The Inventor's Companion in A Chat with Ariel

Aug 14, 2011 Augusta Li rated it it was amazing

This is my favorite of Ariel's books so far. The main characters were so well done that I cared about them and their struggles almost from the first page. The supporting characters were also deep and multi-faceted, each of them engaging in his or her own right. The world building is solid, and I enjoyed the exploration of an industrialized society that adhered to a caste system, particularly in how the privileged justified the system. Each person in this world, aside from the aristocracy, is bra This is my favorite of Ariel's books so far. The main characters were so well done that I cared about them and their struggles almost from the first page. The supporting characters were also deep and multi-faceted, each of them engaging in his or her own right. The world building is solid, and I enjoyed the exploration of an industrialized society that adhered to a caste system, particularly in how the privileged justified the system. Each person in this world, aside from the aristocracy, is branded with a tattoo announcing his or her caste. The system is very rigid, with no way for a person to change his or her assigned role. Gabriel belongs to the merchant class as an inventor struggling to make ends meet, while Lucio is a member of the lowest class, the pleasure caste. Lucio is called a companion, but in reality he's closer to a slave. I can't say how much I appreciate that Ariel doesn't sugar-coat the details of his life. His work is brutal, dangerous and degrading. Some of the things that happen to Lucio are not for the squeamish, but they are necessary to understand the reality of his life and limited freedom. These details are given as a way to make the reader understand the man he's become and his motivations and fears, and not as an excuse for kinky, non-consensual scenes, another refreshing change.

Too often in m/m romance, I find an overdone amount of angst before the characters decide to begin a relationship, with each of them pining away for the other while wondering if the attraction is mutual. In this case, every ounce of angst and pining is justified, and the characters' pain and doubt rang very true to me. Of course Lucio is cynical after the life he's been forced to lead, and so of course he wonders if the kindness and respect he receives from Gabriel is genuine. One the other hand, Gabriel is no fool and knows Lucio has been highly trained to tell a client exactly what he wants to hear, so he has no choice but to doubt Lucio's sincerity in the beginning. Lucio is also expensive, and poor merchant Gabriel can rarely afford to spend time with him. After the relationship begins, Gabriel naturally struggles with Lucio's work, and who wouldn't? Still, these men are literally willing to risk everything for even a small chance to be together, and I cheered them on the entire time, even when it seemed the most hopeless.

Lastly, I'd like to say how much I appreciate Ariel putting the "punk" back in steampunk. This isn't just a romance that happens to take place in a quasi-Victorian setting with a lot of clockwork around. The societal context is just as important as the technology. In the tradition of all really good steampunk, the story wouldn't have worked in another setting, because the conflict arose organically from the world the characters inhabit. These characters see the injustice around them, and they're willing to fight to protect the people they care about and in some cases, just to fight for anyone less fortunate than themselves.

I love to see characters fighting the system. It's as essential to steampunk as the clockwork. ...more

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