Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for an ARC of this title.

I loved Friday Black and I jumped at the chance to read a full novel from Adjei-Brenyah. To take the research, and processing done here and turn it into this sort of novel takes talent. This is sci-fi, but every footnote reminds you that it is based in very real statistics and situations that face prisoners in America. This is kaleidoscopic in the best way, pulling in lots of different viewpoints and voices, and it all comes together to make a masterful picture.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine Hunger Games, Squid Games (hated that show), and the Power rolled into one. In this science-fiction future (felt too real at times, however), prisoners have an option to join the Chain Gang, a televised reality tv-show that puts prisoners against each other to be murdered, gladiator-like.

This is one of those books that is both equal parts amazing and devastating. The writing is really well done and the premise is well thought out and perfectly heavy-handed (intentionally and therefore fine by me). It would be hard to recommend this book to anyone, however, because I did not “enjoy” reading it as I do with some other books- I felt compelled by its importance, timeliness, and its storytelling, but I was mostly horrified and gritting my teeth throughout the whole thing. Still processing the ending but really couldn’t put it down for the last 50% of the book. Multiple trigger warnings- excessive violence, torture, murder, racism and racist slurs, etc, so go in prepared.

Gosh, wow. Don't even know how to talk about this. The author did something very ambitious here, describing a near future dystopian world where prisoners fight to the death in a televised sporting event, in the hopes of eventually earning their freedom. Similar to The Handmaid's tale, the author creates a world that I can totally see our current society slipping into. I thought this was well thought out and well written. The compelling story warns of, and shines a light on, the private prison enterprise in America. Highly recommend everyone to read this book!

I gravitated toward this ARC because of the attention-grabbing title and tantalizing logline: In America's not-too-distant future, for-profit prisons coerce prisoners into gladiator matches to make even more money off of human suffering. This is The Hunger Games, but for grown folks.

Let's start with the best parts of CGAS. The author has crafted a future America so detailed and immersive that readers can practically smell the blood in the arena. Characters are completely believable and fully realized. Maybe the eeriest aspect of this novel is that you come to understand how this future could be possible with just a few tweaks and a couple new scientific advancements. The best subplot in the book involves what happens to a scientist who accidentally invents technology that unleashes the maximum pain a human being is capable of experiencing.

I have three critiques of the book. First, the character names are strange enough to be a distraction. Every time I saw the name "Staxxx," I asked myself why three "x"s were necessary. Ice Ice Elephant? Say Eye Aye? Baffling. Confusing. Distracting. Second, you could have shaved off about 33% of the book's length and it would have been just as good and engrossing. Some of the subplots and side-stories were not needed. Third, I read and re-read the final two pages of the book several times and I'm still a bit unsure about how the final match ended. Can't wait to search Reddit once CGAS is released so the internet can explain that one to me.

Overall, an engrossing and thoughtful book that will spark conversations about the for-profit prison system. I can't wait to see what Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah does next!

Women gladiators fight for far more than their lives in this taut, fraught tale for our times. Fans of apocalyptic fiction will enjoy it.

I really liked this book’s focus on the inequities and inhumanities in the justice system. I didn’t really get pulled into the story until the second half when there was less violence and more about the feelings of the characters. I think this is an important topic and written in a way to built interest and compassion for the characters. This premise of this book (e.g. fighting to the death) isn’t my favorite as it brings me a lot of anxiety, but would recommend this book to those interested in social justice, and anyone who enjoys stories about gladiators and/or The Hunger Games.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this eARC.

The premise of this book made me think that this would be unlike anything I had read before, and I was correct. This is gladiator fighting designed for the streaming age, while also throwing in some Orwellian commentary, which has been VERY well researched. The author’s use of footnotes was a powerful tool to give the reader real-world context for the totalitarian state of American prisons. What also struck me was the way the author was denouncing the Western world’s perversion for viewing other people’s pain, and their willingness to view criminals as less than human.

For all the amazing commentary this book had, it was just so slow for me. Also, I feel like the ending was not given enough attention. For these reasons I would give the book around a 3.75 stars.

This was an astonishingly powerful novel, both an indictment of the American prison system and a tribute to the dignity of the most oppressed. In a near-future America, prisoners can opt into a gruesome program of death matches against other prisoners. Every moment of their lives is broadcast to a bloodthirsty public, and they can win their freedom if they kill enough opponents. But, this being America, the deck is more than stacked against them and the cruelty knows no bounds. The novel employs unique but very effective series of rotating narrators to tell all sides of this story, forcing us to look into ourselves and how we dehumanize prisoners.

I received this advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. At first when I started this novel I was underwhelmed by the characters and the somewhat disjointed narrative. But as I persevered through the first 15% I realized it was unlike anything else I had ever read. I appreciated the challenges to current incarceration systems in the US, and the type of abuse prisoners suffer. The characters that were developed throughout the story were incredibly unique, and I truly found their individual stories captivating. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in an unusual and very innovative look at American society, sport, the incarceration system that we are currently part of, and how easily it could be transformed into the vision in this novel.

This story is based on the idea of a very uniquely American system of punishment and incarceration. Although I imagine some people will describe the entertainment/incarceration system portrayed in the novel as unrealistic and the kind of brutal environment most Americans would Never agree with. I disagree with that perspective entirely. The same Americans who rioted on January 6th 2021, the same Americans who call for civil war on the internet, these are the people who would embrace such a system and glorify it through their fandom. I also think there are similarities in this plot line and narrative regarding the NFL and the way that Americans glorified violence and misbehavior from sports figures merely in the name of great sport. There was also an interesting dichotomy between the two sexes and the two races most commonly represented in this novel, which demonstrates the incredible hypocrisy that has been applied throughout the sporting world regarding the standards applied to women versus men in athletics.

What a messed-up, inhumane incarceration system we have in the United States. This novel, via a dystopian plot, exposes the shame of how we treat human beings who break the law. This, of course, reminded me of The Hunger Games but I appreciated the exploration of “reality” tv and the desensitization of cruelty and lack of basic humanity within so many - made me think of online trolls and the brutality of social media times 1000000. I guessed where this was going quite soon into the book and thought the message, for me, was nothing novel or illuminating. For many others, this will not be the case - this will wake some people up and for that, this book is a triumph. Thank you to Pantheon for an advanced copy.

Highly provocative, insanely violent yet touching, author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah has victory over an impossible feat, he has written a fresh story topping any other book I’ve read this year. I thought I could not be shocked at new themes and storylines after all my years of reading, but this book electrified me.

Our prison system is exploited in ways we don’t readily think of. Intelligent thinkers will appreciate this story, as it will bring our prison system atrocities to light in a new way. This story also brought a well-rounded view to everyone involved, and still managed to be soft, emotional and heartfelt. I dare anyone to read the first chapter and not be hooked!

This will be highly recommended in my book outreach efforts. I can’t wait for the awards that are to come for Chain Gang All Stars. I will absolutely nominate this for Library Reads and be purchasing for our patrons.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Pantheon via NetGalley for this marvelous arc in exchange for my honest review.

I mean, this is one of the best book I've ever read, I think. It is searing, and does an incredible job of illustrating the problems in the modern American prison industrial complex. It insists on humanity.

Adjei-Brenyah's debut novel, after his popular short story collection Friday Black, takes place in an alternate U.S. where inmates in a massive private prison system have the chance to fight for their freedom in gladiator-style death matches. The novel titled Chain-Gang All-Stars follows the journey of Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker, two undefeated champions who are key components of the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (CAPE).

As Thurwar makes progress towards gaining her freedom, she struggles with the decision of leaving behind her teammates and fellow Links. The story is filled with intense fight scenes, and the author uses this brutal world to offer insightful critiques of the prison-industrial complex, capitalism, and the way Hollywood and celebrity culture exploit Black talent.

With both political allegory and heart-pumping action, Adjei-Brenyah's novel is sure to wow readers. His commentary on social issues and the complex characters he creates are a treat for those who love a thrilling read that also makes them think.

Chain-Gang All-Stars is a masterclass in dystopian world building. In a future that honestly doesn’t feel very far off, prisons have been reimagined to become even more cruel. The growing jewel of the system is the CAPE program: a gladiator-style competition that pits criminals against each other in death battles, accompanied by a reality TV show aspect what follows the “warriors” on their day-to-day lives on the fighting circuit. CAPE programming, referred to as “hard sports”, has basically replaced all other major entertainment for Americans.

This is a brilliant book because it does not hit you over the head with the theme. Adjei-Brenyah let’s the brutal world he’s created speak for itself, and he brings to life these complicated characters who felt entirely real. He humanizes people who have made terrible choices in a way that does not excuse the hurt they’ve caused, but poses vital questions about what it means to rehabilitate & “disappear problems, not people.” The cast of characters is extremely diverse, representing all of the different ways people find themselves imprisoned, and there are footnotes throughout that provide real-world context without distracting from the novel.

It’s a brilliant book, and I highly recommend doing a nonfiction pairing with Mariame Lana’s essay collection, We Do This Til We Free Us. Chain-Gang All-Stars is deeply inspired by the work of past and current abolitionists, and it provides an extremely intimate look at the human beings impacted by our prison system.

Huge thanks to the publish & author for sending me a free digital ARC in exchange for honest feedback; I cannot wait to purchase a physical copy of this one because I know it’s a book I’ll want to read again in the future.

Wow! I liked this alot more than I expected to high action science fiction is not usually my thing. I could have done without the gory details and I did skip over some of the fight action but overall, I really enjoyed this. I liked that the footnotes were a combination of real statistics and fictional stats about this system. I think this is a great way to get the real life issues that the story is based on into the reader's mind. While I really liked it, I would have a hard time figuring out what readers to recommend this to. I would not really call it dystopian or science fiction because its just an extension of where our culture is already going but the scientific advancements are minimal. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adeji- Brenyah is rightfully described as one of the most anticipated books of 2023 and in my opinion it lives up to the hype. The reader is dropped into a nightmare version of America's carceral system that blends the worst of reality entertainment with the gladiatorial battles of ancient Rome. Convicted felons battle to the death in front of baying crowds, their every move broadcast and streamed so that the entire population can get their kicks, the only reward for survival is another chance to advance up the ranks towards a freedom that is dangled, always just out of reach. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara " the Hurricane " Staxx are the protagonists of this bleak tale, as members of the same " chain gang" they live, work and fight together and have seen the worst sides of humanity, but still somehow have hope despite everything that is against them. When the prospect of having to fight against each other destroys even that faint thread, the consequences for both women are devastating.
This is a brutal and bloody book that will wring out every drop of anger as the reader sees what these characters are forced to endure in the name of entertainment and of course profit, and unfortunately the parallels to the disproportionate suffering of Black and Brown people in the current Prison Industrial Complex are all too accurately portrayed. This is a book that will make the reader think, and will linger long after the last page is turned.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

What a book -- it's been days since I finished, and I still feel speechless. Adjei-Brenyah follows the carceral state to one of its most ghastly conclusions, sparing no one in the process. This version of America is all too realistic, and I'm haunted in particular by the plotline of a woman who transforms from polite disinterest in 'hard-action sports' to curiosity to devotion to bloodthirsty obsession within a matter of weeks. The tenderness, care, and love shown by and to these characters, juxtaposed with the sheer brutality, violence, and cruelty, is almost unbearable. What a book, truly.

In this futuristic hyper-consumerist version of the United States, incarcerated folks have the "option" to participate in death-match entertainment for the chance to free themselves. I say "option" with quotation marks because the the characters we meet while still incarcerated exist in horrific, inhumane conditions. This future has technology like The Influencer that can cause pain so unbelievably painful that the person experiencing it would never dare try anything again. Well, except crime continues, so... huh... it's almost as if... never mind.
Anyway, the conditions of imprisonment are so awful that many elect to take their chances or even seek relief in participating in the most violent entertainment possible. Think modern day gladiators. They are simultaneously reviled and celebrated. Nana Kwame Adjoin-Brenyah puts our weird relationship with celebrity on blast while simultaneously holding us accountable for a system that consistently harms Black and Brown bodies. The style gave Chuck Palahniuk vibes while providing a more astute commentary on issues we continue to grapple with every day. If violence and horror aren't your thing, this might not be the best read for you. But beyond the obvious displays of gore, there is a lot to consider here.

Absolutely incredible. A week later and I still don’t have the words to accurately describe my thoughts or feelings. The way Adjei-Brenyah was able to make this gladiator + futuristic technology world make sense while also creating complex, deep characters blows my mind. AND THEN the whole thing is a criticism of the American prison system and racism in incarceration rates. Just wow. Not to mention, the end had my heart in my throat, going a million beats per minute, and then wrecked me. It was one of those books you just stare into the abyss and think about for a while once it’s finished. This isn’t going to be for everyone, but those of us that it is for will devour it.

This is one of the most anticipated novels of the years and it was a unique wild ride of a novel. The world portrayed in this novel at times feels like science fiction, but is very unfortunately not that far-fetched. In fact, the author expertly works in historical and current information about prisons, the criminal justice system, and oppression built into our laws and systems through footnotes and other means that make a page-turning work of fiction eye-opening and educational. There's definitely some similarities to the Hunger Games here, but in a world that feels much more connected and close to our own, many times in a frightening manner. Without spoiling anything, I have to say that I felt that the events at the end of the novel could have gone longer, which is one minor critique that I have, but this a great and wholly original work that I am sure will be on best of the year lists.