YA / Middle Grade Fantasy / Print & Audio book
PRINT: I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars
AUDIO: I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars
Even months after I first read this book, images from the story still vividly pop to mind. And especially as we enter the winter months, I find myself thinking about the fantastic world of the Echoes, where there is adventure, danger, and beauty beyond imagination.
This was a magical, mystical journey into a parallel Echo realm where twelve-year-old Will finds his identity is not what he believed it to be and even things in his world are not what they seemed. There are plenty of colorful characters, including the terrifying, but intriguing Fate Sealers (think Dementors from HP) and also surprising twists and turns that carry the story to a satisfying conclusion.
Pellucid's imagination is wondrous and the author's ability to put ideas to paper is phenomenal. The writing, along with Andy Simmons' haunting CGI illustrations, allow for readers to truly escape into an other-wordly experience every time they turn the pages. As far as the story, it is an outstanding adventure between parallel worlds and lives. The Echo realm is pure magic -- a mystical, shimmering world of illusions and often deadly realities. Though reminiscent of Harry Potter at times, the characters are fabulously unique and well developed, though they are not always what the seem! Twists and turns abound, and readers will find themselves utterly immersed in this story. Highly recommend this book for strong elementary or middle grade readers who aren't intimidated by its length. Be warned -- there is a fair amount of death, often remorseless, and violence, though not overly graphic. No sex or innuendo of it, or foul language.
Thank you to Dew Pellucid for sending me a hard copy of this book, which I won in a Goodreads GiveAway, and then an audio download in exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give.
Check out the Book Trailer:
ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK: Love this story in print (I gave it a 4.5) but less in audio format (a 3.5) due to the main narration. I also didn't discover I could speed up the pace until near the end, which would have made a difference on a 14 hour+ audio book! That is my own fault, not the book's, however.
The narrator did a very good job with voicing the various characters and each really was distinct, but the in between narration was clunky and lacked much emotion. . . It reminded me of the awkwardness of anime cartoon voices or how Racer X sounded in the original Speed Racer cartoons. Also, there were times it seemed that punctuation was ignored, so the narration was confusing or off.
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