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A review by seanwpace
Clockwork Angels by Neil Peart, Kevin J. Anderson
adventurous
fast-paced
3.5
3.5/5.0
The primary purpose of this novel is to flesh out and tell the narrative story of the Clockwork Angels album, and to that end, it's pretty great. It fills in the gaps, gives you scenes to imagine while you listen to the album, and shows how the more far-flung lyrics of "Seven Cities of Gold" and "The Wreckers" tie in with everything else.
If you were to take away the tie-in with the album and judge this book on its own as a novel, it's only okay. The core plot is a very generic coming-of-age story. The protagonist runs away from home and joins a circus,and one of the overall themes is literally "the real treasure is the friends you make and the lessons you learn along the way." But some of that is by design as Neil Peart admits in the afterword that he pulled very heavily from Voltaire's Candide for inspiration. It's also worth mentioning that there are a lot of references to Rush songs and lyrics, even those outside of Clockwork Angels. And, while they're fun, they can be a little distracting, especially when some of the dialogue is pulled straight from a song.
Also, while the protagonist gets a happy ending, I found the ultimate conclusion of the story a little disappointing. Which, after reading Geddy Lee's memoir, it seems like a glimpse into Peart's personal philosophy and hopes for his own life. And I do have thoughts about that, but this is a book review, not a critique of a dead musician's beliefs.
However, despite its shortcomings, I did like the worldbuilding very much. The exploration of the characters of the Watchmaker and the Anarchist was very interesting and creates potential for discussion and commentary that's far deeper than where the book actually landed. I am very interested in reading more stories within this world outside of the bounds of the album's narrative, so I will definitely be reading the other books in the series.
The primary purpose of this novel is to flesh out and tell the narrative story of the Clockwork Angels album, and to that end, it's pretty great. It fills in the gaps, gives you scenes to imagine while you listen to the album, and shows how the more far-flung lyrics of "Seven Cities of Gold" and "The Wreckers" tie in with everything else.
If you were to take away the tie-in with the album and judge this book on its own as a novel, it's only okay. The core plot is a very generic coming-of-age story. The protagonist runs away from home and joins a circus,
Also, while the protagonist gets a happy ending, I found the ultimate conclusion of the story a little disappointing. Which, after reading Geddy Lee's memoir, it seems like a glimpse into Peart's personal philosophy and hopes for his own life. And I do have thoughts about that, but this is a book review, not a critique of a dead musician's beliefs.
However, despite its shortcomings, I did like the worldbuilding very much. The exploration of the characters of the Watchmaker and the Anarchist was very interesting and creates potential for discussion and commentary that's far deeper than where the book actually landed. I am very interested in reading more stories within this world outside of the bounds of the album's narrative, so I will definitely be reading the other books in the series.