| Title | : | Hard Rock (Horror High, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0061060623 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780061060625 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 156 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 1991 |
Hard Rock (Horror High, #5) Reviews
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Go for the rock concert, stay for the gnarly kills 😱😱💀💀 MILD SPOILERS COMING YOUR WAY...
Yessss this one delivered in terms of chills and (blood) spills!! Our protag Cathy is a sound technician who starts a band with Larry, her hot, douchey drummer boyfriend. After gathering a rag tag team of musicians via the good ol' Classifieds section of the school paper, they hone their sound of metal, rock and reggae....Hmmm, maybe a Bad Brains inspired band? 🙌 OH and their name is an amalgamation of some of their last names....HEART OF STEEL 🤘
But after douchey drummer boyfriend runs off with trampy neighbor Margot who can "give him what he wants" (LMAOOO) and starts blowing off band practice, everyone votes to boot him out of the band and find a new drummer. Except the new drummer dies in a gross freak "accident"...as does the new drummer after that 💀💀
By now, Heart of Steel are infamous throughout town and people are clamoring to see them at the big Battle of the Bands show...sooo will everything go off without a hitch at this gig, now that reformed douchebag Larry is back on drums? Or will there be another grody death on stage 😱
My random observations and notes:
-My copy of this book came with a handy dandy cheat sheet written by the original owner, listing all the characters and who dies 😂😂😂 Total spoilers, but a very helpful reference 💀💀💀
- The "voice" of these teens in 1991 is pretty freaking hilarious, which means they run around and say shit like "Yo, Cat! What's doin'?" and "When this is over, it's you and me on the bus to Fist City!" and my favorite, "It's Milli and Vanilli, the gorgons of Cresswell High!"
-The deaths are gnarly and shocking. My favorite is via 220 volts of electric death....HOW UTTERLY ROCK N ROLL 🤘 The "gagging stench of cooked flesh"??! BARF-O-RAMA!! 🤮🤮
- I am usually a dumdum when it comes to figuring out Who Done It...but I guessed correctly this time, I am very proud of myself 😂😂
- This was my 2nd favorite Horror High read thus far...nothing is gonna top the OTT gross-out deaths of Horror High #2 Resolved: You're Dead. Read that one if you haven't already, just maybe not on a full stomach 🤮💀
4 out of 5 bone-crunching, blood-gushing, skin-bubbling, gnar-tastic deaths for Heart of Steel to deal with. Don't worry you guys...after all, it's only rock n roll (and I like it) 🤘💀 -
Cathy's dream of having her own band is finally coming together. That is until her boyfriend, Larry the drummer, dumps her for her neighbor.
Ater finding a new drummer, a string of deadly accidents plague the group. As their popularity skyrockets, they must decide if the band is worth risking their lives for.
I liked this one and the killer did manage to stay a mystery until the end for me. I also liked the teen band and deadly accident plot.
This was one of the better ones in the series so far. -
Okay.
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It's well known that horror and rock-n-roll go hand in hand with each other. There are different facets but classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal: they've always embraced that darkness. Some times, it truly is tragic and gruesome but this work of fiction is just that.
Cathy Malone has always loved music, the hard and heavy kind, but being behind the scenes is where she really wants to have a career. Her boyfriend Larry Hart is pretty good on the drums and if they can get a band together, she knows they can go places.
Putting an ad in the school paper, Jack Akers sees a chance to get close to Cathy since he's a pretty good bass player and Darren Quick, school nerd is ready to shed that image and become a rocker...he can always learn thanks to piano lessons by trading those keys for electric ones.
Todd Steele is a pretty good guitarist and his girlfriend, Wendy Coles, can sing and she has that blonde rock star look down so they audition for the band. They all seem a perfect fit until Larry starts to get a little too cocky, flirting with Wendy in front of Todd and showing interest in Cathy's younger neighbor, wannabe rock star and glammed up groupie, Margo Reardon.
Showing up late for practices and acting like a jerk soon gets Larry kicked out of the band and replaced with Paul Stark. The parting of ways is not amicable and to rub it in his face, they choose the name Heart of Steel for the band he and Cathy started for their first gig.
This lover's spat soon pulls the other band members into Larry and Cathy's war to get revenge on the other but things get out of hand real quick. The phrase "rock till you drop" takes on a more deadly meaning and one by one...people are dying to be a part of Heart of Steel.
Everyone's suspect to be behind the deaths we get delivered and that includes Cathy (in story) but it's quite clear that she's not but all of the other characters have motive. We get some good red herrings but it's very obvious if you pay attention who is responsible.
I couldn't keep myself from having a black comedy moment at a certain death in the book which made me cringe and laugh at the same time but again pop culture is to blame (being vague for spoiler sakes but you all know what I mean right for those who've read this one or am I just very old?)
Out of Heartbreaker and Hard Rock (the only two Horror High books I have red so far) I still like Heartbreaker the best but this was still a good read...I'd recommend it if you can get your hands on it. -
Why I love this goofy series:
- It doesn’t take itself too seriously
- It always has a cast of annoying teens who don’t talk like teens (these characters had, like…a smarmy 70s vibe going on)
- It always manages to surprise you righttt around the halfway mark. Right when you think nothing is ever going to happen you’re treated to multiple deaths in rapid succession. Pretty gross ones too.
Great outfit descriptions in this one. I also loved that this rock reggae band of self-centered misfits were very intent on pursuing their dream even though, you know, their members kept DYING and they had to keep attending funerals in between shows (what a downer). I mean, they absolutely killed it at that middle school dance and have been asked to play more school dances!! Give the people what they want. -
Well this book is about a band and how they struggle countless times because of a relationship going on in the band. Jealousy makes someone in the band want to kill. Many members are killed, but the person you expect isn't really the person that did it.
This book is so surprising, it has irony, someone that you never expected kills the drummers and it's someone that no one even thought. Larry and Cathy know they love each other no matter what happened in the band, and Cathy should forgive Larry! -
I've read this book quite a few times as I was growing up and every time I read it I enjoy it.
Although I love the book the one minor quibble is that the summary on the back of the book is somewhat different from the actual story inside. Where the back of the book says Cathy vows revenge she really doesn't. The most she really does, if I remember correctly, is try to show him that what he does doesn't matter a whole lot to her anymore.
I was really surprised at who the killer turned out to be, it was someone who wasn't on my radar much if at all. -
Bad, and I mean really.
