Instead, most choose to procreate by selecting desirable traits for their offspring from the Archive, with those who were conceived the natural way shunned for being soulless.įor this reason, Antigone and her siblings are considered outcasts in their society, despite their parents Oedipus and Jocasta being the leaders of the last city where the remnants of humanity still cling to life. Every person still living is a gift, every viable womb precious, but women no longer have children naturally.

To preserve what’s left of humanity, the genetic material of those who die are extracted and stored away in a repository called the Archive. We are on Earth, but the planet has become a wasteland. There’s a lot to appreciate about Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth, not least of which is how closely this sci-fi retelling hews to the original Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. Not gonna lie, I probably should’ve been paying more attention in high school when my Lit class did Antigone, but hey, apparently enough got through.

This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own. I received a review copy from the publisher. Book Review: Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth