Laura Lee Dooley’s "Of Princes and Patriots" follows Chanchai Thanadorn Noratpattanasai, a Thai orphan whose body changes after a falling star strikes a sugarcane field in 1864. Raised under the patronage of King Chulalongkorn, Chanchai grows up into an educated servant of Siam while hiding that he heals from wounds and does not age. A silver-haired stranger named Enkidu knows the truth about the tendrilled being inside him, yet each encounter leaves Chanchai missing time.

As Thailand passes from a monarchy into modern political turmoil, Chanchai tries to keep his promise to serve his country. When Korean corpsman Kim Tae-soo dies in his arms during the war, Chanchai’s life changes again, forcing him to protect two selves in one body while searching for Tae-soo’s lost sister.

Laura Lee Dooley’s "Of Princes and Patriots" is a sweeping blend of historical and speculative fiction, and Dooley sets this gorgeous story from 1864 Siam to modern Thailand. Dooley breaks down both social and political order through the stages of Chanchai's life and who he becomes.

We witness him go from poverty to a palace education, to war and natural disasters, and his status, his speech, and his duty to the country grow every single time. Chanchai is a genuinely likeable character who is always putting others first. As a child, he risks death trying to stop an abduction, and later he protects another child when the boy’s mother needs to escape from Bangkok. The most fascinating character to me is Enkidu, an enigmatic character who will stop at nothing to hide what Chanchai carries.

Well written and immersive, readers who enjoy historical speculative fiction shaped by Thai history will adore this, as I have.

~ Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite