Review by Rmcgee -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[Rmcgee]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Crystilleries of Echoland is a young adult fantasy by Dew Pellucid. In this imaginative story there exists a fantastic world, just below us, where the inhabitants, Echos, are shadows of Sounds, the people above. Will Cleary travels to this mysterious realm in search of his long lost twin sister, Emmy. Once there, he becomes entangled in political intrigue, and with the help of a new friend, aides his Echo in saving the kingdom.

Years ago, Will and Emmy Cleary went missing. Will was found, but Emmy remained lost. Ten years pass and Will goes in search of her. Traveling through a magic portal, he ends up in Echoland where he is disguised and hidden away in an orphanage, filled with both Sound and Echo children. There, he and Emmy are reunited, though they cannot openly acknowledge one another for fear of his being discovered.

In Echoland, an Echo is born at the same time a Sound, a person in our world, is born. Thanks to a cruel law in Echoland, an Echo must die when his Sound dies. Will’s Echo, the prince, is in danger, and thanks to this law, so is Will. Together with Will’s friend, Peter, they must decipher a map and figure out how to clear the dead king’s name and free Echoland from a tyrant.

I thought this book was fun and I found the concept to be very creative. The short chapters made it easy to get sucked in. I kept telling myself: “Just one more chapter!” The vivid descriptions of the landscape, people, and items painted a mesmerizing picture of Echoland. The mystery of the king’s death provided just the right amount of suspense and was the perfect balance to Will’s various adventures.

What I liked the most was the characters. There were several major and supporting characters and Pellucid made them all unique. My favorite was Emmy. She played a small role, but she always came through when her brother needed help. I would’ve liked to have seen more of her. I also liked the unique world of Echoland. I’ve never come across another book that has transparent forests and fabrics made of snow and ice.

There were some things about this book that I didn’t like. The main one being the illustrations. They reminded me of CGI cartoons that I watched on Saturday mornings. I also found them sort of creepy to look at. Personally, I think the book would’ve been fine without the pictures. Pellucid included a ton of terminology specific to the realm of Echoland, and they quickly became a distraction. There were so many different terms, and they were used say too often. There was also a huge plot hole. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that it involved a major plot point. It was disappointing that it was never resolved.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. This book was engaging and I found no major grammar or punctuation errors. I deducted a star because the story was confusing at times due to the over abundance of description and terminology. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, adventure, mystery and YA fiction.

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I also reviewed this book, but I think your summary of the story is one of the best I've read.