Review by Jyockel08 -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[Jyockel08]

[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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12 year old Will Cleary lives an almost grey existence. His father barely notices him, and his mother is wasting away while searching the frozen pond of their Alaska home for clues from a disappearance 10 years ago. Will and his twin sister, Emmy, were kidnapped and Will is the only one that returned. In fact, out of thousands of missing children that disappeared without a trace; no clues left behind, no witnesses, Will Cleary is the ONLY one to ever return. Will is special and because of this, he is plunged into a a world of Sounds and Echoes in a Kingdom ruled by evil and injustice in The Crystilleries of Echoland. Dew Pellucid weaves a mythical tale of Sounds and Echoes, "Imagine you're looking into a mirror...You see your reflection, but it's see-through. You are a sound. Your reflection is your Echo." So Will plunges into a frost covered, cold realm of Echoes to save his sister, help the Prince of Echoland and restore freedom and peace for the entire realm, sacrificing his own life along the way.

I was so immediately enthralled by this story and some of the elements that I liked the most were the creation of an entirely different world and concept of magic that I had never read about before. The imagery is stunning with its ice covered world, wild and forbidding forests, underwater entities, wild animals as pets and guides, and an orphanage guarded by eyes watching from crystal balls. All the while, Will is navigating this dangerous and unfamiliar territory, not knowing just whom he can actually trust along his journey. I liked that I had to guess right until the very end on just who was friend and who was actually a foe. The theme of friendship and loyalty really had me rooting for the characters and not just Will. The part I disliked the most was sometimes all the names and titles for this fantasy novel were hard to really follow, along with characters that were added and then not seen for awhile. But once I was able to sort through the Magicians, Fortune Tellers, Fate Sealers, Echoes and Sounds, it clicked and made much more sense. There were just times where some of the writing seemed to not be fully explained or transitioned well and tie into what we previously knew.

The stunning landscape and totally original story made this novel a 4 out of 4 stars for me. It reminded me a lot of Harry Potter and The Hobbit in the way it delves into a fantasy world with magic, but without actually copying those stories. I also found it edited professionally and it read smoothly for the most part that I would love to read a series based on this world and characters. I would recommend this book to Young Adult readers and any adult that likes a good magical novel. The story has friendship, loyalty, adventure for any fan of magical worlds. There was no foul language in this book and while some scenes could be tense and somewhat scary to readers, I do think ages 11 years old an up, would be better suited audience for this story.

Another aspect that I found that really tied this book together were the illustrations by Andy Simmons and Tal Boldo which were sometimes necessary to really grasp the concept of the place and creatures of the story. All of these things made me highly impressed with The Crystilleries of Echoland and I very much hope Dew Pellucid takes readers back there again one day.

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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[Kelyn]

I agree that the book has some scenes that are better left for older readers. I think my favorite thing about the entire book was the excellent world-building the author accomplished. I could literally 'see' Echoland in my mind's eye. Thanks for the detailed review!

[Jyockel08]

I agree! Thanks for stopping by:)