She felt their eyes, all those executioners... Enter a world where, watched by millions, prisoners fight like gladiators for the ultimate prize: their freedom. ''You cannot applaud [this] novel without getting blood on your hands'' NEW YORK TIMES ''So raw and tragic... Shockingly intimate and moving'' WASHINGTON POST Welcome to Chain-Gang All-Stars, the popular and highly controversial programme inside America''s private prison system. In packed arenas, live-streamed by millions, prisoners compete as gladiators for the ultimate prize: their freedom. Fan favourites 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. As she prepares for her final encounters, as protestors gather at the gates, and as the programme''s corporate owners stack the odds against her - will the price be simply too high? COVER TO BE REVEALED --------- ''Beautiful and brutal, with a really furious social commentary underpinning it.'' INDEPENDENT ''Electrifying'' GEORGE SAUNDERS ''A sort of The Hunger Games meets Gladiator meets WWE meets the modern private prison system.'' ELLE ''The new maestro of dystopian lit has arrived.'' WIRED ''Adjei-Brenyah writes sharply about the economy of spectacle and the fickle alchemy between futility and hope.'' RAVEN LEILANI, author of Luster ''A brutal, heart-wrenching story that feels so close to reality...'' COSMOPOLITAN ''Adjei-Brenyah may have the buzziest book of the year...'' GOODREADS Most Anticipated Books of 2023 ''An awe-inspiring novel that will be read for generations'' JESSAMINE CHAN, author of The School for Good Mothers ''A revelation!'' TOMMY ORANGE, author of There There ...

Autorentext

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.

Klappentext

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