Chain Gang All Stars

The novel flashes forward. Hamara Stacker, aka Hurricane Staxxx, is on a Chain called Angola-Hammond (A-Hamm), the same Chain as Loretta Thurwar. They’re in love, and both are very famous and successful CAPE performers.

Covered in brand logos from sponsors, Staxxx enthusiastically addresses the crowd before a fight. Because Staxxx is such a good fighter, she leaves her weapon (a scythe named LoveGuile) far from where she starts the combat. The crowd boos her opponent, Barry Harris (aka RaveBear); Staxxx is favored to win. Micky Wright asks for last words. RaveBear calls Staxxx a derogatory term for women. Staxxx responds that she loves him, which is what she always says for her last words. Staxxx kills RaveBear with her scythe and says she loves him again. In a footnote, the narrator indicates that Barry Harris was charged with murder after his best friend died in a drunken wrestling match. After the fight, Micky interviews Staxxx, who says some cryptic but poetic aphorisms.

CAPE fighters have ranks: “Rookie, Survivor, Cusp, Reaper, High Reaper, Colossal, Grand Colossal, Freed” (21). Thurwar is now the Grand Colossal, close to High Freedom. Staxxx is a Harsh Reaper and almost a Colossal. In her cell after the fight, Staxxx feels grateful to be somewhat alone (although guards are still there). She feels bad for killing Barry, but she’s trying to keep going.

The previous A-Hamm Grand Colossal was Sunset Harkless, a fighter who was recently murdered: Someone on the Chain killed him during a rare BlackOut night—a brief period when no cameras record the Links for reality TV programs.

Protestors march outside Thurwar’s fight. One of the groups is the “Coalition to End Neo-Slavery” (27), whose members include a young couple, Mari (Sunset’s estranged daughter) and Nile, as well as Mari’s aunt and mother figure, Kai. The protestors want an end to the CAPE program, which was made law via the Rightful Choice Act, also called Bobby’s Bloodsport Bridge, BBB, or B3.

Nile nervously leads some chants. He has been socially excluded for condemning the CAPE fights. A melee breaks out between protestors and fans.

Thurwar awaits her match. Normally, the Links are notified of who they’ll be fighting beforehand, but this is a Question Match, or mystery. Unlike other Links, Thurwar doesn’t have theme music—she does not want this to feel like a celebratory moment. Her approaching High Freedom has come after three years of weekly murders. Even before joining, she was already wracked with guilt for the one person she’d killed. However, now she has Staxxx, who gives her a reason to keep living and striving for a better future and world. Thurwar does not give last words before her matches and generally ignores Micky.

Thurwar’s surprise opponent is Teacup—16-year-old Tim Jaret, a Black teen tried as an adult for murdering his parents. Teacup is the youngest Link ever. His feeble weapon is a cooking pot.

A fan named Wil obsessively watches Chain-Gang All-Stars (the show where the Links fight) and other reality TV shows featuring the Links. He’s been arguing that Staxxx is better than Thurwar for ages, but now that other fans are saying the same thing, he’s annoyed that it looks like he’s just following suit. Wil purposely lost a bet on Staxxx’s fight hoping to make his coworker, Kyla, more likely to sleep with him. Wil’s wife, Emily, is horrified by the show but watches sometimes to please Wil, who enjoys repeatedly explaining basic concepts that she already understands.

Wil and Emily go to the stadium to watch Thurwar’s Question Match. When Teapot is revealed as Thurwar’s opponent, Wil is disappointed—this isn’t a fair fight. Many in the crowd are also bothered—they don’t like being reminded that none of the Links has a good chance at surviving to see High Freedom. Emily hides her face while Thurwar kills Tim. Wil then cheers in celebration, impressed at how fast the carnage occurred.

After Thurwar kills Tim, Micky Wright says Sunset would be proud. Thurwar disagrees: Sunset’s death, as well as Tim’s, was a tragedy. Micky eagerly asks whether Thurwar’s mental health will decline, couching it as a potentially exciting development the audience should tune in to learn about next week. Micky wonders whether Tim was the youngest person to be legally executed. A footnote for readers explains that it was really George Stinney, Jr., a real-life person who was sentenced to death in 1944 at age 14 for murdering two white girls. The footnote adds that Stinney was exonerated years later; since 1973, at least 186 people have been legally executed based on wrongful convictions.

Micky is annoyed that Thurwar is cold toward him in front of the audience. He helped build her stardom, and she is not repaying him very well. Micky thanks the program’s sponsors, which include the corporations that own the prisons where the Links were before they joined CAPE.

Guards escort Thurwar out of the stadium, purposefully guiding her through crowds of fans who speak to her, grab her, and touch her inappropriately. A woman approaches, says she’s a friend, and slips Thurwar a note that Thurwar quickly pockets before the guards see it.

The Links’ bodies are controlled through a variety of implanted devices: Magnets keep them anchored to the BattleGround, while wrist indicators prompt Silent mode—whenever blue lines glow on the Links’ wrists, speaking or making noise means pain. Guards often silence the Links during transportation. In the transport van after the fight, a silenced Thurwar reads the note, which contains information about a rule change for the upcoming Season 33 of Chain-Gang All-Stars. Disturbed by what she’s read, Thurwar cries.

The novel flashes back in time, switching to the present tense and the first person. The new narrator is Hendrix Young, who is currently in an experimental prison modeled after the 19th-century Auburn system, where prisoners lived in silence to supposedly be more efficient at their work. Young’s prison enforces the silence with wrist technology—the people incarcerated there must truly be silent at all times or be shocked with pain. Guards carry tasers and Influencers, advanced weapons that manipulate the nervous system and cause people to feel more pain than the brain can process. Young is on his fifth year of a 29-year sentence.

The inmates run a slaughterhouse to make a profit for the corporation that owns the prison. Each person needs to meet their meat-cutting quota or else all members of their group can be punished. Young notices that one man seems too tired or sick to work properly, and he worries that the group will be punished for his slowed output. Unable to move from his spot due to the magnets, Young nudges the man next to him to send a silent message to the man who’s not working, but this fails. Worried the non-working man is going to fall into the machinery and get hurt, Young nudges his neighbor several more times with no luck and then decides to speak. The pain that follows temporarily disables the magnets, allowing him to move farther than normal. As chaos ensues, everyone seizes the chance to get a word in, and Young’s arm gets cut off. He is taken to a medical facility where he’s allowed to speak. Enjoying the privilege of using his voice, he sings a lot.

Young decides to sign up for the CAPE program rather than returning to the silent prison. In his intake document, he must confirm that he was not coerced and is joining CAPE of his own free will.

Jerry, the van driver for A-Hamm, doesn’t know any of the eight Chain members well, but he had a family connection to Sunset: Sunset’s daughter, Mari, is Jerry’s niece-in-law (or ex-niece because he’s divorced). The other Links aren’t aware of this connection.

Besides Thurwar and Staxxx, A-Hamm includes Rico Muerte, Sai Eye Aye, Randy Mac, Ice Ice the Elephant, Bad Water, and Gunny Puddles. The rides are Silent so that anything the Links might say can be saved for when cameras are rolling. Now that the Chain has finished fighting in the city of Vroom Vroom, Jerry drives them to a remote location where they’ll camp before starting a March to their next Hub City. A magnetic anchor is set up in the center of the campsite to hold the Links within a small area. Jerry leaves, but floating cameras record footage for the reality shows.

Hendrix Young signs the papers for the CAPE program. This does not automatically exonerate him for murdering Keyan Thurber—he’ll only be exonerated if he survives for three years. Each CAPE participant has to prove they are psychologically healthy and that they comprehend the rules. If they break certain rules or try to escape, they’ll be killed. Young will be joining the Sing-Auburn-Attica-Sing Chain, which is made up of Links from various New York State prisons owned by the same corporation. Young must also agree that his life is subject to recording and usage in TV shows. Like all Links, he won’t be allowed any possessions except those he obtains through CAPE program currency, Blood Points. Blood Points, earned by killing opponents, can buy food, camping supplies, weapons, medical care, clothing, armor, tickets to watch other fights, and other comforts.

In addition to fighting, Links must participate in marches and complete community service at Hub Cities. Though magnetically bound, in Hub Cities, Links stay in hotels and can use Blood Points to upgrade their accommodations. In each Hub City, they’ll have one BattleGround Bout—single or double combat. Refusing to fight means instant death. Links learn who they’ll be fighting during the March toward the Hub City, although Blood Points can buy advance access to this information. Links from the same Chain never fight each other.

Young spins a wheel to randomly determine his starting weapon and is given basic clothes.

In Emily and Wil’s house, television screens are embedded in most appliances so they can watch more Chain-Gang All-Stars. Emily tells herself she only watches the show so that she can participate in the cultural and marital conversations. Emily turns a wall into a screen and watches LinkLyfe.

A-Hamm marches as the anchor magnetically guides them toward their destination. Everyone on the Chain loves Thurwar as a leader, except Gunny Puddles, a white woman who resents Thurwar in part due to her race and gender. Thurwar would like to kill Gunny, but she’s against killing members of her own Chain; instead, she does everything in her power to ensure their success, including training them and buying them things that improve their survival chances. Staxxx provides backup for Thurwar as a leader, and nobody on A-Hamm would dare attack either of them. Staxxx is also sleeping with Randy Mac. Thurwar accepts this—Randy helps keep Staxxx’s spirits up. They walk four and a half miles to a campsite. Thurwar gets the Queen’s Tent, which is the fanciest. Some others like Staxxx also have tents, but newer Links like Rico Muerte and Bad Water still only have sleeping bags.

Thurwar wants to tell Staxxx about the note, but she’s distracted trying to figure out who killed Sunset. Staxxx and Thurwar implement a new rule: Members of A-Hamm promise not to kill each other. Thurwar argues that they should all strive for improvement despite what they’ve done in the past and on the BattleGround. Everyone is happy with the arrangement except Gunny Puddles, but he grudgingly agrees. Staxxx then confesses to killing Sunset.

News reporter Tracy Lasser has just gotten a job with Sports Central, the channel that airs Chain-Gang All-Stars. In high school, Tracy was friends with Staxxx—they were on the same track team. Everyone expects Tracy to read the script, but instead she takes the opportunity to condemn the CAPE program, arguing for banning the death penalty as well. Tracy has always wanted to become a news reporter, but speaking out against the CAPE program makes her prouder than landing this job.

Gunny doesn’t care that Sunset’s dead because he was awful just like the rest of them. Staxxx loved Sunset but claims she had to kill him. Nobody understands what this means, and she doesn’t explain further. Thurwar is bothered by the confession: Sunset was a friend to both her and Staxxx. However, Thurwar loves Staxxx enough to assume she had a good reason that she just can’t articulate. Thurwar struggles with the guilt of killing Tim, a child, but won’t speak about it to Staxxx.

Simon J. Craft is put in solitary confinement for an indeterminate amount of time because he killed another incarcerated person in self-defense. In the past, others have been in solitary for 40-plus years. A footnote explains that the US uses solitary confinement more than other democratic nations, even for nonviolent offenses like possession of contraband.

Thurwar has two more fights before High Freedom: her upcoming doubles match with Staxxx and then her final individual match. As she chats with Staxxx, the two floating cameras leave suddenly. Thurwar considers taking this opportunity to tell Staxxx about the new rule for Season 33, but they both realize the cameras probably zoomed off for a reason and go outside to investigate. The cameras are capturing a disagreement between Rico and Sai: Rico, tired of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bragged that soon his rank would go up and he could afford different food, but Sai told Rico to prioritize getting a better weapon. Offended, Rico wants to fight Sai, but Thurwar and Staxxx convince them not to fight—being wounded before their match would be a disadvantage on the BattleGround.

The secret new rule for Season 33 is that two Colossals will no longer be allowed on the same Chain. If two members of the same Chain reach Colossal, they’ll have to death match against each other. Thurwar is already a Grand Colossal. If Thurwar and Staxxx win their upcoming doubles match, Staxxx will also become a Colossal. This means they’d have to fight each other for Thurwar’s last match before High Freedom—the opening combat of Season 33.

Thurwar invites Rico to have breakfast with her and Staxxx, partially to help his morale and partially to override any budding friendship he might have with Gunny. Thurwar trades her eggs Benedict for Rico’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich; Rico cries as he eats it because it’s been years since he had a satisfying meal. Rico used to watch Thurwar and Staxxx on TV in prison. When assigned to A-Hamm, he was excited to be on their team. Thurwar reminds Rico that he’s lucky to be alive—on a different Chain, he might have been killed for starting a fight with a higher-ranking Link like Sai. Rico apologizes and promises to do better. They discuss what weapon he can upgrade to for his next match.

Hendrix Young has made it further in the CAPE program than expected. Now his agent (who is also his corrections officer) instructs him on how to keep succeeding. Young should keep singing because fans enjoy it. His spear is a suitable weapon, but he needs better armor.

Young watches new Links spin the wheel to get their first weapons. One gets a wrench, and another gets kitchen scissors. The next person gets a spoon, a useless object that reminds the Links how little chance each has of surviving three years of weekly death matches.

Emily and Wil watch and discuss the CAPE shows. The only person to make it to High Freedom so far was Nova Kane Walker. Wil suspects Nova was set up for success to gain positive publicity for the program. Sunset was close to High Freedom but got killed before he made it. Now, Thurwar has a good chance of making it, and Wil doesn’t think her success was rigged like Nova’s. Wil questions Staxxx’s loyalty to Thurwar since the audience heard her confess to killing Sunset. Emily wonders why all Chains don’t have a no-killing rule. Wil explains that sometimes Links get points for killing teammates or benefit by establishing dominance or taking their possessions. The other option is to band together and become stronger for it, like the members of A-Hamm. Emily reflects that because Black people are disproportionately incarcerated, the same is true for the demographics of the Links: In A-Hamm, Staxxx, Thurwar, Sai Eye Aye, Randy, and Rico are Black. Wil shows Emily an old clip of Thurwar beating Melancholia Bishop to convince her of how awesome Thurwar is.