Review by Daisy May -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[Daisy May]

[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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In The Crystilleries of Echoland, by Dew Pellucid, young Will Cleary, his twin sister Emmy, and a thousand other children disappear one night without a trace. Only Will returns, escorted by a falcon and a wolf who never leave his side for the next 10 years. When Will is almost 13 years old, he learns that people in his world are called Sounds and for every Sound, there is an Echo that exists in Echoland. Fortune Tellers, Fate Sealers and an evil king rule Echoland and reinstate a law that an Echo should be executed when their Sound dies. The prince of Echoland needs Will’s help to save his kingdom, but will his help be enough?

I listened to the audiobook, which was read by B.J. Harrison. Harrison’s narration was soothing to listen to, and he used distinct voices for each character. While he narrated in a British accent, many of the characters had other accents and different pitches and speeds that they spoke at, so the dialogue was easy to follow and enjoyable to listen to. I felt like I was listening to a play and not just a book being read.

This book was very original. The story was easy to follow and had lots of good twists and turns to keep the reader guessing what would happen next. I loved the idea of Sounds and Echoes and the balance of the two worlds. The author’s descriptions of Echoland took me to a wonderfully detailed world of ice and partially visible people.

Overall, I liked the story and all the characters, but I would have loved to hear more about the animals. Each castaway at the orphanage in Echoland gets to choose an animal as a pet, and Will chooses a wild wolf. Will and the wolf have an instant connection. The wolf is part of the tale, but I was hoping they would be more of a team, almost like the animals and children in The Golden Compass. Will’s friend Peter has a dog, and I loved their friendship. I would have liked to see more teamwork between Will and his wolf.

I give The Crystilleries of Echoland 4 out of 4 stars. It was a great young adult fantasy novel that I would recommend to teenage fantasy readers and adults who love a good young adult book. There were parts of the plot that were a little dark and some creepy evil characters, so this might not be the best book for a younger audience.

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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