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Extracts

Extract: Chain-Gang All-Stars

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Reading lists

12 must-read queer books

Best dystopian books

The best dystopian books of all time

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Adjei-Brenyah's acerbic vision lands like a lightning bolt of truth.

Grimly funny, epically violent and - at times - surprisingly tender. Quite the ride.

Magnificent. A radical interrogation of incarceration, racism, entertainment, the whole fabric of American injustice, as well as a pure fire page turner.

A sort of The Hunger Games meets Gladiator meets WWE meets the modern private prison system.

Like Orwell's 1984 and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Adjei-Brenyah's book presents a dystopian vision so upsetting and illuminating that it should permanently shift our understanding of who we are and what we're capable of doing... Shockingly intimate and moving.

Compelling... The range of different narrators provides a smart 360-degree perspective of the too-familiar society that demands murder for entertainment.

A brutal, heart-wrenching story that feels so close to reality.

A hugely imaginative read - the world-building is masterful... Unmissable.

One of the most exciting young writers in America.

George Saunders, author of LINCOLN IN THE BARDO

We simply couldn't put it down... enthralling and engaging.

You cannot applaud Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's debut novel without getting blood on your hands...

Deservedly acclaimed, Adjei-Brenyah is as commanding a storyteller as he is a world-builder.

Beautiful and brutal, with a really furious social commentary underpinning it.

Defiant, awe-inspiring... Readers will be forever changed by this book.

Jessamine Chan, author of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS

[An] acclaimed master of our futuristic nightmares... While this is set in the future, it feels uncomfortably close to the present.

[A] blazing debut novel... Chain-Gang All-Stars is also a breathless dystopian thriller.

A searing debut with an unforgettable voice, Chain Gang All-Stars will force you to reevaluate what freedom in America really means.

Imagine The Hunger Games refashioned into a rowdy, profane, and indignant blues shout at full blast.

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 
 
‘Brutal, thrilling, devastating and beautiful’ The Times 
 
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? 
 
‘So compelling – right up to the final, fatal blow’ Sunday Telegraph 
 
‘Vividly imaginative and startling’ Elle 
 
‘The new maestro of dystopian lit’ Wired

Chain-Gang All-Stars

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Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Praise for Chain-Gang All-Stars

Criminally entertaining.

Adjei-Brenyah's acerbic vision lands like a lightning bolt of truth.

Grimly funny, epically violent and - at times - surprisingly tender. Quite the ride.

Criminally entertaining.

Adjei-Brenyah's acerbic vision lands like a lightning bolt of truth.

Grimly funny, epically violent and - at times - surprisingly tender. Quite the ride.

Criminally entertaining.

Adjei-Brenyah's acerbic vision lands like a lightning bolt of truth.

Grimly funny, epically violent and - at times - surprisingly tender. Quite the ride.

Articles featuring Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Extract: Chain-Gang All-Stars

12 must-read queer books

The best dystopian books of all time

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