Review by evraealtana -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[evraealtana]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Crystilleries of Echoland" by Dew Pellucid.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Crystilleries of Echoland (Dew Pellucid; Audible format, narrated by B. J. Harrison) is a young adult fantasy novel which centers around 12-year-old Will Cleary, who was abducted as an infant along with his twin sister and who later returned, alone, under mysterious circumstances. The novel follows Will as he searches for his long-lost twin and, in the process, enters the world of Echoland, a mirror realm in which contains an “Echo” copy of every person who has ever lived. These Echoes are physically identical to their “Sound” (real) copies, but live very different lives, some even finding themselves hunted by murderous wraiths for almost no reason at all.

The story itself is compelling, even for an adult audience, although it is written in a style simple enough for pre-teen and teenage readers. It centers around a line of royal succession and the mysterious death of the former king prior to his brother claiming his throne. Will is tasked to uncover centuries-old secrets and restore peace and order to the kingdom; if he fails to do so, he might never be able to return to his own home again.

The mood and tone of the novel are vaguely reminiscent of “Coraline”, in that the fantasy world that the protagonist discovers is a mirror of his own, improved from his in subtle ways but also deeply, viscerally wrong in the aspects that really matter. The “Fate Sealers”, the evil, Echo-hunting skeletons that feature prominently among the main antagonists, evoke the Dementors of Harry Potter and create the same visceral fear in the reader. As horror elements go, they are remarkably well done, frightening enough for teenagers but also sufficiently lacking in violence and gore to be read by children.

The narrator is clearly American, but for some inexplicable reason attempts to narrate in an English accent; there is no need for this, since the story is set partly in Alaska and partly in an Alaska-like fantasy world, and since not one of the characters is overtly described as being English. The accent is obviously forced and is quite distracting for the listener; I found myself listening for breaks in the accent (which were frequent) rather than for the actual story and ended up having to re-listen to large sections because I was too focused on the narrator the first time around to pay attention.

The author’s name, Dew Pellucid, is unabashedly a pen-name; what I hadn’t expected was that “Dew Pellucid” would also appear as a character in the story, and quite an important one at that. It was a nice touch that made the story feel more “real”.

It is difficult to evaluate errors in a text when the text has been translated into audio format; aside from a few, minor mispronunciations, no glaring mistakes were present. On the whole, the work felt well-edited and polished.

I would rate this book as a 3.5 if I could, docked a half-point for the peculiar narration, but since I can’t I will give it a 4 out of 4 for its fast-paced storyline and believable fantasy world, rare among its genre. Although I tend to prefer audiobooks, I believe I would have enjoyed this one even more in text form. It would most appeal to young adult readers who enjoy alternate or mirrored realities, such as those in “Coraline”, and in the Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, or Tunnels book series.

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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[Aan Granados]

I have not tried listening to an audiobook but I imagine not liking it. I would still like to read. This book is not my cup of tea though so I’m going to pass. Thanks for your review!