Chain-Gang All-Stars is a thrilling action fiction novel that follows Thurwar's journey to freedom. Loretta is among the many prisoners who must participate in a gladiatorial system for them to be freed. The gladiatorial system is an animal-like televised program where the participants fight to their death, and whoever survives is freed. In the dystopian American privatized prison industry, the inmates can sign up for the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment channel (CAPE). CAPE is a highly-rated television program with a large audience.
In Chain-Gang All-Stars, the star is Loretta because she attracts a huge crowd in the fighting arenas whenever she appears. CAPE is a sponsored program by corporate entities, and its intended goal is to maximize profits through advertisements and fans’ enrolments in the fighting arenas. Loretta has won her previous bloody fights and looks forward to winning the remaining few matches to secure her freedom. Loretta’s next fight is with her opponent, Melancholia Bishop, who the author describes as lethal and unforgiving. However, Loretta is ready for the fight because she has previously won similar battles.
The participants in the gladiatorial competitions are grouped into links that do not fight each other; only gladiators from competitor penal complexes take part in the fights. The fights are fatal because competitors must kill their opponents to progress to the next step of the competition. The battles are broadcast live on the CAPE channel to allow viewers to follow their favorite participants. The successful combatants become sex emblems and pop idols in prisons. The fighters who manage to complete the three years of fighting win the final prize: freedom. However, few gladiators will survive because most die during the first three months of fighting.
In conclusion, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah explains why most prisoners sign up for CAPE despite being a death trap. According to Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, many prisoners want to escape torture from fellow inmates and prefer to die in the battleground if they fail to survive. Inside the prison, inmates are subjected to various inhumane activities, including implanting magnets in their bodies, violating their basic human rights. Correctional officers are brutal because they torture any inmate trying to demand her rights.
