Divergent, even though I have another eARC still haha. This is a novella so that seemed like a fast read, but was it also an enjoyable one? Let’s take a look!

Outside the last city on Earth, the planet is a wasteland. Without the Archive, where the genes of the dead are stored, humanity will end. 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 Roth is a masterful conjurer, summoning both classic myth and visceral dystopia to weave a breathtaking tale of love, avarice, and the timeless desire for revenge.” — Ryka Aoki, bestselling author of Light From Uncommon Stars 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. This is not my usual type of book. I have no prior knowledge of Antigone and her siblings. I didn't know this was a retelling of a play. I saw Veronica Roth's name and I said bet, get me a copy.

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

That said, I don’t know that Kreon’s stance makes much sense here. Without going into specifics, he believes that Antigone and her siblings have no soul, and therefore there is no use in saving their genes. I’m not sure this makes sense, since obviously these people have an understanding of genetics, so I would think that having viable DNA and eggs/sperm in such a dire world would still be valuable, souls aside. But maybe I missed something. 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 haven’t read anything by Roth before this, and only heard conflicting opinions of the Divergent series. But for some reason, this novella caught my eye and I thank Veronica Roth, Tor and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Antigone’s parents once sat upon the throne but then they were murdered by her Uncle and now he takes their place. She, along with her siblings, must reside with him inside the palace walls but whilst she allows pleasant smiles to play upon her lips, murderous and traitorous thoughts fill her heart. 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.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. 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. As many reviewers have already pointed out, this is a retelling of Antigone in a futuristic sci-fi world. For some reason that isn't expanded on, the world has gone to shit (doesn't it always) and people are living in a sort of dystopian world where they don't have children naturally (even though women are required to have children) and when people die, their "Ichor" (basically reproductive cells) are extracted and stored so that other people can basically ~design their kids from the archive of stored cells. 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.” 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.

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

Why are they on another planet? What happened to earth? Unless I missed it which is totally possible, it wasn’t explained.Why was I tearing up several times? Why was I going through multiple stages of grief? Whatever Ms. Roth was drinking was pure fire. Give me more. Arch-Conspirator is the latest release from Veronica Roth. This novella blends heavy science fiction dystopia – think reproductive control and consciousness – with Greek mythology. It reminds me of like Altered Carbon and Greek figures and The Handmaids Tale. And I think that might be one of my issues, Roth bites off a lot in Arch-Conspirator. While I think that some of those topics work well together, by the end of this novella, I was left with more questions than answers. I think my main issues with the book were twofold. First, I just wish it had been expanded. 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!) I mostly want to know more about this world and understand more about Ichor and the Archives and just figure out how the world got to the way it was portrayed in the book. I want to know more about the system of government and the rebellions they kept mentioning and generally learn about the worldbuilding that the author started and gave us the barest hints of. 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.