User blog:7GSTF/A Tribute - Revisiting The Crown and the Flame - PB's fantasy zenith

I will not repeat my old arguments about my decreasing interest in Choices as an app. I have documented them extensively in my previous blog posts. Here I will only be talking about another of the crowning glories of the app - The Crown and the Flame series. This series is underrated by most fans, if that is even possible, and  the people deserve to know how this story profoundly influenced me and made me fall in love with this app.

In my blog about Most Wanted, I had said that it was either MW or TC and TF book 1 which I read first. However, both were equally responsible for me falling in love with the storytelling. This story isn’t unique by any means. However it really appeals to most readers and especially readers of fantasy.

To put it bluntly, this series ‘borrows’ heavily from the Game of Thrones. It doesn’t have as many characters or its extreme complexity. However, the fantastical setting, the use of mythical creatures, various kingdoms with their own races of people and so on, show an unmistakable influence from GoT. Is this a bad thing? Not at the time of writing book 1 and book 2. GoT was still a very solid show in 2016 and 2017. It was only in the following two years that we got the final two seasons that shall not be mentioned ever again. However, TC & TF was spared from such a fate.

TC & TF is the only serious book series of PB that implemented a multi POV storytelling structure effectively. PB tried this in other books, but they got nowhere near the quality that was present here. Kenna and Dom were well written characters, and this led to a fascinating dual narrative structure.

In comparison to many of the recent characters of Choices, Kenna goes through a substantial character development arc. The Kenna of book 1 is very different to the Kenna of book 3. Kenna in book 1 is rash, impulsive and is clearly not interested in the kingdom or its affairs to any real extent. However, the loss of her mother and her kingdom make her reevaluate her situation. She spends two years in training, being humbled and being disciplined by the Rajkur monks before having to recruit mercenaries and her former soldiers in order to ensure that she could fight successfully for her kingdom. She learns diplomacy, war and strategy, etc. on the fly - sometimes failing in her journey to get her kingdom back. It shows her development from a teenaged princess to a full fledged queen. Is she perfect? No. She has her character flaws, and some of them are jarring to say the least. However, it is a compelling journey precisely because of the fact that she is human. She doesn’t have any special powers or magic, and wins most of her battles due to her wits, her allies and her training. This allows her character to be relatable too. In the beginning, she has a lone wolf vibe to her, but her character growth is nothing short of astonishing, as she allows the other allies to help her and aid her in her quest towards winning back her kingdom. She doesn’t achieve everything by herself, and she doesn’t try to either. From being extremely impulsive, she becomes a calm, controlled, queen, fully able to delegate, supervise and lead war efforts. She makes mistakes, but she learns from them and moves on. For example, she invades Thorngate with the idea of liberating the people. However, on realising that she couldn’t make every decision herself, she decides to withdraw from being at the forefront everytime, and allows the local leaders to take centre stage. While she may be at the heart of the resistance to Nevrakis rule, she doesn’t egotistically push the other leaders to the sidelines, and is happy to let the local leaders rule autonomously.

Let us consider Dominic. Dominic is a character who goes through the typical rags to riches story. He is - ‘worse than a commoner’, according to Gabriel. He was found as an orphan by the royal family of Stormholt. He has impossible aims and outrageous goals. He is in love with the princess - Kenna, no less! At that point, he hasn’t a hope in hell of marrying her. It is only through his intense loyalty and love for her, his discovery of fire magic, and his dragon powers that he realises his true potential. On the way there are many pitfalls he avoids. He is immature and prone to anger to begin with. Even his love isn’t the most steadfast as he falls for Rose in the first book. The events of the second and third book however, make it very clear that Kenna is the one he is supposed to be with. Kenna is the one who took care of him, and consequently, Kenna is the one lady he loves with all his heart. He proceeds to become a true warrior, and something much greater than what he originally was. The third book shows him in danger and his immense mental battles with Hex, as she tries to twist him into a killing machine. His immense struggles and subsequent victory over these struggles is very satisfying to see. His immense character growth is a welcome sight for sore eyes… and an excellent example of how to write a character arc. Dominic develops from a hot headed stable boy into a mature warrior and fire wielder, and eventually - a king. It shows just how much things have changed for him over time. Over the course of my playthroughs, I found that Dom and Kenna are naturally suited for each other. They are two sides of the same coin. Regardless of what Kenna is doing, Dom is always on her mind. Dom’s greatest challenge in his journeys to the spirit world is to help Kenna, as best as he possibly could. It takes him a while to figure it out, but when he accomplishes it, he turns into something much greater than he could have possibly imagined. Their fates are entwined as one, and they belong together. PB has logically connected them together in this instance, and at no point do the two of them look out of place as a couple. The distance between the two keeps their romance fresh, and ensures that their dynamic as a couple doesn’t die out.

Although the romance between these two seemed fresh and their love unwavering, there are two love interests that did appeal to me outside of the obvious. Raydan for Kenna and Sei for Dom. Raydan is every bit the handsome, cultured, and secretive scoundrel. He isn't honest, nor is he an entirely good man, but his heart is in the right place, and his romance with Kenna offers its own charms. The spymaster is a great character regardless and a big reason why this story works. He is often at the right place at the right time and makes no bones about it. His ‘betrayal’ arc is well placed and fits in with his character too. Even if he doesn’t marry Kenna, his eventually happy ending with Tevan’s sister is a good one too. This man is brainy more than brawny, and yet - his heart ends up in the right place. His romance with Kenna isn’t a rushed one and it develops seamlessly, should you choose to go down that route. His character was one I felt immediately attached to.

Sei is the other one. Her relationship with Dom is only natural, considering both are fire users and she becomes his teacher and then his classmate. Their mutual attraction only grows with time. Although the relationship doesn’t end with marriage in the books, it still meets a decent conclusion, especially if Dom doesn’t marry Kenna. She is hot headed and passionate, and makes Dom look logical. However, her love and devotion for him is unquestionable, and at no stage does she ever turn her back on him. It is a relationship that moves forward very gradually. It is very believable as a result. Nowhere does the relationship seem out of place. However, despite all of that being said, these two romances don’t come close to the Dom - Kenna pairing. The chemistry that those two have is something else.

Other than the two leads, the rich cast of characters in all roles are vividly drawn. They feel real, they look real - a very good thing. They aren’t mechanical NPCs at all. They have personality to them. They leave you with an everlasting impression, and a strong one at that. Each character is unique and thus, they are remembered for a long time. Severin, Tevan, Leon, Gabriel, Rose, Trystan, Anu, Hex, Diavolos, Zenobia, Annelyse, Whitlock, Helene, Noa, Kailani, Lia, Luther, Azura, Jorrin,  and others make it a memorable ride. There are many characters here I haven’t mentioned, and all of them are distinct people with plenty of individuality. Many of the recent books have copy paste characters, all of whom feel the same. This one was different. Each character was carefully drawn, and NPCs weren’t inserted wantonly.

In addition to the wonderful characters, we also got a wide variety of beautifully designed locations. Each location had its own characteristics too. None of them felt repeated. This wasn’t a case of copy paste. Each location had its own personality and colour palette. Consider Aurelia - yellow, Stormholt - grey and green, Technocrat maze - red and brown, Lykos - black, Iron Empire - white, the fire mountain people - red and green, and the shipyards - blue. Each had a unique theme. The theme made logical sense too. The execution was immaculate.

The love shown to the weapons was a sight to behold as well. There was no question that there was a lot of thought put into the book and money was no object in the art creation of this book. The writers were willing to do everything to get their desired result and my word did it pay off!

This book’s ending was rushed - which is not a surprise for PB. However, the conclusion was satisfying and the ending was justified. Unlike in recent books where they have jumped the shark an innumerable number of times, every event in this book was carefully plotted out for later. The Iron Empire was introduced in the very first book. There was very little retconning done here. Compare this series to TRR and you will understand why I say this. The story was meant to end at three books, and they did. They did not over extend the story - making it irrelevant and thus, it didn’t overstay its welcome. I am amazed with their decisions later on to extend tired and terrible series beyond their welcomes though. This book also has one of the few truly happy endings of all time - almost all the good guys live and live happily too. The victory is not one of extreme bloodshed, but a respectful duel. Is it realistic? Of course not! However, this is a fantasy and anything goes, I reckon.

The qualities of the villains - nihilistic cruelty of Luther, arrogance and pride of Azura and the twisted evil of Hex are there for all to see. They are excellent antagonists and they play their parts well. It is one of the cases of Choices making excellent, detestable villains. Their early books were full of them, and there was very little compromise in their writing. Their fatal flaw brings about their downfall, and their renaissance or punishment / or both, as the case may be. Each arc has a good trajectory, and rewards the reader for pursuing said arc.

This series was none of that. It was an example of fantasy done right. It is, in my opinion, the second strongest series ever by PB - ES is the first of course. The brilliance in their fantasy writing in this book is only matched in BOLAS. None of the other attempts come even close. It is a testament to the level of perfection that PB desired and achieved in their early years. Every detail of the story was perfect for what it was, and nothing needed to be changed. Every character fitted in well, and every event in the trilogy served a purpose. It was tightly written and well edited and presented too. Exceptional stuff. Along with ES, this is the other book that had a lot of heart. While ES focuses more on the characters themselves and their development, TCTF focuses on the plot more than the characters. However, it would be a mistake to say that ES did not focus on the plot, since the plot is what makes TCTF tick. Thus, one could say that both book series were equally spectacular.

As a final note, this is the book series that made me fall in love with fantasy again, after Harry Potter. Yes, that is high praise, I know. This book series had everything that one could desire, and more importantly, executed it well throughout. It had all the moments that one would expect in a fantasy book series as well as some unexpected ones. It remains one of my favourite book series to read, and I often do an yearly reread of these books, as they are so compelling. This series has kept me hooked on Choices since the very beginning, and it is one of the reasons that I have not lost all hope in the app to this day. A truly brilliant series to start off with, it has ensured that whatever terrible books that PB releases these days, their golden era’s legacy will remain supreme and brilliant. Thank you PB for this work of art, and in my eyes, it is your first masterpiece. Thank you.