Beautiful City of the Dead

By Leander Watts

“Will keep readers turning pages deep into the night.”—The Bulletin “Poetic, wild language, as enigmatic and forceful as rock lyrics.”—Booklist 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.

Zee joins Relly’s band, and immediately their sound is unbelievable; it’s like silence screaming. As the band bonds together, inexplicable things start happening and Zee begins to learn her true role in the group. She finds she is the last piece in a tetrad that, once formed, gives the group supernatural powers—each teen in the group represents one of the four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. At their first gig, she realizes that music isn’t all there is to Scorpio Bone . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 10, 2007
• ISBN: 9780547562230

Leander Watts

Leander Watts is an author of adult nonfiction and a college English professor. His historical novels provide a welcome antidote to contemporary young adult fiction. He lives in the Genesee Valley in western New York, where he writes and teaches English literature.

Reviews for Beautiful City of the Dead

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked this book up off the shelf over a month ago at this point. When I finally started it I couldn't entirely remember why I picked it up , but I know that I am happy that I did. When Zee starts her new school she can't find anyone who looks interesting until she meets Relly. Relly has his own band and needs a bassist and he thinks Zee is the perfect fit. The four play ghost metal a sound so big you can hear the silence in it. Then Zee finds out that there is more to Relly, herself and their band than meets the eye.

The prose of this book was extremely lyrical and poetic. It just sounded gorgeous and I loved the different places that Zee went to come up with lyrics for the band. I just felt like the whole book had a gorgeous sound to it, which is always appropriate for a book about music.

I loved the twist in the book. I know it was unexpected but I thought that that was what made it work. This is one of the first paranormal books where a lot of explanation about what is going on why people have certain abilities was left out, but to be honest it didn't feel necessary. I didn't miss it the way I normally do. The book felt full all on it's own.

The music was enough for me. I really enjoyed it and honestly I am not entirely sure I can explain why.

[ronnyk112-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I read this because I took several classes from the author of this book (which is a pen name). I found it to have little plot development and I wish that the supernatural side of the story would have been explained more; I think it would have made it much more fun and enjoyable. This did not ruin my perception of the author however; I believe that someday I will read another one of his works to see if his style is any better.