John Anthony James

Kegan Foxglove-Rose lives in a secluded land called the Circle, where sex between men and women has been reduced to a sterile medical procedure. Celebrated and subjugated because of his gender, he leaves his pampered upbringing to become an apprentice sire, learning to conceive children for the women who pay for his services. But when his mentor gives Kegan a book to keep in secret - a book named Great Expectations that describes a culture where a man can feel love for a woman - Kegan begins to question his place in society.
Then, when his best friend Edgar is exiled to the Infinite Mountains for being infertile, Kegan is confronted by an uncomfortable truth; that he and the few other men of the Circle are little more than slaves. Accompanied by his loyal and spirited guardian, Rhali, and his devoted midwife, Bethany, Kegan escapes the Circle to search for Edgar in the Infinite Mountains and the Shadowlands beyond them.
By turns funny and dark, sweet and cynical, Prince Of Flowers, King Of Shadows is a heartfelt story of one man's search for meaning in a world where nothing is quite what it seems. It explores themes relating to gender roles, gender privilege, sexual identity, the exploitation and oppression of minorities, our duty to society, and our right to personal freedom.