The Crystilleries of Echoland

By: Dew Pellucid

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

An award-winning teen fantasy-mystery.

Described by fans as "complex", "intriguing", "imaginative", “gripping”, and “Harry Potter-like”.

Thousands of children disappear from our world. No one sees the kidnapping; or if they do, they forget. But one toddler returns after a week, riding a wolf with a falcon circling over him. That boy is Will Cleary.

Will tries to live a normal life. But his twin sister is still missing, and their parents never stop searching for her. Then, just before his 13th birthday, Will's pets reveal a secret to him. (Though how it happens will remain a secret, until you listen to the audiobook.)

A hidden world lies beneath our feet, a land filled with see-through trees and lucent people. They call us Sounds, and they are our Echoes; for each one of them is a reflection of one of us. It is a sparkling, beautiful place, a winter wonderland. But there is evil there, a terrible law, the law of death.

When a Sound dies in our world, his Echo is executed in Echoland. And there are those who reverse the order of things to achieve their wicked ends. They hunt the Sound of the Echo they want to kill. Then, the first death leads to the second as surely as lightning leads to thunder.

Is that what happened to the missing children in Will's realm? Did someone want to murder their Echoes? Or are these Sounds still alive, trapped somewhere in Echoland?

Will tries to escape the frightening answer. But dangers sweep him into that magical, see-through land. And there, in a fortress filled with castaway children, a 200-year-old riddle lies buried. The most important boy in Echoland will help Will solve it, with a handful of other kids. For the fate of Echoland, and of the Sound realm, depends on the answer.

An answer hidden in an ancient book...deep in a frozen lake of gems...beyond a buried door...at the foot of the greatest Crystillery of all.

But many men and monsters, crystal balls and spying eyes, will try to stop the brave teens. For how see-through your skin is is all-important in Echoland. And when this ancient hate will end, the realm of the Echoes will change forever.

"A young hero must ally with his alter ego in an intricate parallel universe in order to rescue his sister and save his own life. A gripping...fantasy coming-of-age novel." (Kirkus Reviews)

Winner of seven book awards.

©2018 Tal Boldo (P)2018 Nothing but the Story

Exciting story to listen to!

I really enjoyed listening to this story. The story itself was exciting, with colorful characters and many plot twists. The hero, twelve-year-old Will Clearly has a unique coming-of-age experience by traveling into a parallel world to find out the fate of his twin sister, and gets pulled political mayhem. The narration was a joy to listen to, with different voices for each character, and was charged with emotion so I could feel the story. I am planning on listening to this one again soon!

Great Audiobook!

Loved the voices in this audio book. I felt like I was right there with all the characters. The voice was calming yet exciting when the action picked up. Usually I get annoyed with audible book voices, but not this one! Great job!!

Enchanting YA novel

This was a very creative and original story about a boy who starts searching for his twin sister, and finds a land of Echoes that needs his help. It's a great story that both teens and adults can enjoy.

Great Family Fantasy Story

This is a great family story about a young boy, Will, who travels to the Echoland - a world where there is an Echo for every Sound in the human world. Will is trying to save his sister who was taken to Echoland, but he quickly finds that he is in the center of a conflict that could change the future of Echoland.
I really enjoyed listening to this story. It is about 8 hours long and the narrator has a wonderful voice. He reads at the perfect pace to follow the story, stay interested and really see the characters and scenes. He uses different voices for each character which I always appreciate when listening. It would be a great pick to listen to during a family trip as it will keep kids and adults both enthralled.

Unique exciting story albeit a bit choppy

I thought "The Chrystilleries of Echoland" was a very entertaining and unique tale. I was captivated the entire time by the plethora of fascinating ideas and surprising story turns. While it was thrilling, Dew Pellucid's creation of a completely new universe presented thoughts and concepts quickly, making it somewhat difficult to understand. Often, I had to read over certain passages again in order to fully understand the nuances of the story. I had a great overall experience, and I would gladly welcome a sequel despite its sporadic difficulty. I was left feeling both satisfied and curious for more because of the novel's distinct charm and the excitement of discovering more secrets in Echoland.

Neat Story

This is a cool story that has many twists and turns. There are a lot of great details. The pacing is rather fast, but I think it works okay.

A Magical Echoland of Wonder!

I absolutely loved this story. This was the first time I've completed an audiobook in its entirety. Dew Pellucid has created a world of wonderment. The relation between Sounds and Echoes is quite spiritual and young readers will love it. Though there is a bit of violence and the villains are unsettling, it is enthralling nonetheless. B.J. Harrison's voice fits this magical story perfectly, though it is so relaxing I found myself dozing off at times!

Reminiscent of Harry Potter, you will love this book!

Review

The narrator really did this book justice. Harrison's narration brings the book to life.

Most listen to

Follow the adventure of William Cleary in this fantastic tale of magic and family love. At a young age, there is a tragedy in Williams's life, but can it be fixed? A family in one world is in turmoil while the fate of its parallel world, Echoland, hangs in the balance. Both must come together to save all, and William is the key to it all. This book will make you jump for joy, cry, and every emotion in between. Dew Pellucid paints an incredible picture with her words and allows the reader's imagination to envision a fantastic world and make it come alive indeed.

This book captured my attention from the first chapter. Narrated by B.J. Harrison, the audible book moves at a good pace. The chapters are short enough to allow for breaks when driving, or other activities, without cutting off in the middle. It keeps you wanting more with each chapter. I can see why it is an award-winning book. The charactersare three dimensional and attention to detail, even in the scenery makes the story come alive.

My only negative comment is that it was easy to get lost with some of the character names since it was an audible book, and I could not distinguish between some of them during the reading. I find this to be a common issue with audio books, and the fact it was enjoyable enough to listen to a couple of times made up for this.

I give The Chrystilleries of Echoland a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I listened to it twice before writing this review and highly recommend it to others. If you are looking for an audible book to add to your list, this is a must listen to.


Due to some gore, I would recommend this to high school students and above or, for younger readers, parents to listen first and determine if it is suitable for their child. I believe it to be an excellent book for young adults and older to enjoy as well.Those with arachnophobia may want to skip a portion of the book. Depression is also included for those with sensitivities to that.

Great Family Road Trip Book

I really enjoyed this book. While there were times at the beginning (before I got to know the characters) when I was confused as to who was speaking, and times at the end where the choreography of the fight scenes lost me, for the most part I thought this was an easy to follow story.
I think it would make a great book to listen to on a family road trip. The book is appropriate to almost all ages, and the frequent chapter breaks means you are never far from a good stopping point, which can be super important when traveling.