The Two Hungers of Prince ­Fierre

Prince Fierre Dannatyne is the newest Sky of Eilean-òir, and as part of his coronation, he must choose his own appointments to crucial positions including the Star of the Sky—his closest royal advisor. While these positions typically go to the most loyal lairds, Fierre instead chooses his former farmboy of a best friend, Aiven, as his advisor. With Aiven’s encouragement, Fierre decides to take a trip to visit his dying father and, along the way, meet the common folk of Eilean-òir. There is a key problem to this plan: the Dannatyne princes are expected to embody physical perfection, which has resulted in Fierre developing physician-assisted anorexia. Although wrapped in a high fantasy plot, the narrative focuses predominantly on Fierre’s anorexia and its impact on his health and relationships with others, ultimately concluding on an optimistic and somewhat realistic note. However, an enjoyable amount of sword-fighting, magic, and political machinations still abound. Side characters tend to be one-dimensional, but the narrative is still effective. Sex is depicted on page, largely as an unhealthy coping mechanism, and is addressed accordingly. Characters largely cue white and most characters appear to be bisexual in this queernormative world.