The world-building in the novel is both expansive and immersive. Adjei-Brenyah explains it all with ease, making it easy for readers to comprehend the world of Chain-Gang All-Stars. Though the world has a lot of elements, such as links, chains, HMCs, ranks, high and low-freed concepts, Influencers, and Marches, everything fits together seamlessly. The author has meticulously thought out every detail, which feels imposing for a debut novel.

Fortunately, the quality of the writing in the book is impressive. The fight scenes are described in a visceral and poetic way, with detailed explanations of punches, kicks, and scythe slashes. The characters in the story are complex and fully developed. Even the protagonists, who are criminals serving time for murder, are portrayed as reflective and open about their pasts, regrets, and the injustice of their situation. It is worth noting, however, that every time they commit a violent murder while in prison, they are rewarded with Blood Points.

The book is often misrepresented as a soulless action novel, but that couldn't be further from the truth. At its core, it's a queer love story between Thurwar and Hamara 'Hurricane Staxxx' Stacker, which adds complexity and depth to the fight scenes.

The author, Adjei-Brenyah, also explores the injustice of the prison system. Each chapter is interspersed with real-world facts about the disproportionate incarceration rates for marginalized communities. These interjections never feel forced and are essential to the novel's message. The book radiates anger at this injustice, and Adjei-Brenyah's message is clear.

The author's debut novel is compelling and thought-provoking, with a strong political message and engaging narrative.
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This was heavy, violent and a damn good read - the industrial complex that is prison as viewed through an almost Orwellian lens. I don’t think I’ve ever written a statement that’s so pretentious but it fits in this instance. Whilst this is a dystopian novel of inmates fighting to the death for their freedom, it’s almost scarily prescient and that’s what kept me reading. If you’re a fan of Hunger Games but wanted more violence and adult themes then enjoy.

This was quite a big disappointment for me. I found the premise so intriguing, but it was delivered in a discombobulated manner that made it difficult for me to connect to any characters or truly understand the message. I thought listening to the audiobook would help as it had multiple voice actors but I think it took me even further away from the narrative. Obviously, Adjei-Brenyah is exploring important topics, but unfortunately, Chain-Gang All-Stars failed to have any impact and I probably won’t think about it again beyond writing this review.

I received the ARC from NetGalley, my opinion is my own.

I got stuck somewhere in the middle for a long time, and once I got to 2/3 it actually started working better for me. I quite enjoyed Adjei-Brenyah's collection Friday Black, but didn't quite get into some parts of it - it's the same here, but the whole is greater than a sum of its parts. It's just that, well, I don't really like sports, especially contact and combat sports, I've never seen a boxing storyline I didn't dislike, so there were parts here that I was predisposed to find challenging in a way different from the intended moral difficulty.

But I think it's still true that this novel has a lot to say (I guess ymmv on the use of statistical and legal information strewn around the book) and says it eloquently. I found some parts of it utterly engrossing and moving (although I think I was invested in the secondary characters more than in the protagonists). I just didn't find the conclusion particularly powerful, I suppose, despite one great line within it - but the structure is interesting, the voice strong.

What a powerful concept of a story, and so perfectly handled, the critique of prison systems and how it mutates into something utterly brutal and dehumanising. It feels like an alert as to what might happen if things dont change in society and how we treat violent criminals.

Woman gladiators fighting in a debauched prison system, what’s not to like? Very hunger games with added gore and bloody violence. Gruesome, unputdownable, dystopian novel that has too many familiarities for comfort.

The title of this appealed to me as I enjoy reading dystopian fiction for my own enjoyment. This did not disappoint. Lots of gritty action and well description characters.

I am quite literally speechless - I don’t even know how to describe this or how I felt reading it but I honestly could not put it down!

I just couldn’t get on with this despite a brilliant concept and a powerful commentary on the racism built into the American prison system. The fight scenes were too detailed, the conceits were overplayed (footnotes should be used with caution in fiction and they add very little here after the first couple, adding a level of detail that grows tedious), and some of the characters acted as plot devices rather than people and it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish their individual voices. I found the balance of the violence and abolition off, the violence so graphic and detailed that it occasionally slides uncomfortably close to glorification. There is a lot of protentional and it seems likely that weaknesses are down to a dearth of POVs, some of which are underdeveloped and set the narrative off-kilter and drain much of the emotional impact.

I chose to read a free eARC of Chain-Gang All-Stars but that has in no way influenced my review.

Chain-Gang All-Stars is a devastating dystopian thriller from a debut author who has rocked the literary world with his first full length work. Adjei-Brenyah has created a terrifying, far too lifelike world where the US penal system has taken a drastic turn. Prisoners, instead of spending their days in jail, can opt to become a Link. In signing up to be a Link you're committing to the CAPE (Criminal Action Penal Entertainment) programme for a maximum of three years. If you make it to the three year mark, you're free. But hardly anyone ever makes it to the three year mark. To get there Links have to win every single one of their gladiator-style battles. Kill your opponent before they kill you. Weapons drawn, rivers of gore, lose and you're dead. And all of this whilst the show is live streamed to millions of homes, the blood-lust high!

The story mainly focuses on Loretta Thurwar and Hamara 'Hurricane' Staxxx who are teammates and two of the most popular Links. They're also lovers and both approaching the end of their three year tenure. Loretta first, shortly followed by Hurricane. I completely believed in these two women. They were real to me. Their relationship, their interactions with each other, and the other characters. The Links on the same Chain (a 'Chain' is a team of Links who live and travel together when not locked in battle) all bring something to the narrative and were all fully formed characters in their own right. I loved how the Chain muddled along with the different personalities coming to the fore, knocking shoulders and creating beautifully written tension. Of course, there's no rule to say you can't kill your own teammates (it's not encouraged) but Loretta and Hamara as unofficial team leaders are trying to do things differently for their Chain. But can anyone ever really be trusted...?

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Chain-Gang All-Stars is a dark, devastating, somewhat affecting novel that I will remember for a very long time. It's heavily political with the plot firmly rooted in real world issues, so it doesn't make for light, easy reading. However, once you pick the book up, you won't be able to put it down again. The author's world-building makes it feel all too realistic and near future-ish. Let's hope this isn't the terrifying direction society is heading in. I have to admit, I did see the big twist in the tale coming from early on but that didn't spoil my reading experience one jot. All in all a terrifying, highly compelling read that's both violent and emotional in equal measure. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Chain-Gang All-Stars. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Review will go live on damppebbles.com on 5th October 2023.

A darkly interesting and entertaining novel.
Although this a futuristic dystopian novel, it isn't hard to imagine these events happening.

I thank NetGalley and Vintage, Penguin Random House for providing me an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
Imagine a dystopian future where prisons use solitary confinement and sophisticated methods to “control” their population. (I know, it doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination). Imagine that somebody comes up with an idea that will not only save money to the criminal justice system and the prisons but can also be turned into a big business and entertain the masses. Criminals who have killed somebody are given a chance to get out of prison. Instead of serving their sentences, they can “choose” to play a deadly game and become chain-gang all-stars. They will fight other convicts to death, and those who manage to survive all their combats for three years will be freed. They travel in teams; there are singles and doubles matches; they win blood points (BPs) they can use to improve their accommodation, food, clothes, and weapons; the matches and the marches (they walk from one battleground to the next) are broadcast (the marches are free-to-view, but viewers need to subscribe to watch the actual matches), and the matches can be attended life (for a hefty price). The contestants can climb through different categories until they reach the top, “grand colossal”, and the best and most famous ones have lots of fans, get tonnes of messages, and have big followings and some privileges. There are some people who oppose the system, but there are also many who are happy to view the life programmes, the reruns, and participate in any way they can, and those who make a lot of money from it. There is a diverse catalogue of characters (although those from certain ethnic backgrounds are more heavily represented among the contestants), plenty of violence and pain but also some moments of contemplation, reflection, tenderness, inspiration, and love. Well, if you can imagine all that, and add to it plenty of footnotes with information about the characters and others with real data about the US penal system, you’ll probably have a fair idea about what to expect from this novel.
‘Squid Game meets The Handmaid's Tale in THE new dystopian novel of summer 2023’ was one of the tag-lines used to promote this book, and I’ve also seen it compared to The Hunger Games and Battle Royale, and the comparisons are quite apt, although with caveats. In an effort to avoid any spoilers, I won’t divulge much about the content, but I’ll include some reflections that might help readers decide if this book might be for them or not.
The writing style is direct, with short chapters, and it starts with the introduction of one of the main characters, Loretta Thurwar, whom we meet at her first battle. The story jumps forward in time, to almost three years later, and we catch up with the same character and the members of her team. The story follows a roughly chronological order, although some of the characters at times think about their pasts, and different characters might have different perspectives about the same event, and those are juxtaposed at times.
We aren’t given much of an explanation of the world order or even how things work in the circuit, but as the story advances, we learn about a few of the rules, and when some new recruits are incorporated, we get a fuller explanation of things. The story is narrated mostly in the third person, from different points of view, mainly those of the two protagonists, Thurwar and her teammate and love interest, Hamara Staxxx, but we also get to meet fans of the programme, protesters organised against the games and the corporation running them, a scientist whose research didn’t go as she wanted, and fighters from other teams (and here we share, in first person at times, what it is like to be a prisoner in one of those jails). What we don’t get is much information about the world outside of the circuit and its fans. The novel is centred on the penal system (and the footnotes make clear that it is a fairly dystopic system already), and we only get brief glimpses of the rest, and the same happens with the characters, most of whom we don’t get to know in a lot of detail, but it is almost impossible not to admire and feel for the duo of protagonists, and even some of the most violent characters are so damaged that it is impossible to truly hate them. They are all victims of a system not fit for purpose.
As the novel moves towards its end, we get to see how some things fit together, and some of the separate characters we’d met during our journey get to interact. The ending is as it should be, although I am not sure it felt like an ending to me. More of a beginning, but I’ll leave you to decide for yourselves.
The author shares his inspiration and his sources at the end, so those who want to learn more about some of the issues raised by the novel can easily find more information.
I think the warnings are evident from the description, and anybody likely to be affected by violence, self-harm, torture... should avoid this book. I read an ARC copy and due to the format, the footnotes didn’t always work as they should have, but they were well worth reading, and I am sure that the final version works perfectly.
This is a harrowing book that mixes action and violence with true facts, and it toes a fine line between denunciation and titillation, but that is almost unavoidable in this genre. I think the novel has its heart in the right place, and it makes a strong case against the US penal system (and many others). I was impressed by the book, and I have read great reviews of the author’s previous book of short stories, so I will be checking his work further.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I'd been hearing great things about this book and so was quite hyped to read it. Unfortunately I didn't quite get on with the writing style, but apart from that this book is well worth reading for its commentary on the criminal justice system in the US and the inherent racism and unnecessary torture it inflicts on its prisoners. The concept of a gladiator-style show with convicts seems alarmingly possible in today's society - here's hoping the GOP don't get any ideas!

As dark and unsettling as it is brilliantly entertaining and, also, funny. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!

Starts off with futuristic gladiators, not sure where things are going. Kind of confusing, I don’t really understand what’s going on. They’re prisoners fighting to the death but they also become like celebrities? I don’t know how to explain the book so I used the GoodReads synopsis. “Welcome to Chain-gang All-stars,the popular and highly controversial programme inside America’s prison system. In packed arenas, watched by millions of live-stream viewers, prisoners compete as gladiators for the ultimate prize, their freedom.

Once it got to narration by Wil and Emily it started to make a little more sense, like criminal UFC but it’s to the death. I saw it described as X- Rated Hunger Games and that seems fitting. I think I’ve definitely found another genre that isn’t for me. The whole dystopian sci-fi thing isn’t something I’m interested but I’m glad I tried it out. I think this book would be perfect for someone who enjoys combat sports and is knowledgeable or interested in the criminal justice system and incarceration in America.

I thought it was very well written and included so many important facts about incarceration in America. I can see why so many people have loved reading it and why it’s all over bookstagram.

I thought this was an outstanding debut. I was instantly hooked by the opening chapter, which throws your straight into the action, and the story is well paced and reads like a Greek tragedy. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for Nana’s next book.

Reminiscent of the Hunger Games and Battle Royale, Chain Gang All-Stars is set in a fictional dystopia where murderers can choose to become gladiators, battling to the death. After surviving three years, they earn their freedom. Adjei-Brenyah creates a world, complete with Blood Points as currency, Influencer rods that inflict unimaginable pain, and wrist cuffs that light up under the skin that can silence or anchor the convicts.

We see different perspectives from the fights, the activists protesting the cruelty, the arrogant, rich board of directors and most intriguingly, the scientist behind the Influencer rods. Initially researching ways to alleviate pain, she unintentionally creates an instrument of torture that leaves victims permanently changed and suicidal.

The main characters Loretta "Thurwar" and Hamara 'Hurricane Staxx' Stacker, are legendary fighters and doomed lovers. Idolised by the obsessive public and constantly live-streamed, even in intimate moments.

Adjei-Brenyah creates a violent yet plausible fictional world. But, despite its promise, I wasn’t as immersed as I’d hoped. I found the action sequences and changing perspectives hard to follow.

Thank you to random house for the arc.

I’ve given this book 5 stars purely based on the skill and craft needed to produce a book like this: varying narrators; non-linear chronologies; dystopian world building; ambiguous, nuanced characters with backstories and growth…The ability to create characters you love, feel sorry for, cry for whilst knowing the atrocities they’ve committed (all the best characters are incarcerated)…the book itself has humanity and mimics the BattleGround. It’s set in a dystopian future but the footnotes are reminders that the horrors aren’t entirely removed from our society today. Truly provocative. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time, if not forever.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really hopeful that I would enjoy this book, but unfortunately the story wasn't what I was expecting from the promotional material. I think I was expecting more of an emphasis on the sci-fi elements, but it was more of a character study. The social commentary elements however were strong, and the first few chapters were effective at showcasing the world.

I love the premise and I love the author's writing style but I am not able to get into this story. Perhaps i will try again at a later time.