Arch-Conspirator was another good read by Veronica Roth. The planet is a wasteland outside the last city on Earth. Humanity will end without the Archive, which is where the genes of the dead are stored. Antigone's parents were murdered which left her father's throne vacant. Her militant uncle Kreon rises to claim it which angers Antigone. He welcomes Antigone and her siblings into his mansion but they are captives as well as guests there. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

This is a very short novella about antigone, the daughter of Oedipus. I wasn't familiar with her story before and I might have enjoyed this a bit more if I knew more of the background. I though the ending was good and when I finished reading I was hoping for more.

Arch-Conspirator is a gripping novel by renowned author Veronica Roth. Set in a dystopian future, the story follows the journey of a young protagonist as they navigate a world filled with suspense, betrayal, and complex moral dilemmas. With a narrative that seamlessly weaves together elements of science fiction, adventure, and political intrigue, Arch-Conspirator is sure to captivate readers with its thought-provoking themes and meticulous attention to detail.
In this audiobook, the talented narrators Dion Graham and January LaVoy bring the characters and settings to life with their compelling performances, enhancing the overall experience for the listener. Their nuanced delivery adds depth to the story, making it a truly immersive listening experience.
Veronica Roth's skillful storytelling and the masterful narration make Arch-Conspirator a must-listen for those seeking a compelling and intellectually stimulating literary adventure.

A quick novella retelling the Greek tragedy of Antigone. It was enjoyable for the most part, although I (not being familiar with said retelling) was confused at some parts. I'd give it a 3.5. Love her writing style though!

I've not read the story that this is a remix of yet, so I'm not sure if conceits within the original plot or author choice is wholly the reason why I found this plot extremely lacking. While the world building is finely done to be so expansive for a novella, there were degrees of the character's story and her place in the world that didn't help me understand why she made her choices and why choices were made on her behalf. It feels like this story was meant to make a feminist point but couldn't quite stick the landing because of issues in plot.

I'll be honest. I haven't read Antigone. Nor was I aware this was a novella. Sci-fi is hit or miss for me, and this ended up being a miss. Not that I got too sucked into the story, because there wasn't time, but what was that ending? Read Zana's review for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Arch-Conspirator is an inventive reimagining of Antigone, set in a dystopian future where the last city on Earth relies on the Archive of the dead. The novella switches threw multiple POVs so I had some trouble keeping up with the story and how it interconnected.

I enjoyed this classic Greek tale retold with a futuristic twist. I thought it was a really interesting way to interpret the story of Oedipus and family. I guess where it fell flat for me was how much it paralleled the original. It was too predictable and I was hoping for some kind of plot twist.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a fine Antigone retelling. This should be the cold open of a sci-fi novel. It doesn’t really work as a standalone. Again, fine.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book is a reimagining of Antigone, told through a science fiction/dystopian lens. It took a few chapters to get into the story because the worldbuilding and explanations were slow to come. Once I got into the story, it was interesting enough to keep me reading.

This is a retelling of the Greek tragedy, Antigone, but set in the future on the last city on Earth. The only hope here, is the archive, where the genes of the dead are stored until someone uses those genes for their own offspring. Antigone has lost her parents, and she and her brother are now living with their uncle. While they are "guests" in his house, Antigone can see the reality of their plight, more as being kept in a very attractive cage. There is some fighting about moral ideals and when Antigone's brother is killed, things heat up quickly. Also, the story ends quickly. I did not realize when I requested this audiobook that it was a novella, and I was sad that it was such a quick book. I appreciated Veronica Roth's typical telling with it being from different character's POV, which gives the reader a much richer sense of the characters, as the story unfolds. Not my most favorite book by Roth, but certainly worth a read or listen

Thank you to Netgally and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

If I'm being honest I saw Veronica Roth and hit the request button faster than a starving man to a donut stand. What I wasn't expecting was a reimagined, science fiction/dystopian take on the classic Sophocles tragedy, Antigone.

I won an arch through Shelf Awareness and received the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. Did I read and listen to this little jam-packed book? Oh yes. Did I enjoy both equally? Oh absolutely.

You can unpack the metaphors and lessons in the original Antigone for a week's worth of lecture time at University (obviously I went through this). Roth rethinks this classic in a dystopian world where women are basically protected wombs without choices and the soul is saved in a place called the Archive after being extracted at death. Natural conception is considered soulless so women are expected to choose DNA from the Archive and basically build-a-kid.

That is just one element. The loyalties of family, the power of choice, the weight of a gilded cage and the strength to be the martyr to push an uprising are a few more elements jam-packed into this little powerhouse of a book.

Did I want more? Absolutely. I also think that Roth masterfully took the plot of Antigone and expertly crafted something new from the bones of the classic tragedy. Anyone who reads this will probably want more and I don't blame them. There is so much I wanted extra insight into. This easily could've been a larger book and I'll admit I'm battling my thoughts on loving it as is and wanting more.

The audiobook is read by Dion Graham and January LaVoy. I love when there is a duo of narrators that compliment each other. These two did just that. I felt they brought more character feeling to what I read first and amplified the emotional pull of Antigone and her sister, Ismene. The sibling dynamic is a heartclencher.

There is a reason Roth is one of my favorite authors and I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to enjoy this in two different formats. I recommend this novel to those who have visited the classic and to readers who loved dystopian quickies. Thank you Macmillan Audio and Tor Books for the gifted copies in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This was futuristic retelling of the Antigone. In a future world that has the technology of the future, the people live simply as a result of an atomic war. They wear sandals and simple clothes, but also have the ability and preference to clone people rather than conceive children naturally. These cloned versions of past residents are believed to have a soul. Those children conceived "the old fashioned way" are few and far between and are believed to not have a soul. Antigone and her siblings live at the pleasure of her uncle, who was responsible for the death of her parents. Her parents were killed on the eve of the town's first democratic elections. Antigone's twin brother plans a revolt to take the power away from her uncle. He asks her to save his "essence" should he die. During the revolt, her twin and their other brother kill each other. Her uncle, Kreon, decrees that Ptolemy's essence will not be saved as he was a terrorist. Antigone is devastated and joins the rebels in trying to save her brother for the future. During this story, we hear from various members of the family. I had never heard the story of Antigone before. I really enjoyed the play of the future set against living like the past. The turmoil and loss were easy to get caught up in. Honestly, my only complaint was that the story was not longer...I wanted to know more, but considering how it ended, I can also see why that did not happen.

This was an interesting retelling of Antigone, but ultimately it felt too brief and unfeeling. I’ve always liked Veronica’s Roth writing, and this was true here, but I was hoping for something more here. This book felt as short and incomplete as the play, and I was hoping for a longer story that provided more explanations, especially for the sci-fi parts. The narrators were fantastic and added more emotion than I would’ve gotten on the page.

Just FYI I did not realize or perhaps it was not labeled that this was not a full production. I only received audio for three chapters. The first of which was ch2 and the second was ch11.

So I had no intentions of not reviewing, however I had the incomplete work.

Love the idea itself though and the narration sounded good!

A great little sci-fi retelling of Antigone. The brevity of the story and interesting and well written characters made this a quick one "sitting" listen that I didn't want to stop listening to until I got to the end. It has some interesting modifications and twists on the original story of Antigone, and I'm always interested in the perspective that an author can bring in this style of retelling.

I can't think of a single thing Veronica Roth has ever written that I didn't like. This was so different from the novels I've read that it was hard to pick out how I felt about it at times. First, I do wish that Arch-Conspirator had either been a full length novel or that we had one or two perspectives on it rather than more. Second, you can clearly see how Roth has grown as a writer. It's a far cry from her debut novel (which I also loved). This is kind of double-edged because the story reads more mature. The story itself is solid, having been a sci-fi take on Antigone. However, I think young adult readers will connect more with this version of the story. It's a solid novella for your sci-fi fans. I can see why she was inspired to write it. So if you're struggling with feeling like the world is over due to politics, this is not the book to pick up at this time. If you're ready for a cool re-imagining of a classic tale, spend some time with Arch-Conspirator.

This was a perfectly adequate retelling of Antigone. There was nothing really wrong with it but it just didn’t stand out to me. I like retellings with sci-fi settings, I just don’t think Veronica Roth’s writing is for me.

Maybe this wasn’t for me; I’m not familiar with the original story of Antigone. It was well written with beautiful prose, but for a book just over 100 pages, it kind of drug on. I didn’t necessarily care for any of the characters either. It’s a really interesting concept tho!

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. The only thing that kept me going was being able to also switch to the audio-book with the dual narration from Dion Graham & January LaVoy. It gave this novella a personal gripping point for me to anchor the 'emotions' of the story.