• The Starving Years: MMM Dystopian Romance

  • By: Jordan Castillo Price
  • Narrated by: Gomez Pugh
  • Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (242 ratings)

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The Starving Years: MMM Dystopian Romance  By  cover art

The Starving Years: MMM Dystopian Romance

By: Jordan Castillo Price
Narrated by: Gomez Pugh
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Publisher's summary

The chemistry between these three men is undeniable, but is it enough to save Manhattan?

Imagine a world without hunger.

In 1960, a superfood was invented that made starvation a thing of the past. Manna, the cheaply manufactured staple food, is now as ubiquitous as salt in the world's cupboards, pantries and larders.

Nelson Oliver knows plenty about manna. He's a food scientist–according to his diploma, that is. Lately, he's been running the register at the local video rental dive to scrape together the cash for his outrageously priced migraine medication.

In a job fair gone bad, Nelson hooks up with copywriter Javier and his computer-geek pal Tim, who whisks them away from the worst of the fiasco in his repurposed moving truck. At least, Nelson thinks those two are acquainted, but they're acting so evasive about it, he's not sure how they know each other, exactly. Javier is impervious to Nelson's flirting, and Tim's name could appear in the dictionary under the entry for "awkward." And with a riot raging through Manhattan and yet another headache coming on, it doesn't seem like Nelson will get an answer anytime soon.

One thing's for sure, the tension between the three of them is thick enough to cut with a knife...even one of those dull plastic dealies that come in the package with Mannariffic EZ-Mealz.

The Starving Years is a must-read for fans of dystopian romance looking for scorching M/M/M chemistry in a fast-paced, page-turning adventure.

©2012 Jordan Castillo Price (P)2016 Jordan Castillo Price
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

What listeners say about The Starving Years: MMM Dystopian Romance

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

JCP hits another home run!

Wisconsin's own Jordan Castillo Price has said that she likes to write speculative fiction in which one aspect of modern life is changed, and then ravel the story to show the effects of that one change on the world and people in it. She's done that very successfully in her terrific PsyCop series, and has done it again in The Starving Years.
Price also creates flawed, quirky, even possibly irritating characters, and makes them completely three-dimensional and lovable. The three protagonists, Javier, Nelson, and Tim, are fully realized, interesting individuals, as are several supporting characters.
The plot in this almost-recognizeable alt-NYC is dystopian, and yet many qualities of this world are quite recognizable, and Price uses the opportunity, as do many good writers of sci-fi, to make a few comments about contemporary society. What she does is imaginative, suspenseful, and entertaining.
Price's narrator of choice is Gomez Pugh, who (again) does a wonderful job with both female and male voices, various dialects, and distinct sounds for a variety of characters.
The novel's end seems to leave an opening to continue as a series. Here's hoping.
Wholehearted recommend!

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Jordan and Gomez rock!

Loved the book and loved the audio version even more! Jordan and Gomez do it again! Outstanding!

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4 people found this helpful

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Another Awesome Book By Jordan Castillo Price

I do not want to spoil anything so I will not go into any details. I loved this book when I read it and the audiobook is just as awesome. Jordan Castillo Price and Gomez Pugh make a great team. As one expects from a JCP novel, there are unique characters and interesting situations. It has a Soylent Green feel to it but as with all her novels there is a nice dash of romance and humor. I have been waiting for this release for some time and am not disappointed.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Wasn’t into it

I thought the book started off pretty fun with the main character at a corporation event and the two of the three leads being introduced but I found the headhopping between three men kind of torturous. Plus the main guy trying to score during a wholesale apocalyose was weird and a little unbelievable. If people are being shot and killed the last thing I can see doing is flirting like a teen and trying to score a phone number. It got worse as the characters just seem to sit around taking. It got boring and I just wasn’t convinced these guys had a relationship I was interested in listening to.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good story, ending not so much.

really enjoyed this book. was invested in the story and the characters. The ending felt like a train that ran out of track. everybody got off safe, but you can't help feeling if it just chugged along you would have seen something great. I still recommended it to a friend.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very Nice Surprise

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this audiobook to a friend. This book is a perfect example of people with different personalities and backgrounds working together. Throw in love, jealousy, mistrust, adventure, horror, humor, a conspiracy and of course, sex, and you get The Starving Years.

Who was your favorite character and why?

In the beginning I didn't like any of the characters but the more that I learned about them, the more I wanted to learn about them. I found myself liking all of the characters by the end, even if at times I found them annoying and very frustrating.

Which character – as performed by Gomez Pugh – was your favorite?

I am a major Gomez Pugh fan so I enjoyed all of the characters but I think that my favorite was Javier and his sexy accent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I actually did listen to this book in one sitting or rather in one day. I listened while commuting to and from work and while I was working.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating romantic fiction

So, I’ve had this on my TBR list forever. I’m a huge fan of both Gomez and JCP and I know that this was likely to be amazing – but… I really dislike “dystopian” anything and I wasn’t sure this was going to be ….my sort of book.

Well, I was right and wrong.

First, the very surprising thing is that the dystopian part was really fascinating to me and the whole “mana/food” thing and poverty/poor rights and the conspiracy theory stuff was right up my alley! It was gripping and clever and really well done.

Second, the romance – in this case ménage/triad really didn’t work for me at all. It starts out as a love triangle (which I hate) and never really gets on good footing after that. I think I’d label this “romantic fiction” – if that – because the relationship stuff just sort of happens and doesn’t always make sense and isn’t the focus of the story by a long shot.

While there is some sex there isn’t a lot and it really felt like everyone agreed to the triad to get to the person they wanted and I didn’t feel a connection between all three of them – at all. We’re left with a vague HFN and I didn’t feel like this was a relationship to last.

Gomez, as usual, does an amazing job with this and I wanted him to speak using Javier’s voice – FOREVER! I loved how he handled the three male leads (as well as the other characters who were far from secondary) and managed to keep all of them separate and distinct.

I was glad I listened to this instead of reading because I may have been tempted to skim and I’d have missed out.

So, I can definitely recommend this, but if you’re looking for a “romance” this probably won’t satisfy. But, if you’re interested in dystopian speculative fiction and love a good political/conspiracy thriller – this is for you!


4 of 5 stars

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A brilliant and totally different story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes!

Have you listened to any of Gomez Pugh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. He is first rate!

Any additional comments?

A brilliant story about 3 men who fall in love during chaos.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Gomez Pugh Does a Great Job With This One!

This story grabs you from the start and keeps going, right to - almost - the end. I loved the tech - none of it seemed far fetched. The alternating POV between the three main characters was well done, although some of the internal dialog of 'misunderstandings' could have been cut back. Good balance of plot to (hot, explicit) sex. Gomez Pugh does an incredible job with those sex scenes, too, especially with Javier. I disliked the Hispanic accent he gave a female character in the PsyCop series, but he definitely did good with Javier's accent and commanding voice.

My only complaint would be that the story seemed to suddenly end, as if there was a deadline the author had to meet so had to quickly wrap it all up. There's so much action in the first 99% of the book that the last chapter is a let-down. It wasn't quite an 'info-dump' because there was some showing rather than telling, but it was close. I just expected that a deep-pocket corporation that's supposed to be so powerful that it controls the government would be a little more aggressive and dangerous towards whistle-blowers.

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Amazing addition to the genre

A MMM romance that depends on plot rather than graphic sex was a great treat. Truly enjoyed this story. I hope the author writes more long form stories like this.

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