I’m not sure what I just listened to? 2.5-stars… rounded up because I love January LaVoy.

Don’t get me totally wrong here - I adored all Veroica Roth’s other books, especially the entire Divergent collection, and I’m hugely into legends like Antigone, Oedipus, and the other characters that she’s written about here… but I really do not know what I just listened to. At all. It had no true basis in the stories we all know and love, and was really, really, just weird. I requested this advance copy because I love these legends and coming from Roth I figured it would be great, but was let down.

I love narrator January LaVoy, and she did a fantastic job. Still didn’t improve what was going on here. Dion Graham is new to me… the roles he was bringing to life - I’m not convinced he suited them so well.

I’m not able to recommend this one - definitely the strangest Roth story I’ve ever come across, and one of the oddest things of all time for me, really!

I received an advance listen copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, and this is my honest opinion.

We are on a roll with another audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. I saw that it was by Veronica Roth and was instantly interested! Did not really look at what it was and I started listening blind. Which was....confusing. I spent a little while trying to figure out in what time period we were in because we had a lot of sci-fi futuristic components with some older ideals (depending on how you see society these days).

All that being said this is a retelling of Antigone. Like Greek Mythology Antigone, daughter of Oedipus typical Greek tragedy, because, I mean what stories don't end in tragedy for the Greek myths! So here we are in the future in the radiology ridden wasteland of a planet with the four children of Oedipus living their lives as high ranking outcasts? Because they were natural born children and we don't do that anymore, everyone has to have the flaws edited out by picking out some random person's stored ichor from a vault of all the dead people from the past. No gods though (unlike the name sakes) just science and backwards thinking that women were vessels for children and that's about it.

It was interesting, Antigone's original story was not long, and neither is this story. If you're reading you can most likely knock it out in the span of a normal 1-hour TV show (depending on your reading speed) and if you're listening it's just over 3 hours at normal speed. There is a lot that happens in these short pages. ALOT, the whole beginning I was lost trying to figure out what was going on, then once everything happens with the brothers I was up to speed. Everything was moving along really well....and then it was over....as the original is short, I.....don't expect this one to have a conclusion. AND IT DOESN'T END! It just is ..... OVER. So many questions left unanswered. Use your imaginations friends. Use those sparkly imaginations. That was my biggest gripe was that it doesn't have a satisfactory ending. And of course the random POVs. We have POVs from pretty much every main character, some don't show up until half way and it just feels randomly thrown in to move a story forward where we can't in the main characters POV. I wish in these cases we'd just do 3rd person, but hey I'm not the author and that creativity is not in my wheel house. So Kudos for Ms. Roth for making me mad it ended! Feeling something means I was invested in the story.

This was a pretty interesting retelling of the classic Antigone story, if you're familiar with it you'll have an idea of where this is going, if not, well...surprise! I loved the sci-fi aspects, I'm sad that in dystopian times we have such belittling views of women. We are more than baby makers. Surely with all the tech that is described we can make babies outside of women

Be careful with retellings. If they are too much the same, there is no point. If there are too many differences, you will lose that underlying love for the original. I think this one did both at different times. I didn't see the point, in the end, of the changes that were made. It read more like an outline of a fine idea. An outline of a character. Without more, it just didn't come together.

I love mythological retellings, and this book was a unique addition to the genre adding a futuristic twist on the Antigone story. I really enjoyed this world where humanity has started to die out and people are “resurrected” by preserving their genes to be used in the future. Though this was a novella, Veronica Roth did a good job of fleshing out and explaining the setting.

However, I wish more time had been taken with the characters. I felt I did not get to know any of the characters, their relationships, or their motives well. Therefore, I did not care much about their fates. Overall, I think this was a good story that would have benefited from a few extra pages.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This audiobook just did not work for me. It is an audiobook novella told from multiple POVs. The plot moved very quickly and it feels like you are just dropped in the middle of events. Personally, I found myself constantly confused about who was speaking and how the characters related to each other. It think if this was a full novel, the change in narrater tone would have become more apparent and you would have been able to see the relationships instead of just being told they exist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ARC of this audiobook.

I love Veronica Roth but I don't think this book was for me. I felt like it would have been really good if it had been longer, the whole story felt rushed. I did enjoy the narrator though.

Arch-Conspirator was a loose retelling of Antigone, and while I like historical fiction, and generally like Veronica Roth, this book didn't do it for me. It felt like it was trying to be too much. For such a short story, it was trying to explore themes of female equality, social injustice, political intrigue, science fiction, reproduction rights, romance, and familial ties. It was trying to be both futuristic and historical, and in my opinion was not quite enough of either to work. The idea of going to space seemed to come out of nowhere and the whole idea of extractors seemed out of place and almost vulgar for the historical tone of a large part of the rest of the story. There was nothing explicit in this book, it was just out of place in an unsettling way for me. The writing itself was fine and the narrators were wonderful, but unfortunately the story was a big miss for me.

Arch-Conspirator is a retelling of Sophocles' Antigone, it feels somehow more fleshed out than it's original source material and also unfinished--there are lots of things left somewhat unresolved. I think for die hard fans of classic retellings or Veronica Roth, this will work, and it's very short so perhaps a good introduction to Antigone's story, but it just didn't land for me.

This novella was a loose retelling of Antigone. Arch-Conspirator is in a dystopian future (date unknown) in the last city on Earth. In this dystopian city, women are a prized commodity, natural-born children are known to be “soulless,” and there’s an Archive where the genes of the dead are stored.

This novel was an interesting retelling of Antigone. There were just so many complex themes that Roth was trying to explore in this very short novella. I felt like some themes missed the mark. For example, the Greek tragedy is more explicit about women’s role in society, which is why it’s so important when Antigone defies Kreon. However, this retelling eluded to how women were supposed to act and be portrayed in society, but it wasn’t a strong theme. Therefore, I didn’t think the impact of Antigone’s actions was that impactful. Also, I would have loved to know a little bit more about the setting, the politics of the society and more world-building to help situate the story better.

LOVED THE NARRATION of this book! Really brought the story to life!

Thank you!

The audio book version of Arch-Conspirator reinvents the story of Antigone in a dystopian future. It's been a while since I read Antigone, so I did find I needed to do a quick refresh of the original. Doing that helped me connect more with this version. I think high school students reading Antigone would enjoy reading this novella alongside the original version to compare the themes, characters, and plot points. It highlights the fact that the themes of the original version still hold up in this futuristic retelling.

January LaVoy and Dion Graham narrate and add to the story. In particular, I really enjoy listening to January LaVoy! She brings so much thought to each character's voice.

Thank you to NegGalley and MacMillan audio for this ALC, in return for my honest opinion.

Arch Conspirator
by Veronica Roth

I liked this novella. I don’t have any critiques as far as the source material as I was unfamiliar with Antigone. I went in blind but enjoyed the story it had to tell and the world that Roth built around it. I find I always want more from novellas but this was a fun listen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I liked the framework and overall idea of this book. Unfortunately this book wasn't long enough to tell the whole story. I felt like there was no build up. The story starts at the conclusion. There was no character development. I think starting before Antigone's parents died and building up the world and the plot would have made this story better. I received an ARC of this title from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

ARCH CONSPIRATOR by Veronica Roth and narrated by January LaVoy and Dion Graham.

This is a really creative retelling of Antigone. I admit I did need a quick refresh of the myth of Oedipus and Jocasta's daughter (yes, THAT Oedipus). Her story like most of the women's, is not a happy one. This version had all the same basic elements of the myth, but the futuristic setting was fascinating. This world is one where evil Uncle Kreon has a spaceship and the earth is in virtual ruin.

I had a bit of a hard time managing the juxtaposition of ancient Greek mythology and the names with the sci-fi, dystopian setting, but once I wrapped my brain around it, I loved it! It was a fresh take and I appreciated the mental challenge.

The audio was fantastic. I love January LaVoy, so that was an easy sell. Kreon is voiced by Dion Graham and had the perfect sinister tone. This was a really short "novella" audio which was a nice change for me too.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @macmillan.audio for this ALC, just for my opinion. This story will be available on the 21st of February, so if you enjoy Greek myth retellings with a twist, absolutely put this on your radar!

If you are a fan of Greek mythology retelling/reimaging I think you would enjoy this.

I just reviewed Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth. #NetGalley

I love novellas and mythology, so this book was a great fit, though I did want a bit more.
The narrator voice was string and the story is engaging

What I was expecting from this book? A reimaging of Antigone. Did I get one? Absolutely.

I would describe this book as an artful and very interesting sci-fi somewhat dystopian reboot of an old classic, and it was done very well in my opinion.

The narrators (I listened to this as an audiobook) were wonderful and spot on picks for this book in my opinion. I was already familiar with January LaVoy and will (as far as I can imagine) ever have a negative thing to say about her voice acting. She is always chosen well for the parts she voices (or chooses well herself the jobs she accepts) and is always a plus for me when choosing a book to read. Dion Graham was also lovely right away I thought "this sounds just like the guy from Bastion!" so I googled it, and while he is NOT the guy from Bastion (the game) I am not the only person to make the comparison and he was a joy to listen to.

No spoilers here, but I DO wish there was more.... but I can't say that it was set up for a sequel really either.

A Big thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio as always for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I was given early access to audio of this book by netgalley Titan Books and the author in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

2.5 stars rounded down to two

This is dystopian but with space but with handmaid's tale but with (SAD) attempts to be LGBTQ+

This book was ALL OVER THE PLACE. I think I spent half the book trying to understand what was going on and who was what only to have everyone stripped out from me. This left me so confused. There were too many perspectives, too much world building, and nowhere near enough time to have any commitment.

THIS IS ONLY A THREE HOUR AND TWENTY MINUTE BOOK. But the author attempted to put enough stories in it for a multi-book series. There just wasn't enough there to have any interest or investment in anyone.

We're introduced to the stories of mother and father. BOOM they're dead.
Introduced to the brothers. BOOM dead.
Also apparently can't have kids naturally because for some reason it kills you faster but there's not any reason why.
Introduced to a same gender love interest, BOOM disregarded (I less than 5 paragraphs mind you).
Apparently you can't be born you must be cloned but not of someone you're blood related to- no explanation or detail as to why.
Can't go outside the city limits due to radiation NO REASON WHY just can't.
To clone someone you have to extract their DNA within less than 24 hours after they've died, no longer and they must be dead. Any reason why? WHO KNOWS!? It's never explained.🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️
Terrible dictator killed their parents and they now live with him. Why? No reason, just for funsies.
And THEN when Antigone breaks the rules she's sent to SPACE AS HER PUNISHMENT. NEVER EXPLAINED OR EVEN ELUDED TO THE ABILITY TO TRAVEL TO SPACE and then suddenly that's how she's punished.

THIS BOOK MADE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.
I should probably lower my ranking to 1.5 stars but I didn't HATE the characters. Just the story so they get points for that. But this should be sent back for edits and the publisher should ask for more story or reconsider publishing because this was a royal flush for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Titan Books and the author for the access to the book in exchange for an honest review.

A sci-fi dystopian reimagining of Antigone, I liked the way Arch-Conspirator took historical legend and translated it futuristically. It felt fresh while maintaining aspects from the original story, and it was a fairly quick novella to read. This is unlike any other Greek retelling you've seen before!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Three stars because January LaVoy’s narration is wonderful, as always. And as someone not very familiar with the story of Antigone, this felt fresh to me. But I wasn’t aware it was a novella until I started playing the audiobook. There were too many characters to fully develop them. While the world building was similar to others I’ve read before, again, it wasn’t enough for me to really connect with.

Was it an enjoyable 2-3 hours? Sure, it was mildly entertaining.
Would I purchase this when it comes out? No, I’m not a novella person.

I really enjoyed this novella from Veronica Roth. Arch-Conspirator is a dystopian reimagining of Sophocles’ play Antigone.

In this story, Thebes is the last city on Earth. Earth is a dystopian wasteland and the souls of the dead are stored in the Archive so they may find immortality. When Antigone’s brother betrays her uncle Creon (ruler of the city), Creon dooms him to death without the harvesting of his soul.

I’m loving Roth’s sci-fi writing these days, and I picked this one up because I enjoyed her novel Poster Girl so much. It’s similar: a very thoughtful, engaging book with philosophical questions and a strong and flawed female protagonist. I loved the way Roth updated Oedipus’s family curse, Antigone’s relationship with her sister, and the ending.

Narrators January LaVoy and Dion Graham are perfect, well-suited to this story with commanding and expressive voices that I could easily imagine performing in the original Greek tragedy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my review copy of this audiobook.