The Sauder Diaries - By Any Other Name in Q&A with Michel R.

Dec 22, 2011 Angela rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle

I've tried the steampunk genre before, but couldn't find anything that really drew me into the whole steampunk mindset. All that changed when I downloaded The Sauder Diaries on a whim and devoured it over Christmas - as in, stayed-up-till-4am-and-lost-precious-sleep-because-the-book-wouldn't-let-me-go, kind of devouring. Michel's pirate-infused steampunk world is rooted in the historical fabric of Victorian Europe, but with his own distinct slant on how love, war, espionage and life would have c I've tried the steampunk genre before, but couldn't find anything that really drew me into the whole steampunk mindset. All that changed when I downloaded The Sauder Diaries on a whim and devoured it over Christmas - as in, stayed-up-till-4am-and-lost-precious-sleep-because-the-book-wouldn't-let-me-go, kind of devouring. Michel's pirate-infused steampunk world is rooted in the historical fabric of Victorian Europe, but with his own distinct slant on how love, war, espionage and life would have continued in a world where airships and clockwork mechanisms are the wave of the future, and Russia the supermenace overshadowing the world.

The protagonist, Hans Sauder, is a gentleman's son who is on his way to university when his airship is waylaid by the nefarious pirate ship The Bloody Rose. Confronted with a decision to join the crew or be tossed overboard into the most volatile wilds of Europe, Hans reluctantly steps into the role of a pirate. As he is given the kind of education no university could have prepared him for, Hans finds himself at the center of a paradoxical world, where the Captain conducts piracy with a gentleman's keen business sense, the most lethal crew members are the women, and the dark underbelly of a "peaceful" Europe is exposed at every turn. No shallow, cardboard characters populate this story; every pirate - from Italian Ethiope beauty Arietta to the seemingly indestructible Blauchuk - is a multilayered soul with peculiar backhistories that feed the plot throughout, and drop curious hints for the series to come.

Being a history teacher myself, I am notoriously picky when it comes to the books I read. The Sauder Diaries defied my skepticsm at every turn - and won the duel, hands down. Romance, warfare, intrigue, humor, and espionage were all interwoven with meticulous attention. Historical and mechanical detail nails down every scene with credible believability, yet is never off-putting for those who might not be history buffs, or a mechanical mind.

If I had known at the outset what a gem of a book this would be, I would have gladly paid more than the current asking price. This tale is an absolute gem, and I look forward to the promised sequel with school-girlish impatience. Highly recommend it! ...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Daniel Swensen rated it really liked it

Shelves: indies, urban-fantasy

Sauder Diaries: By Any Other Name reminds me of a cross between Jules Verne, Herman Melville and Robert E. Howard. There's action, adventure, and (very frustrating) romance. The characters are charming and diverse, and there are some truly terrific battle sequences.

The setting of the Bloody Rose crackles with detail -- Vaillancourt's engineering background really pays off in that department. Hans Sauder himself is such a straitlaced hero that sometimes I wanted to shout at him to loosen up a bi ...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Alex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

Michel Vaillancourt has got his genre pretty much completely wrapped up. Not that I've ever been a big reader of Steampunk, but as a lover of both adventure and Victorian fiction I thoroughly appreciated the way that the author uses Steampunk's idiosyncrasies, it's blending of modern technological advances with Victorian sensibilities to create a narrative that's not just delightfully old-school in its feel but also one that explores the disjunct of those two thing through its central characters Michel Vaillancourt has got his genre pretty much completely wrapped up. Not that I've ever been a big reader of Steampunk, but as a lover of both adventure and Victorian fiction I thoroughly appreciated the way that the author uses Steampunk's idiosyncrasies, it's blending of modern technological advances with Victorian sensibilities to create a narrative that's not just delightfully old-school in its feel but also one that explores the disjunct of those two thing through its central characters, to ultimately make some subtle comments on the lack of social freedom that comes with social status (a central theme of many Victorian novels).

Something of a nobleman, Hans Sauder is "captured" and forced to serve aboard a pirate ship, thus entering a world and a life that's fundamentally at odds with his own sheltered experiences. A lesser novel would have taken the opportunity to simply throw Hans into one rip-roaring adventure after another, and whilst the book is not lacking in exciting swashbuckling encounters, Vaillancourt seems primarily interested in how this predicament leads Saunders to interact socially with his fellow crewmates, and in particular the women, whose own fought-for freedom from established Victorian cultures lead them to live lives of a much greater liberality than Saunders is used to or readily understands. And there's much entertainment seeing him repeatedly confused by the notion of female sexual empowerment.

It's not an unheard of narrative arc, for the hero to discover himself over the course of the novel and to leave his old, staid life behind him for one of excitement and adventure, but the execution of that story here is subtle and engaging, with every chapter focussing more on a central facet of Hans quiet character progression than a classic good vs evil confrontation strotyline. It can be frustrating to read at times since we as readers desperately want Sauder to simply embrace his new life, fuck women and plunder for loot, yet his upbringing leads him to abhor wanton sexuality, violence and drama. When Annika starts throwing herself at him and leading him down a potential rabbit hole of exciting sexual experiences, his hesitations were both absurdly commendable and irritating to me.

*spoilers*

It was, though, the final two chapters earned the book its five star rating for me. I'd expected Hans to have a change of heart and not leave the pirate ship, of course but it came in ways that I hadn't been expecting and was much more satisfying than the obvious "I really do love Annika, I can't leave her". I hadn't expected a wonderfully written scene of spite and unrequited love between Hans and Annika in which the two exchange vitriolic insults or the moment in which, having returned to his family, Hans brother Karl confesses that its Hans who is holding him back, when he himself had been insisting on returning to his family because he arrogantly presumed that it was because he was needed. And its this that pushes Hans into the realisation that a different life would be better not just for him, but for other people as well.

*end of spoilers*

It's so great to read a modern book labelling itself as "Victoriana" that actually seems to be influenced by the types of ideas and stories one usually sees in Victorian novels. Furthermore, this book is just a wonderful mix of romance, adventure and world-building (without needing to obsessively detail that aspect) and an absolute must-read for anyone who loves those things but wants a bit more intriguing depth and character interplay to go alongside ye pirate adventuring. Everything is setup nicely for book 2 which, one can hope, will be equally awesome. I can't wait! ...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Carolina rated it it was amazing

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