Book Review: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
By: Rae
Genre: Alternative History, Sci-fi
Summary
This is a novel about being a warrior, a gladiator in a modern age. Everything from the action-packed battles of life and death to the adoring spectators that will just as soon cheer for your victory as your downfall. This is the story about surviving the prison system and the definition of what it means to be human.
Why did I pick it up?
To be honest, I picked it up because I had heard that there were gladiator bouts and lesbian representation. I also thought it would be interesting to see what world the author would create, but as you will see in this review, maybe it wasn’t a world of her invention so much as an Octavia Butler level extrapolation of our future.
Plot/Story
This story had much more depth that I thought it would when I first picked it up. Being a Link in the games is to be an athlete on the verge of death every moment and when you are not on the field, you are marched and watched for almost every minute of your day until you are freed by death. The depiction of the prison system, the charges she lays out on its inhumanity, and lack of decency are impossible to deny. But so is her exploration of the fans and the perverse intrigue we have with violence and death.
Plot: 5 stars
Characters
The main characters Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane” Stacker are so lovable and inspiring even after you hear their crimes. Both are murders one killed her lover, and the other killed her rapist, but the penal system charged them the same. Both learned to play the game and eventually become beloved by the fans, so much so that when they were forced to fight each other, no one was particularly excited about it.
Adjei-Brenyah also makes you love their gang, Rico the spunky kid with something to prove, or Sunset, the mentor whose death sets so much in motion. These characters and their histories remind you that every person has a story, a circumstance that can make them all more real to you. Even the crazy Simon J Craft or the racist Gunny Puddles you develop some level of empathy or hatred for along the way. Every character is an exposition on life as a criminal: the unremorseful, the evolved, the innocent, and the hopeful.
Characters: 5 stars
Writing Style
I will say the writing style takes a bit to get used to. You are thrown right into the world and then you shift perspectives quite fast in the beginning. But as you start to get into the story, every shift is like a scene in a movie when the screen fades to black for just a second before hearing the voice of another character. Adjei-Brenyah’s style gives every character their moment on the stage to live and die. We watch so many of their lives unfold, some in 3 pages and others throughout the book. A
Adjei-Brenyah’s writing moves us through the multiple layers of this world was done beautifully. The heaviness of the plot as we move through the different layers of the prison system, the rough edges of the characters as they evolve to freedom, and the slick anticipation of every battle culminates together to leave you in awe.
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Setting and World Building
This book really gives “A world much like ours”. It is a closely seamed multiverse where human shock shackles became the norm and football lost its luster. With that said, the world is built through the eyes of the characters. But that in itself creates a schism between inside and outside the CAPE’s game world they have created for the convicts. We have our evil capitalist company and their fans that love to watch carnage. Which comes across as standard, but I love how she puts us smack dab in front of every decision. Including the one to create the “influencer sticks” and the shackles that keep the prisoners in line.
Setting and World Building: 4
Emotional Impact
Chain-Gang All-Stars, much like a death match, is not for the weak. This novel stirs up rage, and grief, and sadness for people you have never known. You begin to question your own humanity as you try to remember the real names of the characters and not the monikers given to them by the people that relish in their destruction.
I don’t cry easily but tears, that’s all I had in the end. Tears and heartbreak for the women that lived, loved and killed in that hellhole. This story begins and ends with the death and freedom of a legend. It leaves you numb with the realization that death in that arena is but the pilot of a new season. When Hamara lets Loretta, her lover, kill her, it is the penultimate example of one of the many quotables from this book. Loretta “wasn’t wrong, but small”. Loretta was imprisoned for strangling her lover, only to be forced to kill another for her freedom. Oh, the cruel irony in that.
Emotional Impact: 5 stars
Vibration
I love strong women with weapons, so this was my vibe from the jump. The critical lense on our penal system was not what I expected but very welcomed. It made it even more amazing. I could write an extended essay on this book any day.
Vibration: 5 stars
Overall Thoughts:
I loved this book and all the different perspectives it gives on capital punishment. We get to see things from different types of people, from the violent fans and greedy corporate bosses, to the family of the convicts and the Links themselves. I also love the real-world information. The footnotes inextricably tied this world of death games to ours, listing case after case that made this more aligned with our current timeline. Every relationship was so real and I’m a sap for love in strange places.
Final Score: 4.7 stars
Who should read this book?
This book is for fans of strong FMCs and an even stronger message around the state of American Society. If you like anime like Deadman’s Wonderland or books like Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Babel by R.F. Kuang and Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport, then give this a try!
