Chain-Gang All-Stars

Chain-Gang All-Stars

Summary

FIGHT FOR FREEDOM. FIGHT FOR LOVE. WELCOME TO THE KILLING GROUND.

'America's new Hunger Games' SUNDAY TIMES

'So good. This one is from the heart' STEPHEN KING

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD FOR SCIENCE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
*LONGLISTED FOR THE TIKTOK BOOK AWARDS FOR INTERNATIONAL BOOK OF THE YEAR
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023


Enter a world where, livestreamed to millions, prisoners fight like gladiators for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

Fan-favourite female stars Loretta Thurwar and Hamara ‘Hurricane Staxxx’ Stacker are teammates and lovers. Thurwar is nearing the end of her time on the circuit, free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. But as protestors clash with the baying crowds and the programme’s corporate owners stack the odds against her – will the price be simply too high?

‘Brutal, thrilling, devastating and beautiful’ THE TIMES

‘So compelling – right up to the final, fatal blow’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

‘Defiant, awe-inspiring’ JESSAMINE CHAN

‘Vividly imaginative and startling’ ELLE

‘The new maestro of dystopian lit’ WIRED

‘A pure fire page turner’ MAX PORTER

Reviews

  • Criminally entertaining.
    Guardian

About the author

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was raised in Spring Valley, New York, and now lives in the Bronx. His debut collection, Friday Black, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize. His first novel Chain-Gang All-Stars was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Books Are My Bag Awards, and selected as a New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year. Adjei-Brenyah is a National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’ honoree.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more