Arch-conspirator

From the first page, the beautiful prose of this novella gripped me and never let me go. I was absolutely mesmerized by all the flowing sentences, how it made the story somehow bigger. Arch-conspirator is a retelling of the Greek tragedy of Antigone, and I'd never heard of it before. I debated if I should go read up on the original first, but I decided not to, I wanted to experience the story for the first time. Oooh boy, that was a double edged sword. It made the story rich but the ending ... well, let's say I was in for a suprise. Because this story is absolutely heartbreaking, be sure to know that going in.

I was suprised how much epic worldbuilding Veronica could put into a short story of only 128 pages, it was done better than many full size fantasy/sci-fi novels. It felt a tiny bit Greek but also entirely foreign, it was definitely a science fiction story. The characters spoke to me too, Antigone is wonderful and fierce, and her choices are ones you can understand. There is soft feminism thrown into the original, where every woman shows strength and seeks change in a different way. Kreon is a perfect antagonist, very evil yet human, and I have a soft spot for Eurydice. The siblings all had a wonderful, flawed relationship. I enjoyed reading this novel very much and appreciated the deeper themes, this is more about what's moral and just and standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves instead of a happy ending. I have to mention that the ending for me was a bit too much. I know, it's like the original, but maybe if one speck of hope had lasted... I don't know, I was just shocked. It feels weird to detract a star because of that, since it is a retelling, but it just hit really hard.

All in all, I very much recommend this book, to savor in a quiet afternoon and ponder over for a long time.

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley, many thanks, but this has not influenced my opinions.