Reviews

The beginning was slow for me. I had trouble getting into the story. But I stuck with it and ended up feeling glad I’d read this. The story illustrates a lot that is wrong with our system, and predicts how that basic unfairness and exploitation could turn out in not very much time. Lots of footnotes containing statistics and real-life examples.
The story itself is about the Chain Gangs made up of criminals forced to fight each other to the deaths a way of disposing of the excess of prisoners for the entertainment of the rest of society. A reality show embraced by millions. Horrible.

Content Warnings

three_martini_lunch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

kgmay25's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

kwough's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

mcloonejack's review

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5.0

“Where life is precious, life is precious.”

Who are we to be the arbiters of another person’s life? Are we so enlightened? Does causing pain and death allow someone else to determine they can put the same on you?

Chain-Gang All-Stars is not for the faint of heart, and that is assuredly the point. Taking the inherent violence of a carceral system that many support and cheer on and contorting it into a beloved blood sport is an incredibly powerful vehicle for the story that Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah wants to tell and the message he has. And he does so with—even removing the context and content—devastating and inventive prose. I’ve rarely, if ever, read an author so good at weaving together the inner monologues of so many characters at once.

Speaking of weaving, Adjei-Brenyah’s commitment to working in real-life statistics and arguments over America’s current carceral system is done so deftly and maaaaaaybe just one time a little heavy-handed.

One of the most effective bits of writing is that the actual fight scenes are absolutely alluring and engaging, and you can’t help get sucked in. And then, you immediately feel gross about it in a true metafictional masterstroke. (This does, in a kind of ambient way, make me worried about any potential TV/film adaptation that could very easily miss this point.)

There’s so much I could say about this book, but all I’ve got left is that for a piece of speculative sci-fi to get this many accolades it needs to blow everything out of the water. And my god does this do it.

Also the ending is one of the most brutal I’ve ever read, and I’ll think about it forever.

jordanrobz's review

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challenging dark emotional

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I thought of how the world can be anything and how sad it is that it's this."

i don't think i've ever read anything as upsetting and beautiful and bold as this book. just wow.

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