Rating: 
Summary: A true travelogue
Review: I remember hearing - almost twenty years ago - that Peart was working on a book about his treks across Africa and was excited at the prospect of reading actual PROSE from the man. Years later, I came upon his second book, "Ghost Rider" and read it first. I followed that up with his third book, "Travelling Music" and only then did I make my way back to "The Masked Rider."
Of the three, "Masked" is the truest travelogue. Peart lays out his experiences bicycling through West Africa with all-too-human honesty. Throughout the book, Peart describes the shared experience (having travelled with a group), all the petty torments between people, the culture shocks, the trials - both physical and emotional, and the joys of seeing parts of the world alien to those of us in the "Far West." His sense of wonder at his surroundings reveal the almost naive nature of a schoolboy on a field trip and introduces the reader (sure to be a RUSH fan) to the more sensitive side of this enigmatic man so many consider a cult genius.
This book begins the "Travel Trilogy" properly and sets in motion an interesting progression. Here, Peart is on a bicycle. "Ghost Rider" finds him on a motorcycle. In "Travelling Music" he is in a car. Also - perhaps through no accident - in "Masked" Peart's focus seems to be honed in on the external experience with some internal soul-searching and self-examination. In his later books, Peart moves farther toward the opposite end of the spectrum - a practice somewhat ironic considering the man is such an anti-celebrity.
This is a book for the lover of travel, not for the diehard Rush fan. To open this book as a way of connecting to the band would do a disservice to its author, who clearly has a voice of his own beyond the realm of the concert hall and recording studio. Nonetheless, Rush fans are sure to love the insight and many will (and have already) post reviews with titles lifted from Rush songs and praise for the descriptive and honest text. Well, it IS good. It's really good.
Of the three books so far, my personal favorite is "Ghost Rider." "Masked" is very informative and entertaining, but "Ghost" is just powerful. Still, you can't go wrong with this book. And I'm discovering that all three books, read in succession, are an amazing story together.
Rating: 
Summary: Neil Peart's first book is an excellent ride!
Review: I bought this book way back on the Test For Echo tour. I openly admit I bought it first and foremost because it was a book that Neil wrote. He could have written a book about standing on a street corner whistling dixie tunes in the rain and I would have bought it, mainly because I am a fan of Rush and of Neil's lyric sense.
However, I was only about 30 pages in when I realized that this is a very good piece of work from a man who can do more than simply turn a phrase with song lyrics.
This book is more about Africa and it's culture differences than it is about the in's and out's of cycling. The way the book is presented, you actually feel like your riding along there with him, feeling the same joy when they find fresh water (or the many orange sodas they drink) as well as the horror of some of the living conditions of some of the places they pass through on what has been called the hardest bike tour Africa has to offer.
I myself like to mountain bike ride, be it on trails or on paved roads. It's something I like to do. This book made me think I might want to try some sort of bike tour if I had the means. It also made me realize that if I did, it would not be in Africa on this same or similar tour. It had it's fair share of up's and down's.
The human element is also quite interesting. From David (the tour guide) who is a lot like Peart in many ways that they sometimes clash a little, to Annie, who is good hearted but also thoughless at times without knowing it, to Leonard, who Neil seems to warm up to the most, and to Elsa, who if she didn't complain about something, she wouldn't know what to do with herself.
I found the entire book to be quite a page turner. I especially liked the heated debate the 5 travellers get into at dinner at one of the towns they stopped in. Neil describes being "shell shocked" at some of the comments from the group who are clearly commenting without full reserch on the subjects they are commenting on. It does show that Neil does know a lot about world events and other cultures. His comment later in the book about a "Bad Mood" and how it is not to be shared (and why) was very interesting...and I believe totally true.
Other reviewers have commented on how abrubtly the book ends, with no total resolution to the various events(among the group of 5) that preceeded it. I disagree, as Neil points out near the end that unlike other bike tours he has done, no one from this group was someone he considered a friend. Not that there was no respect there, but that it was over and let's all go our seperate ways. It seemed to me that there was no other way to end it other than the way it happened. Anything else might have seemed forced.
The mention of wife Jackie and daughter Selena a few times seems bittersweet now, knowing the tragedy that has come to pass, but this is still a good read and is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great book minor complaint
Review: I read The Masked Rider after Ghost Rider. That was one of the reasons why I read this one as he caught my interest by the great details of every point on his trip. Masked Rider was the same. He must have kept a great journal to be able to detail every point and feeling on his ride. A lot of the book was soul searching for him as well as trying to figure out his ride companions. It was a book that couldn't be put down as I ride bikes too and could envision everything he was talking about. I would give the book 5 stars if it was not for my next point.
As we all know Rush have been around for 30 years now and have sold millions of albums. I too, am one of their biggest fans. However, I could not get over the fact of how cheap Peart is!! From the fact that he turned his back on the woman on the train who was robbed, to standing back and watching vendors at the market so he could see what a fair price for merchandise was going for, or taking advantage of a kid to get his bike washed for $1.00, to living in the poorest conditions at hotels so the tour guide Dave wouldn't stretch his budget. I realize the tour was paid for in advance by each member, but could he not kick in a few bucks to make this an enjoyable ride, even if they were going to experience the whole thing, hardships and all? Also I don't think he ever let anyone in his group know who he "was". And did they pick up his book years later only to find it was them he was tearing apart? I'm sorry, but I found the same thing running in Ghost Rider. This did not keep me from reading an otherwise excellent book. Maybe the next trip he goes on he should not only dig down deep to soul search, but maybe dig down deeper in his pockets too!!
Rating:
Summary: It's the Peart that makes it good!
Review: I've never read a travelogue before, and doubt I will again. Nevertheless, I had to buy Neil Peart's book, since it was Neil Peart, after all.What makes this a good read is not the "story" itself; the events are mundane despite being transplanted to Africa. The characters involved are interesting, but not fascinating. Rather, it is Peart's style and his unique perspective that bring the same value to this work that his lyrics bring to Rush's music. I attest that you could take Neil Peart and sit him down in a Barber shop for six hours, tell him to write it up, and you would have a fascinating new book to sell. There are a couple of standout moments, however. I agree with other reviewers that his description of meeting his wife in Paris is moving, and he conveys the emotional weight of the moment (even a priori if you don't know much about his recent tragedies). The whole scene reminds me of John Barth's TKTTTITT (which I won't spoil for you - go read The Tidewater Tales!). The genius in Peart is that he conveys, with a fairly minor story of taking a bike ride in Africa, the deep-seated impact of experience-as-reward, the point-of-the-journey-is-the-journey, and simultaneously validates Victor Hugo's statement "the answer of he who knows everything is the same as the answer of he who knows nothing: because." The second moment of impact that I will cite is his near-transcendance at the African convent. It saddens me to no end to reflect on this moment and on Peart's ultimate rejection. Overall, a satisfying book from an eloquent and prolific mind. A book with much more depth than you might at first realize.
Rating:
Summary: Pre "Ghost Rider"
Review: I actually read Masked Rider AFTER I read Neil's second book, "Ghost Rider." I found Masked Rider to be particularly entertaining. As a Neil fanatic, I found a lot of his little ancedotes and day to day activities on his journey to be very insightful, amusing and colorful. Neil will surprise you and entertain you even if you aren't a Rush fan.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating travelogue with interesting insights
Review: As a longtime Rush fan, musician, writer, traveler and fledgling cyclist, I was interested in reading Neal Peart's first published novel. The transition from lyricist to prose writer can be difficult, but Peart does an excellent job. Before reading the book, I already had respect for the man, a rock and roll drummer, for going on a cycling tour in eastern Africa. I would respect anyone for undertaking such a trip, and after reading the book, I respect him even more. Peart's language is conversational throughout most of the book, as if he's relating the events over a drink at a pub. Many of his insights probed much deeper when he explored the culture of the people of Africa in general and Cameroon in particular, offering comparisons to a previous journey he had made to west Africa. We see the landscape through the writer's eyes as he cycles up hills and navigates dirt roads, rocks, gun-toting guards at checkpoints and the sometimes rewarding vantage points. Each village or stopping point is described and I felt as if I was part of the journey. In addition to the daily travels, we get Mr. Peart's reactions and thoughts to people that he encountered on his travels. He does not try to gloss over personalities with stereotypes, but tries to present things as they are. Yes, the country and continent has been exploited, but there is a strong victim mentality and Peart points out that Africans themselves participated in the slave trade. All the problems of Africa did not originate from outside the country. Yet there are also great moments of kindness experienced. The woman who says "you are welcome," the smiles from young children, or the family sharing its simple food with their guests. I found the visits to the various missions particularly interesting, and the affect upon the writer of the nuns singing vespers is moving. Mr. Peart also writes about his relationships with the other four members of his group. David is their guide from Seattle, struggling to keep a good face while helping the slowest member of the group. Elsa, a sixty-year old woman with facile new age sensibilities and a sour disposition, is the cancer of the group, constantly falling behind and complaining about everything. Leonard is the stalwart Viet Nam veteran who remains an anchor throughout the book. Annie is a twenty-something needy type who has a "good heart" but is not very thoughtful or considerate. There were several clashes amongst these personalities, and I appreciated Mr. Peart's knowledge of his own shortcomings and self-analysis. I would have liked to have seen a little more reaction of the other's toward him, but that is sometimes hard to capture or catalog unless one has a confidante within a group. The author did not have this, and the book ends with some loose ends among the different riders, or maybe they were just ready to get away from each other. Perhaps the most powerful thing about the book is the strong emotional arc experienced by the author, probably unexpected when he set out on his journey. He begins with idealism intact, but after bouts of dysentary, an encounter with a drunken soldier armed with a gun, and an offical that tries to make off with his (and David's) passport, he truly undergoes some changes. There is a shift in attitude, but also a new appreciation of things taken for granted in developed countries. By the penultimate chapter, I felt just as tired and sweaty, bruised and bloody, bitten and beaten and just plain exhausted as the writer. The final chapter, his arrival in Paris to see his wife and get back to civilization, strikes quite a contract with his previous experience. If I had to make a criticism, it would be that some parts were kind of soap box preachy, although I tended to agree with many of his views. I'm looking forward to reading his next book, "Ghost Rider."
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