Clockwork Angels

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.