Title: Arch-Conspirator
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Sci-Fi | Retelling | Dystopia
Publisher: Titan Books

Trigger Warnings: Death | Death of a parent | Misogyny | Violence | Abortion

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.

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.

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Arch-Conspirator is the latest release by Veronica Roth and a retelling of Antigone, the Greek play by Sophocles.

In this short novella, you follow several female leads, Antigone being the main one, in a dystopian, sci-fi version of the original story. As someone who hadn’t heard of Antigone before, I enjoyed this story and the Greek tragedy aspect.

This is a novella written as a full book, which has its perks and cons, but that would benefit from more 200 pages.

All the characters are compelling to follow, especially Antigone, with her rebellious spirit, and Eurydice, a good-hearted woman who does everything to contain her husband’s urges. There’s enough insight into the characters to get a glimpse into everyone’s personalities and motivations, but I want more time with them.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic dystopia where gene manipulation is the standard procedure for reproduction. Women are seen as vessels for the next perfect generation instead of their own individual and flawed selves, which is more intriguing than it seems at first glance and deserves more development.

The events that happen would flow better at a slower pace, even if the fast pace is fundamental to keep you reading non-stop. You’ll see the train wreck coming, but it won’t want to put the book down.

Arch-Conspirator is the perfect short sci-fi read that deserves a full book, especially if you’re new to the Antigone tale. It’s a Greek tragedy feeling sci-fi story with an innovative and interesting world and compelling female characters that will make you care.