Clockwork Angels by Kevin Anderson ***

Clockwork Angels is a novel based on the eponymous Rush album, both released in 2012. Collectively they both derive from the ever popular 18th century Candide by Voltaire about the wild adventures of a naive optimist. The author is the the prolific writer of other people's worlds and characters, such as Star Wars, Dune, DC Comics, and now Voltaire.

On the plus side this is an excellent steam-punk adaptation with much emphasis on steam engines and clockwork gears, but on the other side, Candide has been told over and over in the last 250 years, so don't expect many plot surprises. That said, Kevin J Anderson is an excellent writer, so the book is an enjoyable read.