A review by axkerti
Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth

dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

You can spot the Greek tragedy roots that this novella is retelling easily, the beats are all there. (It actually surprised me how much of the source material I remembered when I read this.) But where the play had a kind of flat portrayal of our characters because it was just a script, this book breathed life into Antigone and her siblings, and their extended family. They were all so uniquely their own characters that you could feel the family dynamics in the prose even when they weren't being outright shared with us.

I loved how the play became the frame for commentary on recent events in America with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and so many other legislations that some state governments are putting forward to control the people. And having Antigone resigned to being "just a womb on legs" but also hating it resonated so deeply. 

I think the only thing I had a problem with was that I was given hope that there would be a different ending and then there wasn't. I'm not mad that there wasn't, but I'm also a little disappointed because it gives something of a bleak outlook for our future in reality. There was so little hope in how the story ended for the characters. The only one who in theory survived was the uncle and even then chances are he doesn't either given what Eurydice says about inciting a riot if he actually follows through with his plan. 
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