Willow Scarlett's Reviews > The Starving Years

The key to multiple-partner romance is the balance of the protagonists. As with any romance, the characters need to suit each other to make a convincing relationship while being different enough that they're interesting to read. It's a delicate balance with any story, but adding another partner to the mix makes it an even more complex equation.

'The Starving Years' by Jordan Castillo Price balances the equation perfectly. Arrogant and socially forward food genius Nelson, shy computer whizz Tim, aloof and self-sufficient Javier. The three compliment and contrast each other, while also complimenting and contrasting themselves.

The story begins focused on Nelson, the smartest man in the room who is defined by his impatience and self-confidence, but later we meet a staggeringly human and caring side of him to round out his character. Tim is incredibly shy, but also a radical investigative journalist. Javier is quiet but authoritative, and his sexually dominant side is balanced by his self-consciousness over his damaged eye.

It's a perfect balance of three very different and complimentary characters. It takes a while—nearly half the book—for the relationship to solidify, but when it does it comes on strong and naturally.

'The Starving Years' is set in a future in which food scarcity has been eliminated, so Big Business has to find new ways to market food—at any cost. The plot is slow to develop but once it starts there are plenty of risks and dramas and explosions to keep things moving.

The only point where the book disappointed me was when the one woman with more than a few lines of dialogue literally burst into tears and locked herself away over being asked if she'd gained any weight recently.

“What about you?” Tim asked Marianne. “Did you gain any weight lately?”
She looked as if she’d just been slapped.
Nelson rolled his eyes. “You don’t just ask a woman—”
Marianne lurched through the group of men, limping, shoving Nelson aside, then ducked into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Tim stared at the closed door, mouth working. “But I…I meant either her or Javier. I was looking at both of them.”
Randy said, “Smooth move, Ex-Lax.”
Tim was genuinely distressed. “Why would she…? I wasn’t implying that I thought she was fat. It was a plural ‘you.’ Plural!”
“Here’s a tip,” Randy said. “Ask her how old she is, next. She’ll really like that.”

The idea of women as over-sensitive flowers who need to be carefully protected by men is a cheap and tired joke and it breaks my heart to see it repeated in a science fiction future, especially because the whole premise of the story is a post-scarcity world where every person eats almost the exact same food which is calculated to meet human needs. The entire plot of the book depends on that premise. It makes no sense that such a society would still foster a deeply ingrained culture of fat shaming.

But there are plenty of non-misogynistic jokes speckled throughout the story, and several times I laughed out loud. The dialogue is often witty and clever and there are cute little asides, like the idea that there should be an app to prepare political speeches from a stock list of phrases. I get the feeling that the author is a naturally hilarious person and it shows through in the text.

Overall, 'The Starving Years' is a well-written romance which balances the three partners as well as it balances the science fiction and romantic elements. But by far my favorite aspect is when the character Nelson gets into bedroom and reveals himself as a lusty and sexually-forward babe with arty molecular-structure tattoos.