Clockwork Angels: The Novel is the novelisation, by Kevin J. Anderson, of the story told by the concept album of the same name released by Rush. It tells the story of Owen Hardy and how he comes to leave is home in Barrel Arbor, visits Crown City, joins a travelling carnival, sails to another country, wanders a desert in search of a lost civilisation, has a close encounter with pirates and becomes entangled in the conflict between the Watchmaker and the Anarchist.
You might be forgiven for thinking that a novel based upon the lyrics of a rock drummer might fall a bit flat. However Neil Peart, the lyricist and drummer in question, is quite an accomplished teller of tales. True most of his tales concern his travels by bike and motorbike between and during concert tours but they are very engaging, well-written, enjoyable tales. So Neil Peart’s story idea originally told through his lyrics combined with Kevin J. Anderson’s sci-fi pedigree combine well here, producing something I think is quite special and rather enjoyable. Of course, this will remain novel that will primarily be bought and read by Rush fans but as a work of science fiction it is accessible to all.
If you do happen to pick up a copy, and you are a Rush fan, keep an eye out for phrases and lines culled from the lyrics found on other Rush albums. There are quite a few to be found as Kevin J. Anderson is a long time fan of the band and obviously knows their work well.
If you’re not a Rush fan, perhaps you should pick up a copy anyway as it’s suitable for young and old alike and is a pretty good read.
PS Rush are in the UK in May with dates in Manchester, London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Glasgow (more info) and I shall be keeping up my run of Rush shows by taking in the Glasgow SECC date.