Review by Washboard -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[Washboard]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Will Cleary, a twelve-year-old boy living with his parents in Alaska, has had a hard life ever since he and his twin sister Emmy mysteriously disappeared ten years ago. Will was found a week later, accompanied by two strange companions- a wolf and a falcon. No trace of Emmy was ever found, despite the daily search efforts of her parents and brother. As the tenth anniversary of his disappearance approaches, Will and his parents are attacked by Fate Sealers, terrifying beings from a place called Echoland. Will starts to learn about the circumstances of his disappearance and the Fate Sealers while his pets, Chemistry teacher, and other unexpected allies try to protect him from a danger he doesn’t fully understand.

The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid is an exciting fantasy tale set in a magical parallel world called Echoland. The residents of Echoland live deep beneath the Earth's surface and are the near-mirror images, or Echos, of the people living on the surface, known as Sounds. Will is smuggled into Echoland to escape the Fate Sealers and discovers the truth about what happened to his sister. As Will tries to stay out of harm’s way, it is revealed to him that he has a part to play in determining the next ruler of Echoland. Can Will remain hidden from his enemies while helping free the Echos from tyranny? Who can Will and his friends trust along the way?

The author, Dew Pellucid, creates an elaborate magical world, filled with a variety of colorful characters. I am excited to have an opportunity to re-listen to the book, as I am sure I did not fully appreciate the significance of all the details. The only thing I disliked about the story was many characters were given a significant introduction, only to have a small role in the overall story. It made it difficult to keep track of the details of each character, especially without having a written copy of the book for reference.

The audiobook version of this tale, voiced by B.J. Harrison, was exciting and did an excellent job showcasing the clever writing. Listening to this book made even the most tedious tasks enjoyable, and I was very successful at completing chores I had been putting off for a long time. I was surprised at how much faster my commute seemed to be too. I admit to being genuinely sad when the story was over, although the ending was satisfying.

As I was enjoying the audiobook version of this story, I was not able to evaluate it for written grammatical errors. However, I can say that I did not notice any inconsistencies or strange wording while listening. The writing style was humorous, family-friendly throughout, and a joy to listen to. I gladly award this book a 4 out of 4-star rating. I think this story will appeal to fantasy fans of all ages, except for young children due to some violence. I hope Pellucid is interested in writing a sequel because I certainly want to hear more stories from Echoland!

******
The Crystilleries of Echoland
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Erin Painter Baker]

Listening to this book also made my commute seem so much shorter. I loved the short chapter lengths for that, in that I was always able to stop listening at the end of a chapter.

[Washboard]

Listening to this book also made my commute seem so much shorter. I loved the short chapter lengths for that, in that I was always able to stop listening at the end of a chapter.

For sure! The short chapters made it super easy to stop at a chapter end, but I found that it was also easy for me to say "I'll listen to just one more chapter..." when I was supposed to be doing something else.