Review by ab2020 -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[ab2020]

[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 first thing I noticed when I opened The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid was the beautiful illustration that precedes the first chapter. It is a haunting full-color illustration of a young boy reading a book, his expression worried but bold. Such illustrations open each of the sixty-three chapters of The Crystilleries of Echoland, a fantasy novel for children and tweens. They add to the book’s unique premise and bolster a story that is already compelling and absorbing.

The protagonist of The Crystilleries of Echoland is a boy by the name of Will Cleary. One day, he and his twin sister, Emmy, disappear from the known world. Though he returns after a week, Emmy is still missing, and he is determined to find her. Thus begins his exploration of Echoland, a world that lies beneath our own, and the beings that live there, known as Echoes. As it turns out, every human has an invisible double called an Echo; to the Echoes, humans are known as Sounds. Whenever a Sound dies, their Echo is executed—a fact that has led to intrigue, violence, and numerous disappearances just like that of Will’s sister. The book follows Will as he sets off on a journey with several companions, including the Prince of Echoland. His goal is to sever the ties of death that bind Echoes to their Sounds.

The Crystilleries of Echoland is an extremely unique book. In almost every aspect—plot, illustrations, world-building, etc.—this is a fantasy novel of great creativity. At a time when the fantasy genre is being flooded with copycat storylines and tiring tropes, Dew Pellucid (the pen name of Tal Boldo) should be praised for her imagination and thoughtfulness. At first, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy the book (the title seemed a bit bland to me), but the novel was a surprisingly engrossing read.

Pellucid is a strong writer, and the premise of the story is not compromised due to poor execution. Her dialogue is lively and her descriptions are thoughtful but not verbose. She has the ability to make Will’s story come alive, and her short chapters and crisp style allow the novel to flow smoothly from beginning to end. To my pleasure, I found only a single typographical error (a comma splice). The characters sometimes lacked depth, and Pellucid could have spent a bit more time exploring their thoughts. However, considering that this book is geared toward a relatively young audience (ages 9-13, I would estimate), the lack of thorough character development really isn’t a huge problem.

I rate The Crystilleries of Echoland 3 out of 4 stars. It was not an extremely memorable book for me, and I didn’t feel personally connected to it in any way, so I cannot rate it 4 out of 4 stars. Nonetheless, it is an entertaining novel full of adventure and mystery, and it will definitely appeal to younger readers (and readers who are young at heart).

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I listened to the audio version of this book and enjoyed it quite a bit, though I am sad to have missed the illustrations. I do think those would have added to the experience.