★ 10/17/2022
Readers who are tapped out on The Handmaid’s Tale as a parable for the current cultural moment will celebrate this taut, defiant reenvisioning of Sophocles’s Antigone, which brilliantly probes many of the same themes. Bestseller Roth, best known for the YA Divergent series, turns from trilogy sprawl to the confines of novella and expertly meets the demands of the form, offering just enough worldbuilding and keeping a tight focus on her well-drawn characters’ difficult choices. Antigone and her siblings are given refuge by Kreon, who overthrew their father’s government. Not only is it politically expedient for Kreon to keep his dead rival’s children alive, it’s necessary—because this is a postapocalyptic scenario: all genes are compromised, and every “viable womb” is precious to the state. The siblings are ostracized because they were naturally conceived and thus believed to be soulless. Souls can be embodied only by mixing the purified genes of the dead, who are then reborn via the surrogacy of the living. Though believed to be tainted, Antigone and her sister Ismene can still serve as such vessels. But when murder blights their lives again, will Kreon respect the right of Antigone’s beloved dead to be reborn? The plot preserves the shape of the original without ever losing the capacity to surprise and, more importantly, prod reflection and recognition. This powerful tale of reproductive oppression is sure to wow. (Feb.)
Arch-Conspirator is a gut punch of a story . Roth takes everything fragile about love, everything powerful about certain doom, and blooms with it. You’ll be holding your breath until the very last word .”—Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six Tragic and triumphant in equal measure. Roth is a storyteller who reaches new heights with every tale."—John Scalzi, bestselling author of The Kaiju Preservation Society inventive , fast read."—Buzzfeedone of the best dystopian writers right now , but this Antigone retelling takes it all to the next level. Not only does it bring a completely new spin to a familiar story, but it's also the kind of speedy read that will kick you out of a book slump .”—CosmopolitanAntigone transforms a bleak classical tragedy into a story of ferocious, bittersweet triumph —all set against the backdrop of a ravaged post-apocalyptic future."—Sunyi Dean, bestselling author of The Book Eaters An elegant, pressingly relevant Antigone retelling , with a fascinating chorus of viewpoints that both complicates and elucidates its complex themes.”—Shelley Parker-Chan, bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun Arch-Conspirator , offering a fresh take on a classic tragedy . If you’re a fan of mythology and schemes, definitely put this one on your list.”—Tor.comThe worldbuilding tightens around the neck in a way that perfectly matches the noose-tension of the dramatic tragedy .”—Max Gladstone, co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War Antigone .... The plot preserves the shape of the original without ever losing the capacity to surprise and, more importantly, prod reflection and recognition . This powerful tale of reproductive oppression is sure to wow."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED reviewArch-Conspirator, is something rare and magnificent —a novella of epic voice and scale. Roth is a masterful conjurer, summoning both classic myth and visceral dystopia to weave a breathtaking tale of love, avarice, and the timeless desire for revenge .”—Ryka Aoki, bestselling author of Light From Uncommon Stars Roth deftly handles extensive world building, character development, and plot. Readers familiar with Sophocles’ original story will have an extra dimension of appreciation, but those without that background will still race through the pages to learn Antigone’s fate."—Booklista story about desperation, hubris, tyranny, and revolution . Combined with the dystopian setting of the dying planet and the tyrannical rule of the surviving city state, the story gives readers a heroine to root for, a despot to revile, and a thought provoking ending ."—Library Journal
11/01/2022
Roth (Poster Girl ) takes the ancient story of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, and blasts it into a dystopian future, where there is one last habitable city left on Earth that is ruled by the tyrant Kleon. As the children of the previous ruler, Antigone and her siblings are virtual prisoners of Kleon and are reviled because their parents flouted the laws that surround reproduction. In their society, genetic diversity is shrinking, and ambient radiation must be gene spliced out of every fetus. The bodies of women are protected to the point of fetishization because they can bear young and continue the species. Kleon believes that his position is untouchable, so he rewrites the laws and sentences Antigone to death. But Antigone doesn't care about her own life—only that she can use it to bring Kleon down. VERDICT Roth uses the familiar tale of Antigone as a vehicle to tell a story about desperation, hubris, tyranny, and revolution. Combined with the dystopian setting of the dying planet and the tyrannical rule of the surviving city state, the story gives readers a heroine to root for, a despot to revile, and a thought provoking ending.—Marlene Harris
Roth’s retelling of Sophocles’s ANTIGONE, stunningly performed by Dion Graham and January LaVoy, is set in a dystopian future in Thebes, the last habitable city on Earth. The tyrant Kreon holds Antigone and her siblings—the children of his vanquished rival—in genteel yet uneasy captivity. Tensions come to a head when Antigone’s brothers kill each other in battle and Antigone fiercely defies Kreon’s order to abandon her brother Polyneikes’s body. Chameleon-like, LaVoy smoothly switches from channeling Antigone’s quiet rage to bringing out the gentleness and youth of her sister, Ismene. Graham’s grizzled, blustering Kreon contrasts exquisitely with the earnest loyalty of Kreon's son, Haemon, and Polyneikes’s ebullient recklessness. Together, the narrators capture the propulsive motion and ominous atmosphere of this compelling story. S.A.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Roth’s retelling of Sophocles’s ANTIGONE, stunningly performed by Dion Graham and January LaVoy, is set in a dystopian future in Thebes, the last habitable city on Earth. The tyrant Kreon holds Antigone and her siblings—the children of his vanquished rival—in genteel yet uneasy captivity. Tensions come to a head when Antigone’s brothers kill each other in battle and Antigone fiercely defies Kreon’s order to abandon her brother Polyneikes’s body. Chameleon-like, LaVoy smoothly switches from channeling Antigone’s quiet rage to bringing out the gentleness and youth of her sister, Ismene. Graham’s grizzled, blustering Kreon contrasts exquisitely with the earnest loyalty of Kreon's son, Haemon, and Polyneikes’s ebullient recklessness. Together, the narrators capture the propulsive motion and ominous atmosphere of this compelling story. S.A.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile
