Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Kevin J. Anderson, Neil Peart
Artist: Nick Robles
Release Date: 19th March 2014

To start off with… WOW! Robles’ illustrations on this are nothing short of spectacular, managing to encapsulate perfectly the writing of Anderson and the feel that Peart gives to all of his works. The use of sepia tones to indicate present time is a nice touch as well, what with the story being mostly told in flashbacks, and gives the whole thing an almost ‘Wizard of Oz’ feel to it. Everything is so beautifully sculpted that a world is created that manages to be both Victorian Steampunk and Sci-Fi Opera.

To give a bit of background knowledge, Clockwork Angels started life as an album by the band Rush, of which Neil Peart is the Drummer/Lyricist. From there, Anderson created a novel, which created this Steampunk world ruled by a totalitarian ruler called Watchmaker who runs everything down to the last tiny detail with precision. The story follows a young man/boy who doesn’t want to be constrained by such tight controls anymore and wishes to travel, see the world and not have his life governed by an outside source.

The tone and feel of both the book and album are perfectly recreated here and there is an 80’s prog feel to the design of the story that is reminiscent of Rush’s other concept albums.

I honestly can’t recommend this book enough, I was hooked within the first few pages and the art is beautiful. if you’re a fan of Rush’s music or Anderson’s writing then you need this book in your life. If you enjoyed the book but don’t know Rush, then I highly recommend listening to the album of the same name to give you a different perspective of the story!

Rating: 5/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Chris Bennett
Article: And Now For Something Completely Different
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