Chain-Gang All-Stars is a near dystopian story in which the American prison system has changed to a system that now offers prisoners freedom, if only they can survive through a series of gladiator style fights against each other. Those imprisoned now have the possibility of taking their life back, but only if they are willing to lose themselves. When every moment of your life is televised and sold for the profit of the system, and you must do unimaginable things to others, the same things that got many of them stuck in there in the first place, is it worth it? This book is doing a lot of really great things, tackling so many important issues that are not often talked about, particularly the American prison system, but it attempts at taking on other issues as well and I think it may just be trying to do a little too much. Chain-Gang All-Stars is told through many different povs; different prisoners, prison staff, police, tv presenters, fans of the fights, inmates family members, protesters, and more. And they do add a lot of important perspective, but it also ends up feeling very overwhelming and like too much is happening which is just my main issue. It resulted in a very disconnected feeling story at times, which is unfortunate because I think aside from that, this is such an important book and a must read. The disjointed nature of the narrative did make it difficult for me to read this book which is unfortunate, however with the audiobook, the different narrators aided in the process quite a bit so I would recommend checking out the audiobook if you are interested in this title.

3.75 stars

So when I initially heard the super basic description of this book – inmates fighting for their lives to get freedom while the prison collects the money from streaming it – I thought of Death Race. Well, I regret having that in my mind when starting because this was SO MUCH MORE than an action-packed and mindless read. Battle Royale, Hunger Games, Gladiators – making the fight for their lives a spectacle for the masses. Televised, generating money, making the prisons and government richer, while dangling the prospect of the POSSIBILITY of gaining their freedom.

After reading other reviews and chatting with other readers, the trauma radiating out of this story is something I will only get the surface of in terms of understanding. The book itself was so hard to put down but it was equally hard to get through. It’s a story that is incredibly dark, and the inmates experience unimaginable trauma, systemic racism, and the overreaching power of the government and capitalism.

It’s hard to rate this book, but if you can stomach the above trigger warnings, then I highly recommend giving this a read. The writing is crisp, the story is immersive and emotionally impacting, and the author creates a dystopian world that doesn’t feel like it’s out of the realm of possibility. Which is even scarier to think about.

Chain Gang All Stars is a tough, grisly, and dense book, and unfortunately it's easy to see the parallels to real events.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was nothing like I expected. It gave off Hunger Game vibes. There were too many characters and why so many TM symbols! I think there was a good idea here, but it got lost in translation.

DNF @ 32%

This was absolutely the best book I read in 2023.

Adjei-Brenyah is such a compelling writer, and he did an amazing job with his debut novel. I have enjoyed his short stories previously and I loved that some of the chapters within this novel felt like encapsulated short stories themselves. His characters are complex and vibrant on the page. Adjei-Brenyah gives readers speculative fiction that feels more like a probable future than a possible one with this story that is modern day racist America's The Gladiator.

I listened to the audio for most of this book and the narrators were spectacular. I also loved the sobering footnotes throughout this book that reminded readers over and over again that though this book is fiction, it is rooted very realistically in today's prison system.

The ending was devastating and cyclical and tinged with a tiny amount of hope. I loved loved loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone but specifically those who enjoy speculative fiction or speculative horror (it is horrifying shut up).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

Chain-Gang All-Stars immerses the reader into a story of a world where prisoners can serve out their time, or join an organization in which the members fight to the death for survival... whose outcome in three years will either be death or freedom.

I was hooked to this premise before I even started. The author's note at the beginning drew me in even further. I was fully invested in this book. But the more I read, the less I was interested. I have read many, many rave reviews and they speak of the action-filled story they read. I am not sure we read the same book! I found this a slog to get through and was very let down by the ending. There was such potential, but I was disappointed overall.

Simply incredible. This is such an amazing book. I was rivetted from start to the finish. Adjeh-Brenyah packs so much into this incredible novel. It is beyond deserving of all the praise that it has recieved.

Chain Gang All Stars is a dystopian take on the American prison system set in the near future where inmates accused of heinous crimes are all but conscripted into a new version of Roman gladiatorship. These modern-day gladiators are treated better than their counterparts, in isolation and squandered, and are marketed much like Reality TV and Sports stars of today, but may come at the cost of a televised possible death.

Told from various viewpoints of members of different chain gangs, those that oppose, and those that helped create this new system, Chain Gang is mostly centered around the relationship of two members of the same chain: Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker who learns that once they reach the level of "Colossal' they must now fight each other to the death in the new season.

Adjei-Brenyah's detail to all things in Chain Gang All Stars is a feat within itself. I applaud his use of footnotes and tying in the current climate of the prison pipeline, police brutality, and mass incarceration to his work. I do wish the story was a little tighter in some detail, but this could've been because I read the ARC.

A gut-punch of a book, Chain Gang All-Stars is most startling in it's proximity to today's prison system in the US. Although some storylines were left hanging, the quality of the writing and the positioning as the reader as complicit in the prisoners-as-entertainment dynamic, this novel is an absolute must-read. Really looking forward to more novels from Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

This was an interesting read. I was very invested in seeing how the narrative unfolded, with the multiple perspectives, and its firm stance on prison abolition and the harms of the prison system. This book starts so many conversations and show how they're all intertwined. I did struggle to get into this book, but I do believe upon a re-read, I will gain more from it. This is a very important book that I think will be talked about for many generations.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I agree with a lot of other reviews: this book was ambitious, almost to a fault, but had a lot of great aspects. It was really hard to read for about 95% of the story, but I do think it holds important messages on the US penal system and forces you to ask uncomfortable questions. Overall it was compelling, but I can see how it won't be for everyone.

I loved the premise of the book. Adjei-Brenyah recreated a futuristic version of a Gladiator-styled Hunger Games prison system, featuring a chainlink of people trying to survive and make it out to freedom. But it became too much after one too many points of view, political persuasions, and multiple footnotes that were either historical, current news, or background information on fictional characters. I honestly should have DNFed. I stuck it out for the conclusion, but it wasn’t satisfying enough to care for the book as I did initially. I’m not saying I disliked the story; it was just … busy.

Really enjoyed the idea of this, but unfortunately the execution didn’t really pull me in. I felt a bit lost with the characters and world building and once I put it down I no longer wanted to pick it up. A DNF for me.

In a terrifying view of what the American prison system could one day become, this story follows Chains as they willingly fight one another, with their own lives on the line. I think I have an unpopular opinion on this one… it felt hard to follow both emotionally but also literally. The message about the penal system and use of force is certainly important, but felt overshadowed by the “hunger games”-like fantasy of it all.

Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a phenomenal novel and was one of my favorite reads of 2023. It's a staggering work of literary merit and should be required reading. I imagine it will be for many.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

While "Chain Gang All Stars" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah showcases creative storytelling and thought-provoking concepts, the execution at times feels uneven, leaving some stories more impactful than others. The collection lacks a consistent depth that might have elevated it to a more compelling read. This story would’ve been better broken up into short stories. There were too many characters for my liking.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Netgalley.

Devastating. That's really the only way to describe this book. Utterly emotionally devastating.

Let's see if I can't be more specific. You know the comic Bitch Planet, by Kelly Sue DeConnick? If you don't, you should absolutely read it (and also Ms. DeConnick, please finish the series). Anyway, in Bitch Planet, non-compliant women are sent to a prison planet where they're forced to compete in violent sports for the amusement of a degenerate and broken world. So this book is like that, except it's not a prison planet, it's right here on Earth. And instead of violent team sports, it's prisoner on prisoner death matches. Oh, and the book doesn't let you separate yourself from the violence and horror, instead continuously reminding you of how close the current world, with
its barbarism and inhumanity of the current carceral system, already is to this fictional future.

The book follows a lot of characters, some of them for only a single chapter, some throughout the entire novel. Our main protagonist is Loretta Thurwar, a fighter on the Chain-Gang who's only a couple more fights away from freedom. Loretta has done the best she can to find a bit of peace in her brutal world, falling in love with her teammate Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker. Loretta does her best to turn her team into something like a family, sharing food and supplies and forbidding them to kill each other. But Loretta's going to be free soon, and she doesn't know if any of her changes will persist. Everyone on the Chain-Gang is broken, and their struggle to retain their humanity is deeply affecting.

Chain-Gang All-Stars is brutal, beautiful, heartbreaking, and maybe hopeful. I cried, and while I cry when reading all the time, this book seems to have struck a bit deeper than usual, as I'm close to crying again while writing this. Read it.

Vibes: Bitch Planet, Black AF History by Michael Harriot, a dash of N.K. Jemisin, a pinch of Margaret Killjoy.

A phenomenal and engaging read... And equally heartbreaking in its essence.

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley. I really enjoyed this.

Wildly fun exploitation storytelling balanced deftly with a seering examination of the carceral state we are careening towards. Addictively fun and deceptively unsettling.

A stunning exploration what could be America’s prison system - Chain Gang All-Stars is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is one of the most promising writers of our generation and I will ready anything he writes.