No doubt about it that Kevin J. Anderson (and perhaps even Neil Pert) wrote this as the rated "G" version of Voltaire's "Candide." (If I remember correctly, Anderson even wrote in a Pangloss - Candide's first and only teacher.)
The ongoing quote and philosophy in Candide is: "...we live in the best of all possible worlds" while the ongoing quote and philosophy in Clockwork Angels is: "all is for the best."
The major difference is that Candide's philosophy was based on G_d and in Clockwork Angels G_d is replaced by the Watchmaker. Well, some will argue that if you have G_d you ought to have a devil and in Clockwork Angels that is the Anarchist.
Nonetheless...onto the book itself: We follow Owen Hardy a boy going from 16 to 17 starting in a sleepy little town where everyone is happily controlled by the Watchmaker. Because the boy has an imagination and sense of adventure he asks his childhood sweetheart for a spontaneous kiss at midnight. (Spontaneity is frowned upon in this society.) When she doesn't show up he stows away on a steamliner to Crown City to see the Clockwork Angels. From here we see that he becomes an unwilling pawn for both the Watchmaker and Anarchist.
In the meantime, Owen will learn and grow from his adventures or misadventures dependent on the way you look at it. He will work on a dock, join a carnival, travel to distant and vivid lands, learn how to drive an airship, and even solve the mystery of Cibola - the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. On the way back home to Albion, he learns that he was a pawn for both the Anarchist and Watchmaker, but with some good luck manages to escape both fates and live a good life. Ultimately, he is decides to write down his story for another imaginative individual to read and inspire.
The ongoing quote and philosophy in Candide is: "...we live in the best of all possible worlds" while the ongoing quote and philosophy in Clockwork Angels is: "all is for the best."
The major difference is that Candide's philosophy was based on G_d and in Clockwork Angels G_d is replaced by the Watchmaker. Well, some will argue that if you have G_d you ought to have a devil and in Clockwork Angels that is the Anarchist.
Nonetheless...onto the book itself: We follow Owen Hardy a boy going from 16 to 17 starting in a sleepy little town where everyone is happily controlled by the Watchmaker. Because the boy has an imagination and sense of adventure he asks his childhood sweetheart for a spontaneous kiss at midnight. (Spontaneity is frowned upon in this society.) When she doesn't show up he stows away on a steamliner to Crown City to see the Clockwork Angels. From here we see that he becomes an unwilling pawn for both the Watchmaker and Anarchist.
In the meantime, Owen will learn and grow from his adventures or misadventures dependent on the way you look at it. He will work on a dock, join a carnival, travel to distant and vivid lands, learn how to drive an airship, and even solve the mystery of Cibola - the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. On the way back home to Albion, he learns that he was a pawn for both the Anarchist and Watchmaker, but with some good luck manages to escape both fates and live a good life. Ultimately, he is decides to write down his story for another imaginative individual to read and inspire.
