Has anyone read Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah? I found the book to be absolutely incredible and thought-provoking. I got the chance to talk with the author as well which was really fun. Got to understand his writing process and ask questions about some of the themes in the book.
This novel is a powerful dystopian tale about freedom, survival, and resistance. It about how Prisoners can reduce their sentence to 3 years if they compete in fight to the death combat sport.
In many ways, it evokes the themes of the 13th documentary by Ava DuVernay, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, and the film Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley—offering a raw exploration of systemic violence and societal exploitation.
I wanted to share some of my thoughts & I had questions:
1. The Weight of Freedom: Loretta Thurwar, the protagonist, is the closest to freedom anyone’s been in the CAPE program. But this path to freedom isn’t a straight line—it’s built on death, pain, and sacrifice. How far will you go for liberation, especially when it’s designed to be nearly impossible to reach?
2. The Power Dynamic of Sport: The spectacle of “Chain-Gang” is a chilling reflection of how society consumes violence. With chains ranked from Rookie to Colossal, each "Link" fights for their life while the world watches. Does this sound far-fetched, or could it be a disturbing future reality for entertainment?
3. The Cost of Survival: Thurwar and Staxxx are both forced to navigate the complexities of survival in a system that pits people against each other. The characters show us that sometimes, survival means making choices that will haunt you forever.
4. The Dehumanization of Prisoners: The CAPE program strips prisoners of their humanity, reducing them to mere “Links” in a chain. The use of "Bloodpoints" and the merchandising of their likenesses reflect how these characters are exploited and commodified. This is eerily similar to the privatization of prisons in our world, where profit often outweighs human life.
Chain-Gang All Stars is not just a dystopian novel—it’s a mirror reflecting how we engage with power, entertainment, and the humanity of those behind bars.
For those that read it, What did you think about the book? Curious to talk to people about it
by Bookumapp