Review by Nuel Ukah -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[Nuel Ukah]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid presents the journey of a young lad, William Cleary, through a strange land called Echoland. Will and his twin sister, Emmy, mysteriously disappeared when Will was 2 years old. 10 years later, Will returns with two pets, Deá and Damian (a wolf and a falcon) who happened to be Echoes. Then Will’s journey to finding his twin sister begins. Will he find Emmy? How is he going to accomplish this task? What will he encounter in this quest?

The book has 367 pages containing the actual story, and they are divided into 63 chapters. Each chapter is brief, and each page is quite interesting. The audio version, which has a timeframe of 7 hours and 55 minutes, was narrated by B. J. Harrison.

The concept of this book is amazing, and the story is quite relatable. The Sound and Echo realms are like the physical and spiritual realms. Whatever happens in the spiritual realm would happen in the physical realm, and actions in the physical realm also strike chords in the spiritual realm. Likewise, decisions and actions in either the Sound or Echo realm impacts on the other. So, The Crystilleries of Echoland gives us a clearer understanding of life on the Earth realm, even though it’s a fictional book.

Will meets Mr. Drinkwater who reveals some mysteries about Echoland to him. Will finds out that he is the Sound of the prince of Echoland, and his uncle (the false king) seeks to kill the prince and his Sound. It’s no longer about William and his missing sister. It’s deeper than that. Will William and his Echo-prince survive this battle?

What I like most about this book are the unique terms and concepts the author used, such as Fate Sealers, Fortis Fortuna, Royal Shekel, Very Important Sound (VIS), etc. They added color and life to the book. What I like least is Jeremy’s narration of how a Fate Sealer is created...

First, a kidnapping, a newborn Echo is snatched from his cradle. Poof and he’s gone... Next, his training in Shadowpain begins, horrors you couldn’t possibly imagine. Imagine that baby stretched on a torture rack. He becomes taller, flatter, longer than any normal kid. His skin starts to sag. By his tenth birthday, he turns gray… like the covers on the books, see? Sixteenth birthday? His hair is long gone. Sometime later, his fingernails drop off, his teeth rot, his eyes sink into his skull... Then there’s the sound of his voice... After years of screaming, the boy’s vocal cords are scarred forever. Every Fate Sealer sounds a little different, but they all sound the same... What happens to the boy’s mind is much more interesting... He starts to think that torture is comical—if it happens to someone else. Fear is funny, crying is funny, humiliation is…hilarious—in other people.

This made me feel sympathetic towards the Fate Sealers. I must commend the author for the exceptional creativity of this book. This book is a product of deep thoughts and hard work.

The book was professionally edited as there were no errors. Also, the worlds were perfectly created. The actions and events were slow-paced. The author’s writing style was quite descriptive, enhancing the readers’ imagination and keeping them engaged. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

The Crystilleries of Echoland would make a very good movie. I recommend this book to lovers of this genre and curious-minded readers who are intrigued by outside-the-box books.

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