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matosapa's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
greaydean's review against another edition
2.0
An interesting story of coming of age and learning about what it means to actually live. Some of the wisdom seems a bit forced, perhaps as it seems overly familiar as I am have listened to Rush a lot. I am glad I read it and enjoyed reading it. Pictures are only okay (sometimes don't exactly reflect what is being described in the story).
duparker's review against another edition
2.0
So, I didn't have high expectations for this, because the friend that lent it to me, didn't praise it too highly. It was fine. Not memorable or good even, just fine. The writing didn't excite me and the story was mediocre. The best part was the afterward by Neil Peart discussing the genesis of the book. Peart is a great writer and he conveys the emotion and intelligence that his music consists of. This book did neither.
jp99's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
19artemis92's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Throughout the book I greatly enjoyed the relationships built with the main character, and I liked how the main character's story ended.
I wish there had been more time spent in the experiences for Owen outside of Crown City / Albion. We'd spent so much time there that it seemed we rushed through some of the other experiences. We also don't know what happened to a lot of the main characters at the end, if they don't interact with the main character I would've loved an afterword saying where they are / what they're doing.
I wish there had been more time spent in the experiences for Owen outside of Crown City / Albion. We'd spent so much time there that it seemed we rushed through some of the other experiences. We also don't know what happened to a lot of the main characters at the end, if they don't interact with the main character I would've loved an afterword saying where they are / what they're doing.
dhlunique's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting, but I thought the steampunk tropes were stretched too far. The characters were interesting, and learned much along their life-arcs, but their situations and locations and mechanisms were too "fantastic" for this engineer.
wncowling's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! I loved this book. It was anawesome incredible coming of age novel set in an incredible steampunk universe. The characters are rich and I loved the imagery involved.
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
It may not be true that "the joy and pain that we receive must be what we deserve" as is mocked in the song BU2B, but I think it may be true that this book is what we Rush fans deserve.
The thing is, we aren't known as connoisseurs of great literature - beyond the obligatory Ayn Rand novels, we dabble in SF and fantasy and that's as far as it goes. We're known instead as geeky obsessives who analyze Neil's lyrics (well, some of us do), talk about "Rush references" in pop culture and mention "2112 sightings" everywhere from odometer readings to hotel room numbers.
And Kevin J. Anderson, it seems, is one of us - a geeky obsessive Rush fan who also happens to be an accomplished author. His friendship with Peart is based on his having been inspired by Rush lyrics to write a book (Resurrection Inc) So what we have in Clockwork Angels is exactly what we'd expect - a story developed in collaboration with Peart that expands and fleshes out the story told by the lyrics of the album of the same name. And significantly, it is absolutely filled with Rush lyric fragments, not only from CA, but everything from "the breath of a sleeping white dragon" to "coldfire," "dreamline," "a conquering hero," and "anywhere but here." Like I said, it's probably what we deserve because we've shown ourselves to delight in exactly this kind of game. The problem is that for me, all these references actually made it a bit less enjoyable to read - each lyric dropped into the narrative was the author winking at the reader, and it jarred me right out of the story every time.
The writing, to me, was just okay. I've never read anything else by Anderson, so I don't know if this is in keeping with his usual style, but I found the phrasing a bit clunky and repetitive. It's certainly not terrible, and some parts are well done, but on the whole I just wasn't blown away.
As for the story itself, I'd say it was fairly good - in fact there were a few long stretches without lyric fragments that went so smoothly that the reader could actually be immersed in the world the way it was intended, and these were the best parts of the book for me.
So I guess I'm in the unexpected position of actually having to recommend this book more highly for non-Rush fans than for those of us who are intimately familiar with the band. Since the non-fans won't catch all the lyric references they should be able to enjoy the book without distraction.
The thing is, we aren't known as connoisseurs of great literature - beyond the obligatory Ayn Rand novels, we dabble in SF and fantasy and that's as far as it goes. We're known instead as geeky obsessives who analyze Neil's lyrics (well, some of us do), talk about "Rush references" in pop culture and mention "2112 sightings" everywhere from odometer readings to hotel room numbers.
And Kevin J. Anderson, it seems, is one of us - a geeky obsessive Rush fan who also happens to be an accomplished author. His friendship with Peart is based on his having been inspired by Rush lyrics to write a book (Resurrection Inc) So what we have in Clockwork Angels is exactly what we'd expect - a story developed in collaboration with Peart that expands and fleshes out the story told by the lyrics of the album of the same name. And significantly, it is absolutely filled with Rush lyric fragments, not only from CA, but everything from "the breath of a sleeping white dragon" to "coldfire," "dreamline," "a conquering hero," and "anywhere but here." Like I said, it's probably what we deserve because we've shown ourselves to delight in exactly this kind of game. The problem is that for me, all these references actually made it a bit less enjoyable to read - each lyric dropped into the narrative was the author winking at the reader, and it jarred me right out of the story every time.
The writing, to me, was just okay. I've never read anything else by Anderson, so I don't know if this is in keeping with his usual style, but I found the phrasing a bit clunky and repetitive. It's certainly not terrible, and some parts are well done, but on the whole I just wasn't blown away.
As for the story itself, I'd say it was fairly good - in fact there were a few long stretches without lyric fragments that went so smoothly that the reader could actually be immersed in the world the way it was intended, and these were the best parts of the book for me.
So I guess I'm in the unexpected position of actually having to recommend this book more highly for non-Rush fans than for those of us who are intimately familiar with the band. Since the non-fans won't catch all the lyric references they should be able to enjoy the book without distraction.
drquadfather's review against another edition
3.0
I have been a huge Rush fan for years, and Neil Peart has always been an intriguing lyricist, particularly in the world of rock music. It was pleasant to have Rush return to the concept album with their most recent record of the same name as this book. This is a fleshing out of the story, giving more context to the songs.
In that regard, it works very well. Listening to the album now, I feel I have a better understanding of each of the songs, they work together in a better, more cohesive manner.
However, the novel really doesn't go much beyond that. With the exception of the main character, all the others are incredibly flat, with little depth to them. And even the main character doesn't get much more treatment than that. The only reason we have a better understanding of his motivations is because we spend more time with him than the others. The wider world is there, waiting to be plumbed and mined for a very interesting story. Sadly, we don't ever get that. Instead, we get a sweat, enjoyable, quick coming of age story that compliments the album nicely.
By no means essential reading, still, it is quick and easy to get through, and I already find I enjoy the album more now than I did before, so I felt it was worth it.
In that regard, it works very well. Listening to the album now, I feel I have a better understanding of each of the songs, they work together in a better, more cohesive manner.
However, the novel really doesn't go much beyond that. With the exception of the main character, all the others are incredibly flat, with little depth to them. And even the main character doesn't get much more treatment than that. The only reason we have a better understanding of his motivations is because we spend more time with him than the others. The wider world is there, waiting to be plumbed and mined for a very interesting story. Sadly, we don't ever get that. Instead, we get a sweat, enjoyable, quick coming of age story that compliments the album nicely.
By no means essential reading, still, it is quick and easy to get through, and I already find I enjoy the album more now than I did before, so I felt it was worth it.
mrninjaviking's review against another edition
3.0
Never have I read a book that turned out far better than I had hoped, yet I was still very disappointed in.