Veronica Roth's Arch-Conspirator is an engaging retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone in the dystopian setting of a futuristic society on a dying planet. The well-known characters of Sophocles’ Antigone are re-imagined in this futuristic society in the midst of political turmoil. As one might expect, Antigone finds herself in trouble after giving her brother a respectable burial after he had died making an attempt on the life of their uncle, King Creon. Roth presents her retelling in a unique way by attempting to give the reader an insight into the perspective of each of the different characters. It is a short work and perhaps could be criticised for being overly ambitious for all that Roth attempts to accomplish in such a short work. However, I found that the complexity of the work and its brevity created a feeling of heightened tension in a plot filled with both internal and external tension. This retelling of the classical tragedy is highly successful and well worth the read.
Open access
