4 out of 4 stars
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The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid is an entertaining fantasy novel written for young adults. Though I am far from a young adult, I enjoyed listening to this audio book profusely. Tension, pain, adventure, royalty, and so much more packed into this book that I can scarcely remember it all.
What would you do if you learned that there was another land where the people are echoes of living humans called “Sounds?” In this fantasy that is what a listener will find. The Echoes live in Echoland and each “Sound” has an identical Echo in this fantasy world. Dastardly folks in Echoland want to harm Echoes by killing their Sounds. Will Cleary is one of these “Sounds” and his Echo is Prince William Cleary in Echoland. A high-ranking Echo, who is seeking the throne for his own, has murdered the true King of Echoland. Prince William can take his place if he can prove the usurper had him killed. Will and William and a myriad of other Echoes and sounds, one of which is a combination of Sound and Echo, work together to try to bring peace to the land and to do away with the awful Fate Sealers and Fortune Tellers so that the Echoes can find harmony in their land.
The narrator of this audio book, B.J. Harrison, does an incredible job telling the story. He utilizes countless voices to distinguish the characters and this makes it easy to understand. To be frank, the Fate Sealer voices are so creepy that I actually got a chill up my spine the first time Harrison spoke for them.
I cannot find one thing that was wrong with the narration, nor with the story itself. The author built a world full of imagination and mystery. I have found no other fantasy novel geared toward young adults that compares to this one. I would list this story among the greats, alongside Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia.
Thus, I award this audio version of the novel a perfect 4 out of 4 stars. I think that anyone who loves the fantasy genre will find something to love about this novel. I recommend it to teens as some action could be a bit scary for a younger child, in particular, those who are sensitive to violence and the mistreatment of animals. Adults who are young at heart and loves a grand adventure will also enjoy this novel.
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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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