#Review - Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth #SyFy #Apocalyptic

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 128 pages
Release Date: February 21, 2023
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: Library
Genre: Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic

In this gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Antigone, #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth reaches back to the root of legend and delivers a world of tomorrow both timeless and unexpected.

“I’m cursed, haven’t you heard?”

Outside the last city on Earth, the planet is a wasteland. Without the Archive, where the genes of the dead are stored, humanity will end.

Antigone’s parents—Oedipus and Jocasta—are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but with her militant uncle Kreon rising to claim her father's vacant throne, all Antigone feels is rage.

When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest.

But her uncle will soon learn that no cage is unbreakable. And neither is he.

In Arch-Conspirator, Roth reaches back to the root of legend and delivers a world of tomorrow both timeless and unexpected. Roth creates an unusual reimagining of Antigone in a futuristic sci-fi world. Antigone is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in (or before) 441 BC and first performed at the Festival of Dionysus of the same year. It is thought to be the second oldest surviving play of Sophocles, preceded by Ajax, which was written around the same period.  

Outside the last city on Earth, the planet is a wasteland. All goods are scarce, buildings are decaying, and blowing dust covers everything. Without the Archive, where the genes of the dead are stored, humanity will end. A quasi-religious value is attached to these Archives — the stored samples represent immortality for the dead, a way of saving and then resurrecting their souls.

Antigone and her siblings are considered soulless abominations — their parents conceived them naturally, rather than going through genetic manipulation to achieve best results. They’re scorned and shunned, but as the living children of the murdered king and queen, they also represent power and legitimacy. Antigone’s parents—Oedipus and Jocasta—are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but Antigone’s parents were murdered, leaving her father’s throne vacant. 

As her militant uncle Kreon rises to claim it, all Antigone feels is rage. When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest. But her uncle will soon learn that no cage is unbreakable. And neither is he.  

Roth provides multiple viewpoints to the characters which add complexity to the story. Arch-Conspirator is also a thin volume coming in at a little over 100 pages, which made for a quick read. I have no knowledge of the original story but I don't think that hampered my understanding of this. The main flaw with this was the amount of different perspectives there was for such a short text.

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#Review - Poster Girl by Veronica Roth #Dystopian

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
Release Date: October 18, 2022
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Source: Publisher
Genre: Dystopian

For fans of Anthony Marra and Lauren Beukes, #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth tells the story of a woman's desperate search for a missing girl after the collapse of the oppressive dystopian regime—and the dark secrets about her family and community she uncovers along the way.

WHAT'S RIGHT IS RIGHT.

Sonya Kantor knows this slogan—she lived by it for most of her life. For decades, everyone in the Seattle-Portland megalopolis lived under it, as well as constant surveillance in the form of the Insight, an ocular implant that tracked every word and every action, rewarding or punishing by a rigid moral code set forth by the Delegation.

And then there was a revolution. The Delegation fell. And its most valuable members were locked in the Aperture, a prison on the outskirts of the city. And everyone else, now free from the Insight’s monitoring, went on with their lives.

Sonya, former poster girl for the Delegation, has been imprisoned for ten years when an old enemy comes to her with a deal: find a missing girl who was stolen from her parents by the old regime, and earn her freedom. The path Sonya takes to find the child will lead her through an unfamiliar, crooked post-Delegation world where she finds herself digging deeper into the past—and her family’s dark secrets—than she ever wanted to.

With razor sharp prose, Poster Girl is a haunting dystopian mystery that explores the expanding role of surveillance on society—an inescapable reality, even if cracked.

Veronica Roth's Poster Girl tells the story of a woman named Sonya Kantor aka Poster Girl in her desperate search for a missing girl after the collapse of the oppressive dystopian regime—and the dark secrets about her family and community she uncovers along the way. 10 years ago, 17-year old Sonya Kantor was the Poster Girl for the Delegation who required everyone to be implanted with Insight technology that could track their every movement, as well as DesCoin which paid citizens for their good behavior, and deducted coins for bad behavior.

After the Uprising, the Delegation fell and its most valuable members were locked away for life in the Aperture, a prison on the outskirts of the city of Sea-Port. Everyone else is now free from the Insight’s monitoring and went on living their lives. Thanks to a new law called The Children of the Delegation Act, the Triumvirate who replaced the Delegation has decided to release certain individuals who were young adults 10 years ago when the Delegation fell during the Uprising. Sonya was the only member of her family that was caught and set to the Aperture. 

Losing every member of her family, and a decision she made that day to safe herself, still hangs over everything she does. Even though she's self taught herself how to fix things, she knows that it is unlikley that she will ever leave thanks to her name and face and notoriety. Until Alexander Price, the boy who betrayed her family, shows up claiming that Sonya is being given a chance at her freedom by the Triumvirate. All she has to do is find a girl who has been missing for 10 years. A girl who was taken because she was an illegal second child unlike Sonya who was given special permission from the Delegation to be born and not taken from her family.

The path Sonya takes to find the child will lead her through an unfamiliar, crooked post-Delegation world where she finds herself digging deeper into the past—and her family’s dark secrets—than she ever wanted to. She finds that Alexander hasn't exactly had the best lives after he betrayed her family and may be her only friend. She also finds that the new regime is not as squeaky clean as they've told people, and that secrets will eventually bite Sonya in the ass if she doesn't watch her back. Because of her past, Sonya is liked by almost no one, not really even her fellow political prisoners.

Reason for my review: First, there is literally no world building. We are told of an uprising. We are told that the Delegation was bad, and the new regime is more people friendly. We later learn that there's a rebellion gaining traction right under the new regime's noses, and they, along with Emily Knox, a hacker who Sonya uses to find the missing girl, are not exactly ready to open their arms to Sonya. The story also ends flat and there's a whole lot left to be explained. 

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#Review - Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth #Fantasy #SyFy #Thriller

Series: The Chosen Ones # 1
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Release Date: April 7, 2020
Publisher: John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Contemporary

Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice—catastrophic events known as Drains—leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives. Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him.

After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal . . . for everyone but them. After all, what do you do when you’re the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?

Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD—and her huge attitude problem—but really, she’s hiding secrets from them . . . secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.

On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One’s defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One’s ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold—bigger than the world itself.

And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give.

Veronica Roth's Chosen Ones could best be described as a thriller/fantasy/SyFy chimera. What happens to our heroes after the villain is vanquished and the curtains come down? In this book, Sloane Andrews (named for Ferris Bueller's girlfriend) deals with PTSD and grief in the (10) years after her moment in the sun. She's still asking questions about why she was chosen, about Project Ringer, about her handler Bert, & her connection to a certain powerful artifact. Sloane's life is clearly coming towards a boiling point, as she increasingly resists the social pressures to behave as expected of a world hero. 

From 2004 until 2010, the world was in chaos & being terrorized by a mysterious villain known as the Dark Lord. A prophecy foretold (5) Chosen Ones; teenagers who will defeat the Dark One and save the world. They spent their formative years in relative isolation, training and fighting for their lives, and experiencing a lot of real trauma like the loss of their brothers and fathers. It took finding ancient weapons (in Sloane's case Kochei's Needle) to finally win the day. The (5) may have defeated the Dark One and saved the world, but some of them are barely keeping it together. 

It's fair to say that the only (2) who seem normal, are team leader Matthew Weekes, and Esther Park who cultivated fame with her Insta! app. Albert Summers and Ines Mejia are tired of the constant celebrity status and have all but shuttered themselves off from the world. Sloane has to look at her life and the fact that the Dark One took an special interest in her, going as far as kidnapping her and making her choose who lives or who dies. Sloane and Matthew have been together for 10 years, but they're not exactly living the good life.  

After one of the 5 dies too soon, she, Matthew, & Esther find themselves thrown into an alternate realm called Cyrielle where they once again are urged to help fight against this realms dark villain. The Drain is here which means the Dark One is very much still alive and not dead as the (5) thought for 10 years. Even though Sloane has a strong affinity for magic, she also remembers that her powers cost the lives of dozens of innocents. She doesn't take too kindly to Aelia or Nero who basically kidnapped them and brought her here. She also finds that fate has grabbed Sloane by the throat and won't let go anytime soon.
 
Chosen Ones examines the humanity behind heroism. It opens the back door and asks the reader to question what being a hero costs in a world that is shockingly similar to our own, but with a magical twist. Newspaper clippings, government documents, and other extracts break up chapters to share information that Sloane, the main character, couldn't provide without being too expository. I'm not sure why a second book is necessary, but apparently this series is far from over. There are some tricky surprises at the end of this book, so, maybe I'll read the sequel as well.

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Tuesday #Review - The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Carve the Mark # 2
Format: Hardcover, 464 pages
Release Date: April 10, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

In the second book of the Carve the Mark duology, globally bestselling Divergent author Veronica Roth reveals how Cyra and Akos fulfill their fates. The Fates Divide is a richly imagined tale of hope and resilience told in four stunning perspectives.

Fate brought them together. Now it will divide them.

The lives of Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth are ruled by their fates, spoken by the oracles at their births. The fates, once determined, are inescapable.

Akos is in love with Cyra, in spite of his fate: He will die in service to Cyra’s family. And when Cyra’s father, Lazmet Noavek—a soulless tyrant, thought to be dead—reclaims the Shotet throne, Akos believes his end is closer than ever.

As Lazmet ignites a barbaric war, Cyra and Akos are desperate to stop him at any cost. For Cyra, that could mean taking the life of the man who may—or may not—be her father. For Akos, it could mean giving his own. In a stunning twist, the two will discover how fate defines their lives in ways most unexpected.

The Fates Divide is the second and final installment in author Veronica Roth's Carve the Mark duology. In addition to Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth's point of views, the author has added in two new alternating perspectives: Eijeh Kereseth and Cisi Kereseth. Each have their own unique powers—and their own agendas and are probably the two least likeable characters in this entire series. Both Cyra and Cisi's are in the first person, while Akos is in the third person. 

As the story opens, Cyra, Akos, Cisi, Eijeh, Isae Benesit, and oracle Sifa Kereseth have escaped onboard a Shotet exile ship and are heading for an exile colony on Ogra. But, before they arrive, someone will die, and two of the characters, Cisi and Isae are jettisoned to find their own way to the Assembly ship. Then the news arrives, the former tyrant leader of the Shotet, Lazmet Noavek, presumed dead for 10 seasons, is very much alive and ready for war against the Assembly and the Thuvhe. 

I always get to this point, and wonder what I shall write in order to avoid spoilers. Even though the book has been out since April, there are still those who have not read the story, or even the series for that matter. I did a bit of head scratching when the author did a major twist between Cyra and Akos. I was actually okay with the twist because it actually made the story even more interesting. While Akos and Cyra were doing their thing in saving the universe and getting over their angst and feelings for each other, I did not like Cisi one tiny bit. 

She is a manipulative witch, and if she was a man, the relationship between her and Isae would be called abusive. My other minor complaint, well, not so minor, is why the author chose to write in first person for Cyra, & Cisi, while writing Akos in the third person. Overall, I think The Fates Divide is actually a set up from Carve the Mark. When you compare the so called villain to Isae, you have to really ask yourselves who did the most damage and who caused the most problems when all is said and done. 

Where the first book was mainly captured in one place, The Fates Divide spans across different planets and the Assembly ship where Cisi and Isae end up. Oh yes, as I read my notes to remind myself why my rating is what it is. Let's briefly talk about Eijeh. Here is a character who is given 3 chapters at the most. Here is a character who has been through so much since he was first taken along with Akos. Here's a character who has a whole lot of potential, but is only used sparingly. What was the point I asked myself? ::looks at the author::

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#Friday Review - Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth #YALit #Science Fiction

Series: Carve the Mark # 1
Format: Hardcover, 468 pages
Release Date: January 17, 2017
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Source: Library
Genre: YA, Science Fiction

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.

Carve The Mark is the first installment in author Veronica Roth's new series by the same name. A series that features dual main characters in Akos and Cyra. Cyra's POV is in the first person, while Akos is in the third person. On the planet of Thuvhe, you have two separate races of people. Shotet, and Thuvhe. Cyra is a Shotet girl who has the ability to touch someone and pour pain into them. She is a tool that her older brother Ryzek has used to scare people into doing his bidding. 

Akos, on the other hand, is Thuvhe who ends up being caught up in a world of intrigue, pain, suffering, and brutality. Akos' people sees Cyra's people as brutal savages, and have done their best to say away from them. Akos' own mother is an oracle who can see the future, but one has to question her actions overall. It is also a world where everyone has a future, but not everyone as a fate. Fate determines the movement of the worlds. It is a world where everyone has what's called currentgifts. 

The current flows through everyone and gives them various powers. After the Assembly makes the choice to announce everyone's fates of the favored, Akos, and his brother Eljeh are kidnapped, their father killed, and the brothers are spirited away to serve Ryzek. This is where Akos and Cyra's worlds finally meet. This is where we get a better understanding of who both characters are. Cyra, even though she carries the moniker as Ryzek's Scourge, isn't all that bad when you cut through the layers that have been stacking up.

Her brother is pure evil. He has the ability to take a memory from someone, and replace it with one of his painful ones. What's interesting about Akos, is that he has the ability to take away Cyra's pain without suffering any affects. He also speaks fluent Shotet which is still a curiosity to me. One other plus for Akos is that he would do anything to save his older brother, even though, at times, his older brother is unworthy of anyone's respect.

There is more action towards the later part of this book, which honestly needed it to keep my attention focused on the book, and not life's little hiccups that made this the longest I have ever taken to read a book. I have also found myself curious as to the hoopla over this book, and the author. Guess I live in a bubble, since I have no clue what anyone is talking about. Again, I was having some real life issues and had my mother visiting at the time, so I probably skipped over the so called racism and ableism others are hollering about. This isn't a romance book by any means, but Akos and Cyra are good together once you get past the mistrust that have surrounding Cyra's family. I would have liked a bit more world building as well. Apparently there are 9 planets, and then an Assembly who oversees the 9 planets. Perhaps the sequel will be more cooperative.

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