Rush ‘Clockwork Angels’ Album To Be Novelized By Popular Sci-Fi Author

The forthcoming ‘Clockwork Angels’ release from Rush continues to grow in scope with the announcement that the album will be novelized by science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson.

Anderson is a longtime friend of Rush lyricist/drummer Neil Peart and writes that the pair have been seeking a way to collaborate on a “MAJOR” project for 20 years, a wish that is now fulfilled with the planned book.

In Anderson’s mind, the opportunity presented by the project is one that ranks very high and he says comparatively, “imagine if someone had written the novel of ‘The Wall,’ ‘Tommy,’ or ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ when those classic albums were released. For Rush fans, ‘Clockwork Angels’ is that project.”

[Thinking out loud here, we’d have to think that if Anderson’s book does well, it would open the door for a series of other Rush-related books. You could probably do something really cool with ‘2112,’ right?]

“I worked together with Neil to flesh out the epic story told over the course of the music, as well as the artist Hugh Syme whose paintings fill the CD booklet,” Anderson continues. “In a young man’s quest to follow his dreams, he is caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. He travels across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy, with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.”

He says that he’s working on the chapters now and “incorporating the lyrics into the narrative,” promising that additional details will follow.

RushIsABand traces the connection between Anderson’s previous work and the Canadian rock legends. A longtime Rush fan, it was Anderson’s 1988 novel ‘Resurrection’ that first caught Peart’s attention and it led to several collaborations between the two in the years that followed.

A poll from RushIsABand asks fans what they think about the novelization of ‘Clockwork Angels,’ and currently 36% of the votes that have been cast so far seem to think that it’s a good idea. You can add your voice to the mix by voting here.