Clockwork Angels
Clockwork Angels: The Novel is a collaboration between Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart and bestselling sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson. Based on the story of Rush’s latest concept album by the same name, Clockwork Angels is a steampunk sci-fi adventure centres around a young man’s quest to follow his dreams.
1. What can you tell our readers about your new book Clockwork Angels?
It’s a wonderful steampunk fantasy adventure of a young man coming of age in a fantastic world. If you’re a Rush fan, it expands on the story of their new album “Clockwork Angels,” and is a great music/fiction crossover. But you can read it as a standalone novel even without the music.
2. How did your collaboration come about?
It was a natural extension. We have known each other for more than two decades, and my writing has always been influenced by Rush’s music. As Neil was developing the story for the album, we talked about it, and expanded it. The story was so rich as told in the songs, and it deserved to be told in greater detail.
3. When did your interest in sci-fi begin?
When I was only five, I saw the film The War of the Worlds, and it blew me away. I was always an aficionado of SF comics, movies, and later books. I think I’ve always known that this was the genre I wanted to work in.
4. Your inspiration for the book came from Rush's latest concept album. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
Neil developed the story as he wrote the songs, and he talked with me about it when he already had most of the outline worked out. Many times, my own work has been intimately connected with the music running through my head, often the music of Rush. I can point to many of my novels, scenes, and stories that were inspired (in my own mind) by Rush’s music. This was the first time we ever directly did it – intentionally.
5. Who are your favourite reads?
My favorite sci-fi and fantasy writers were Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke. Dune has obviously had a tremendous influence over my writing career (I’m just finishing my 15th Dune novel in collaboration with Frank Herbert’s son, Brian).
6. The book had been compared to Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, so how does this make you feel as writers?
Really? I need to see those reviews! We wanted this to be a sparkling, sense-of-wonder adventure of a young man in an amazing world. We had Voltaire in mind as one of our inspirations, but by its very nature I think the story has a Dickensian quality. We hope the readers enjoy the journey.
7. How did you go about creating a world of steampunk and alchemy so vividly?
I certainly had the right music for inspiration! Neil and I had the story and the characters as a jumping-off point, and as we developed the story and the worldbuilding, we also received the artwork from Hugh Syme, which guided us in specific directions. Neil was the expert in alchemy, since he had done all the research, and I had been writing steampunk since 1989. We worked together to create the vivid world of Albion, and then turned Owen Hardy loose in it.
8. What is next for you?
I have another steampunk adventure out this month, The Martian War, which is about HG Wells going to Mars to prevent the War of the Worlds. And there’s also Death Warmed Over, the first book in my laugh-out-loud humorous horror series about Dan Shamble, Zombie PI.
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Clockwork Angels is available 11 October. Published by ECW Press; distributed in the UK by Turnaround.
Click here to buy Clockwork Angels by Kevin J Anderson
Female First Lucy Walton