Beautiful City of the Dead [Hardcover]

Leander Watts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2006

Relly’s band is called Scorpio Bone. Screaming guitars, crusher drums, and a singer who looks like a golden god. Along comes a girl named Zee, with a bass guitar, a notebook full of strange lyrics, and exactly the right attitude.

At the first practice, it all comes together. And Relly’s vision of a new kind of music, Ghost Metal, comes alive at last.

“Now that we’re together, the four of us, it’s gonna start. The big time. The biggest thing you ever saw,” Relly says. “When we get cranking, the four of us, we can cross over to the other side, the other world. It takes four and no more. It takes four to win the war.”

It sounds crazy, but Zee knows it’s the truth. And at their first gig, she realizes that music isn’t all there is to Scorpio Bone. They’re not just a band anymore. Together they are immortal.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

From the first page, when narrator Zee arrives at school with a temperature of 102 degrees, Watts' novel reads with the blurry intensity of a fever dream. Zee keeps a notebook of lyrics, and she plays bass on her own, so she is thrilled when gorgeous, brooding student Relly invites her to join his band. The four players create music Relly calls "ghost metal," and the grinding, eerie sound is so powerful that it seems to signal otherworldly forces. Gradually, Relly reveals to Zee what those forces are, and as Zee discovers powers she never knew, she finds herself at the center of a cosmic, dangerous battle. The vaguely defined fantasy of warring gods and bad guys demands more world building. Readers may overlook their unanswered questions about the characters and plot, though, as they are swept up by the poetic, wild language, as enigmatic and forceful as rock lyrics and as disorienting as ear-shattering music. Try this with teen heavy-metal fans as well as readers who liked Pete Hautman's Sweetblood (2003) and Holly Black's Tithe 2002). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"...The novel is well written and plotting and characterization keep the pages turning." KLIATT

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (July 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618594434
• ISBN-13: 978-0618594436
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,456,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Watts Relates to Teenagers in Latest Heavy Metal Thriller, November 9, 2006

By 

J. Reynolds (Clemson, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beautiful City of the Dead (Hardcover)

Zee, who narrates the novel as if she has just been shaken from a bad dream, is a shy girl who finds the lure of metal music irresistible. On her first day at her new school, Relly befriends and captivates her when he does something that no one has ever done before: he looks into her notebook of song lyrics. When Zee learns that Relly's band, Scorpio Bone, is looking for a bass player, she tries out. When they play together, it's like they have been playing together for years. Zee transforms into the missing piece that brings the band of soaring vocals, screaming lead guitar, and pounding drums together to craft an otherworldly sound that Relly calls "Ghost Metal." Fueled by Relly's vision and Zee's lyrics, Scorpio Bone connects with their audience and channels a supernatural power that makes them feel like rock gods. The school principal confiscates Zee's lyric notebook in an attempt to destroy Scorpio Bone. The band must get the notebook back and fight for their place in the world. This well-written book will capture the mind of any teenage musician or music lover. Watts successfully depicts the tumultuous world of the confused teenager, allowing readers to participate in the confusion. A change from Watts' works of historical fiction, the contemporary setting of this novel reaches out to teenagers in ways that many authors can only dream of because she explores issues that they take seriously: their right to privacy and the concept of challenging authority.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gods, Rebellion, and Rock and Roll, September 12, 2006

By 

Ciorraigh (California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beautiful City of the Dead (Hardcover)

It's rare I say this, but this is quite literally one of the best books I've read in a fairly long time. Carries a surreal quality as will be fancied by fans of Green Angel by Hoffman or the Weezie Bat books. This story totally rocked my socks.

To begin with, Zee, the main character, is just so incredibly relatable. Cute, quirky, but in that "cool" way, she's pretty unique in her love of metal music. But then toss in her new band, ancient magic, and the pricipal of the school trying to destroy them? It's incredible.

I admit it can be a tad cliche at times, particuarly at the end. No big surprises really, and the romance bit has been done a thousand times (though fortunately it was downplayed). The sheer brilliance and surrealism of this story totally makes up for the occational it causes you to wince at the typical-ness.

But this book is pure power.

4.0 out of 5 stars my daughter loved this book, that is worth 4 stars, October 23, 2007

By 

M. Schmidt (ny usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beautiful City of the Dead (Paperback)

All I really have to say is that my daughter loved this book, she read it for a class project. She enjoyed reading it and it made doing the project that much more involved because of her enjoyment. Definitely worth 4 stars.