Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

68 reviews

kimapede's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Rape

ellen_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is stunning.

Through the lense of a high-action murder game show this book delivers a sharp criticism of the American penal system. By using such an extreme framing point, we are shown all of the ways that the penal system has failed, continues to fail, and could fail in the future. 

Incredibly human characters which force you to question your own complicity and limits of what kinds of punishment can be tolerated. 

Rooted in real statistics and structures of the modern justice system,  this story highlights racial disparities, harsh punishment practices, and all the ways that prisoners are seen as less-than and allowed to be harmed for it. 

I will be thinking about this book and it's message for a very long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Sexual content

leannanecdote's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

tamarant4's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

...the massive violence of the state was “justice,” was “law and order,” and resistance to perpetual violence was an act of terror. It would have been funny if there weren’t so much blood everywhere. [loc. 2540]

'Chain-Gang All-Stars Battleground' is the top-rated show on CAPE, the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment channel. Prisoners facing a death penalty or incarceration over a certain amount of time can volunteer to become a Link, a part of a Chain. Individuals on one Chain engage in mortal combat with opponents from another Chain. If a Link survives for three years, they win their freedom. The average life expectancy is three months.

The novel's multitude of viewpoint characters include Links Loretta Thurwar and Hurricane Staxxx, lovers and stars of the Angola-Hammond Chain; Hendrix Young, one-armed spear-wielder; and Simon J Clark, utterly broken by torture and nicknamed the Unkillable. (All were imprisoned for murder, from violent rape and murder to self-defence. And of course have committed many more murders since, as part of the show.) There are also other voices: fans, protesters, an announcer, a scientist... These are interesting for their angles on the show, the cultural context, the prejudices of race and class (the Links are mostly non-white) and the creeping complicity of it.

Though it's the future, with new and exciting technology utilised to cause pain and record violence, Adjei-Brenyah's footnotes snag our frame of reference back to the present day, with stats about race, innocence and violence in the US carceral system. This is more a pitch-black satire than it is science fiction: and it is a love story that finishes on an irredeemably tragic note.

Read for lockdown book club. It took me a while, because this is a very violent book, in terms of physical and social violence. I think it is a timely and important novel, with powerful prose and complex characters, tackling important issues. The fact that I didn't enjoy reading it is incidental.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lokes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Dysphoria

oliviainthepink's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape

rcbarnes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Heartbreakingly uncanny.  Sublimly humanizing.  Disturbingly plausible.  Beautiful throughout.

Should probably be required reading before voting in US elections.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

aducharme4's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Classism

ejspiese's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Never read anything quite like this. It makes me sad and hopeful all at once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Slavery, Suicide, and Torture

ribbenkast's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is not subtle. It blends harrowing real live statistics about the (American) prison system, racism and general bigotry with extremely well done speculative fiction of where this might lead us in the future. It makes its point loud and it makes its point wel.

On top of this, the book is just so well written. The characters are lifelike and complicated, the plot fits tightly together, the prose is strong. Everything is just done right. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism