I just finished this last night and I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
In a nutshell, the very basic premise is that in the somewhat-near future, the US has implemented a gladiator-like game in which prisoners convicted of very serious crimes fight each other to the death. If a contestant lasts 3 years without being defeated (killed), she earns her freedom.
This book is a glaring indictment of the American criminal justice system, despite being a fictionalized “worst-case scenario.” The author scattered actual statistics about prisons and prisoners throughout the book in footnotes, which just adds to the impact. And while the story is mostly centered on two main characters (some of the greatest “Links”–the name for the competitors in the game–of all time, Loretta Thurwar and Hurricane Staxxx), the author also includes vignettes of other Links, protestors, spectators/fans, and the officials who are in charge of the game.
Has anyone else read this yet? What did you think?
by somesmartbrunette
7 Comments
Really enjoyed the main story line, but didnt really care much for the side plots. Overall though it was a pretty solid book.
It’s on my TBR list! I’m really excited about this one!
It’s definitely a book that’s great at spurring discussion. We’ve done portions of two episodes of our podcast on it. I think it’s great for people who need a slap in the face regarding the immoral nature of the U.S. carceral system; I think it reads a little too didactically for people who are already hip to the horrors of our prisons and jails.
The big question is whether there’s enough story there, and I think mostly there is. I think the two main characters get legitimate arcs, growing into their consciousness and understanding of love and human caring. But I think so many of the characters are just props used to highlight a point about just how cruel the incarceration system here is.
And I wondered a lot whether Hunger Games had already traveled too much of the same ground.
My sister disagrees with me and thinks the writing is dynamic enough, and the characters realized enough, that the “educational” piece doesn’t detract too much, and in fact asks us to question why we enjoy the story at all. It’s a bit of a meta commentary on what’s entertaining, basically questioning why Hunger Games (and dystopian books like it) was so popular without people thinking very deeply about the indictment of our society it offered. Instead it was all focused on the love triangle, which Chain-Gang plays with interestingly here.
Regardless, if the book triggers this many questions and responses, it’s got to be pretty good and worth reading for the curious mind.
Sounds good. I’ve placed a hold for it at my library. Depending on how fast the people in line ahead of me read I should get it within the next year and a half.
I’ve just started it, it’s great so far. I love the footnotes, they add a lot to it. I’m literally only at the third chapter and can’t stop thinking about it. When I finish it I’m going to order his first book, Friday Black.
I really enjoyed this book. I personally loved all the side plots coming together. The end hit me like a hammer.
Just finished. Enjoyed this book. Simon J Craft’s character and the concept of the “influencer” really freaked me out. I wish the book went more into the family behind the influencer/military equipment/CAPE? There seemed to be a tension there between father/son that could have been looked at further? I wanted to know more about them! Anyways, a good read. Sure some would find it a little heavy handed in it’s messaging but some people need a crack over the head every once in a while.