The Starving Years: MMM Dystopian Romance

By: Jordan Castillo Price

Narrated by: Gomez Pugh

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

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

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!

Jordan and Gomez rock!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Fabulous!

A fabulous story. Well written, it includes facets of romance, sex, corporate intrigue, and is relevant--right down to the toilet paper! There were a few glitches with an accent on occasions, but it was easily overlooked. A highly enjoyable read.

No really a romance, not really a dystopian either

JCP isn't for me. I admit I love her writing, her world building and the pacing her books have, but in the end, it's always something missing.

The Starving Years, I would considere this more of a gay fiction or thriller than a romance like it's advertised. I don't mind my romance not been the center of the story, but the story at least need to be amazing.

Although the story is ok, it's just this, ok. I didn't like the open ending, so many question and the bittersweet taste and rush of events. This book looks like a beginning of a series and not a standalone. Also, the begining is really confusing, it took me up to 30% to fully understand what was happening.

The narration is really good, the narrator can distinguish all the character voices and express emotions really well. Also his pacing is phenomenal, I'll listen to him again.

Original witty story with thriller-style plot

Where does The Starving Years: MMM Dystopian Romance rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well up with the best ones - the narrator is brilliant and the writer very skilful.

What does Gomez Pugh bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His slightly world-weary manner and his ability to convey character through sound as well as the written words is the third dimension you don't get from reading it yourself.

Any additional comments?

Gomez Pugh's narrations of the Psycop series are brilliant and what made me choose this book - I was not disappointed.

Love this book. One of my fave authors.

Loved this book. Gomez pugh was awesome as usual. I love JCP and her quirky stories. Psycop is also a favorite.

Needs to be a movie

What to say about this audiobook..... Brilliant, excellent, gripping etc
The whole story was set so it seemed like reality. From the very first chapter the story flowed like watching a very good movie. The characters meshed together so well, each one having quirks and secrets that were revealed as time went on. I really loved the shift of each persons POV, I feel like I know all 3 of the main characters personally. Gomez Pugh and Jordan Castillo Price are a perfect match.

Dark and gritty with top class narration

Anyone who has ever listened to a Jordan Castillo Price audio book knows that JCP and Gomez Pugh are a winning team.

This story is set in the near future, New York.
A processed and fortified foodstuff called Manna is the meal of the day, every day. The whole world subsides on chemically flavoured processed alfalfa and there are only a handful of multinationals who produce the stuff, and cream the profits. So here we find Haktivist Tim, Journalist Javier and Food Scientist Nelson thrown together trying to find out what has been going on with Manna Production that is bad enough to cause riots. The subject matter is dark, gritty and believable. But in the darkness there is a three way romance between the men.

There is not as much sex as i've come to expect in a Jordan Castillo Price book, as its plot heavy, and honestly, after characters like Vic & Jacob, and Michael and Wild Bill, the characters in this book are not my favorite MCs. But the story is a well plotted, enjoyable ride, and ends with a HFN.

ok but not as good as the Psycop books

Real rating 2.5 but have rounded up. I really hated Tim, he was like a wet blanket.