Review of The Crystilleries of Echoland
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Alexis Miller 16
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- Latest Review: The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid
Review of The Crystilleries of Echoland
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Crystilleries of Echoland" by Dew Pellucid.]
When two worlds believed to be separate collide, a young boy finds himself meeting old friends in different forms. They ask for his help, explaining that he’s the only one who can save their land, Echoland -- a cold, crystalline world with floating, watchful eyes. He is immediately reunited with someone he once thought was lost forever. Happy doesn’t even begin to describe his emotions; however, he doesn’t have time to celebrate. He’s reminded that his true identity needs to be concealed. He is there to help and to hide from the monstrous hunters, right under their noses. He quickly notices why Echoland is in trouble and becomes even more determined to help his newfound friends from the orphanage that took him in --Sounds and Echoes alike -- who all believe in Fortune and obey their newly crowned king. This 12-year-old boy is brave, kind, and curious, putting him on a path of mischief, mystery, and treasure in 11 days.
The author did a great job at creating the crystalline fantasy land. It keeps the magic alive in fantasy books when readers can use their imagination throughout the scenes. Although many characters were introduced, some were difficult to keep track of. However, their presence contributed to the book’s development and in their own ways, aided the children’s adventure. There was so much mystery from the start, it just reeled me in, and I had so many questions that I needed to know the answers to. I was so intrigued with how the magic worked in their world, it truly was like being transported into another land.
Despite how well the author described the scenery, there were times when I felt it was both too rushed and too descriptive. This made it hard to follow, as I lost momentum having to reread passages to connect scenes. At other times, the descriptions weren’t sufficient. You had to assume the characters' actions, which detracted from the story for me. Some of the characters reacted impulsively when the situation itself didn’t seem that urgent; in one scene an Echo gets on a Sound animal and the people around them are in a panic, but I couldn’t understand why and there was never an in-depth explanation. I also disliked some of the expressions that were used, they were just lost on me because of the lack of background of Echoland, I couldn’t tell if they were calling someone or cursing.
I give this a 4 out of 5. The ending was satisfying and a little unexpected but turned out better than I thought it would. It was very well written; I didn’t find any errors while reading. The writing style was one of my favorites: easy to follow, filled with mystery, yet never confusing or containing plot holes. The times when I had to reread passages, and needed more background on Echoland to understand some things brought the rating down.
I agree with others when they say that this book is similar to Harry Potter; there are some similarities, however, it is its own story and a great one at that. This book is written for middle school to high school readers, and I would recommend it to them, but if you need to re-up that magic gauge, I would recommend this book to you as well.
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The Crystilleries of Echoland
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
When two worlds believed to be separate collide, a young boy finds himself meeting old friends in different forms. They ask for his help, explaining that he’s the only one who can save their land, Echoland -- a cold, crystalline world with floating, watchful eyes. He is immediately reunited with someone he once thought was lost forever. Happy doesn’t even begin to describe his emotions; however, he doesn’t have time to celebrate. He’s reminded that his true identity needs to be concealed. He is there to help and to hide from the monstrous hunters, right under their noses. He quickly notices why Echoland is in trouble and becomes even more determined to help his newfound friends from the orphanage that took him in --Sounds and Echoes alike -- who all believe in Fortune and obey their newly crowned king. This 12-year-old boy is brave, kind, and curious, putting him on a path of mischief, mystery, and treasure in 11 days.
The author did a great job at creating the crystalline fantasy land. It keeps the magic alive in fantasy books when readers can use their imagination throughout the scenes. Although many characters were introduced, some were difficult to keep track of. However, their presence contributed to the book’s development and in their own ways, aided the children’s adventure. There was so much mystery from the start, it just reeled me in, and I had so many questions that I needed to know the answers to. I was so intrigued with how the magic worked in their world, it truly was like being transported into another land.
Despite how well the author described the scenery, there were times when I felt it was both too rushed and too descriptive. This made it hard to follow, as I lost momentum having to reread passages to connect scenes. At other times, the descriptions weren’t sufficient. You had to assume the characters' actions, which detracted from the story for me. Some of the characters reacted impulsively when the situation itself didn’t seem that urgent; in one scene an Echo gets on a Sound animal and the people around them are in a panic, but I couldn’t understand why and there was never an in-depth explanation. I also disliked some of the expressions that were used, they were just lost on me because of the lack of background of Echoland, I couldn’t tell if they were calling someone or cursing.
I give this a 4 out of 5. The ending was satisfying and a little unexpected but turned out better than I thought it would. It was very well written; I didn’t find any errors while reading. The writing style was one of my favorites: easy to follow, filled with mystery, yet never confusing or containing plot holes. The times when I had to reread passages, and needed more background on Echoland to understand some things brought the rating down.
I agree with others when they say that this book is similar to Harry Potter; there are some similarities, however, it is its own story and a great one at that. This book is written for middle school to high school readers, and I would recommend it to them, but if you need to re-up that magic gauge, I would recommend this book to you as well.
******
The Crystilleries of Echoland
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid
