Rockstar: Echoes by Zach Taylor
For readers who loved the ambition of Daisy Jones & The Six and the fire of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev.
A dead legend.
A stolen voice.
A war for the spotlight.
Lloyd Brannon was a rock icon.
When he dies, the industry doesn’t slow down—it looks for someone to replace him.
Kline Thomas never meant to sound like Lloyd. But when he sings, the world hears the same voice.
Now he’s being pulled into a machine that doesn’t care who he is—
only what he represents.
Rayne Harlow has spent her life fighting to be heard. As the frontwoman of the Painted Queens, she refuses to be overshadowed by a ghost or the industry built around him.
And journalist Clara Cowley knows exactly how this ends. Because she knows the truth about Lloyd’s death — and what it will cost the people chasing his legacy.
In a world where fame is manufactured and grief is weaponized, everyone is playing for something.
And someone is going to lose everything.
Some legacies are inherited.
Some are stolen.
Some are set on fire.
“Steeped in real music industry conundrums, creative artist motivations and challenges, and interpersonal complexities, Rockstar: Echoes creates a vivid story that transmits a ‘you are here’ feel to its audience. This is why libraries, musicians, and book clubs will want to place Rockstar: Echoes at the top of their lists of high-quality books that inspire, shock and awe, and capture the milieu of a generation’s musical dreams.”
— Midwest Book Review
"Zach Taylor’s “Rockstar: Echoes” isn’t your typical “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” romp. Instead, it’s a character-driven dive into the machinery of the music industry and the ghosts that haunt those who dare to step into the spotlight. Set against the starkly contrasted backdrops of high-gloss Los Angeles and the raw, rhythmic pulse of Kansas City, Taylor delivers a narrative that feels as authentic as a sweat-soaked basement show."
—Printed Word Reviews
“Legacy, grief, taking chances, and a bristling addition to the music genre, like Daisy Jones & The Six, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Girls in the Moon.”
— Reedsy Discovery
“The prose is confident and borderline experimental, the formatting is genuinely innovative, and the music references make it a love letter of sorts to rock. The characters you will grow to love, even with their flaws. Overall, a very accomplished debut novel from Zach Taylor.”
— Bookshelfie
In a world where art is currency and grief is leverage, fame is never free.