Crown of Flames

The Pinki Adventures #2

by Sayantani DasGupta

From New York Times bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta comes the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Force of Fire Pinki never expected to be the leader of the resistance -- in fact, she’s gone on record spitting at the idea. But as domination and persecution of rakkosh continues, she summons her courage for a triumphant return to reluctant leadership in this thrilling sequel. Readers will be brought back into the fantastical world of the Kingdom Beyond, where there are always serpents to fight, riddles to solves, and a corrupt government to overthrow.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fiction, India, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure, Mythology

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2022

Reviews

[Barb Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The villains are one dimensional in this story. While there’s plenty of humor the minor characters don’t progress much in development and the plot is weaker than book 1. Still fun with lots of action and a fiery main character.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is a bit of a let-down. The first book in The Fire Queen series wasn't bad or anything, but it wasn't as good as the Kiranmala trilogy either, and unfortunately Crown of Flames didn't even live up to Book 1. Yes, there are times when it's funny, or exciting, or thrilling. And most of the characters - Pinki, Arko... - are still fun to read about. But some other people are mostly ignored - Chandni, Kumi, and Aakash for example are hardly around.

One big plus: The cameos Kiranmala makes - she's only present in maybe ten pages in total, but I loved the way she was incorporated in the story.

Minuses: I slowly got crazy of all the times it was mentioned how elders function as the history and mind of a culture and blahblahblah. We get it after it's mentioned once or twice, you know, no need to slam it into our faces again and again and again. And also, there were a lot of clear references to colonisation and everything that comes with it in the book as well, much more than in Book 1, and anyone who reads all my reviews will have already figured out by now that I just don't give a crap about it, to the contrary actually, so every time there was a reference to it - or it got mentioned outright - I got annoyed. Again.

So: Could have been better.

I thought this was going to be a duology, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure anymore? I mean, I still think this is the final part of Pinki's story, but on the other hand, there's still enough that could happen. Whatever, though; I'm not planning on reading any more about it.

6/10
Average rating for this series: 6.6/10

[Lopa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I say this after finishing every single book by Sayantani DasGupta, but these are the stories I craved when I was a kid and I get so much joy from reading them now. Lately, among some of my circle, there has been a lot of talk about colonialism and its effects on people even generations later. This book, and all the other books in the series is a good way for children to learn about history and the struggles many went through. My favorite part of the book was Pinki's struggle with deciding the best way to handle the situation, whether it's through nonviolence or force. The author digs into this in her author note at the end when she says:

Although Britain ruled mercilessly over South Asia for over two hundred years, Indian revolutionary fighters of multiple generations fought valiantly against imperialist rule. Freedom for the region was finally achieved in 1947, due to the activities of both nonviolent revolutionaries like Mahatma Gandhi, and revolutionaries who believed in meeting force with force like Bengali revolutionary leader Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. In this novel, Pinki struggles with the idea of nonviolence but ends up understanding how it is a new way to undertake her work as a revolutionary.

I highly recommend this book and all others by this author!

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The follow-up to Force of Fire, and a prequel to the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond trilogy, dealing with the parents of that series' characters. There's even a younger version of the transit officer for the Kingdom Beyond. While Sesha, the son of the serpent Governor-General and father of Kiranmala, sacrifices his father and tightens control over the Rakkhosh and others subject to the snakes, Pinki reluctantly enters the competition to run for Demon Queen. She's forced into choosing Sesha as a potential consort in order to save one of her instructors, while he mostly just wants to make Chandni jealous. The wedding from The Chaos Curse that Kiranmala and her friends go back in time to affect is shown here from a different perspective. Pinki's real love interest is Arko, a revolutionary leader and son of the human Rajah; but she ends up with his brother Rontu instead, and they're the parents of Neelkamal and Lalkamal.

[Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the second book of Sayantani DasGupta's The Pinki Adventures Series for Reddit Fantasy's 2023 Bingo Square Angels and Demons. This book qualifies for hard mode as the protagonist, Pinki is a rakkosh: those carnivorous, snot trailing demons who liked to speak in rhyme while chomping on innocent villagers.

Our intrepid cast of characters are back, consisting of the main cast:-
🔥 rebellious heroine Pinki, who is thankfully much less annoying in this sequel.
🌪️ Aakash, the super built himbo who is even dumber than before, amazing
🌊 Kumi, the water Rakkosh, who is equally as shallow
🤴🏾 Arko, the Prince and most eligible love interest
🌙 Chadni, the moon maiden is likeable but Paladin-like freedom fighter
🐍 Sesha, cartoon cutout Villainous son of the Main Snake bad guy

There are loads of new side characters, most of which don't get much in the way of development, sadly. However, to make this even more appealing to the target middle grade demographic, author Sayantani DasGupta does a Rick Riordan by filling this will numerous popular pop-culture references and a ton of humor, like these:-

Boom, Roasted!!! With one of the best "this you?" things.

"I read it in this handbook of the Empire of Serpentine Overlords, entitled Dealing with Annoying Subjects While Keeping Them Compliant." I held up the book, which had the serpentine hastag #ComplianceOverDefiance printed on the back. "And oh, look, Governor-General! How interesting! I believe this book was written by you!"

And then there is this famous line, from Lord of The Rings.


Puns, GLORIOUS Dad-Joke Worthy puns! Involving Snakes too!
✖️➗➕➖🟰🐍 Which snakes are good at maths? Adders
⚕️💊🐍 Hey, Toto, what medicine do you give a sick snake? It's Asp-irin


Not to say there aren't any serious beats, because the Arko's whole non-violent "Choose a third way" philosophy is basically Gandhi's philosophy that "Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong," something Pinki needs to learn how to reconcile with within herself, now that she's come into her powers and can actually use violence as a means to an end, just like the snakes.


The stakes are much higher in this second book, the villains more cartoonish, the puns worse, the humor funnier. The edutainment angle is still out in full force, and while I might find some of the situations and juvenile, I'm still able to appreciate Sayantani DasGupta's ability to weave in the lessons of history of colonialism in a manner that won't turn off young readers.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinki's adventures continue as she learns to be more community focused. Her Resistance friends have changed and she has to make adjustments too. Sesha continues to work to take over the Serpent Kingdom and then rule all the worlds. Pinki also faces stress as she committed to join the competition to be the Demon Queen. Surprisingly, she is visited by two children from the future and also by Hidimbi. When Pinki wins the competition and assumes the crown, she sees far more than she could on her own.
DasGupta offers a clear possibility for this origin story and lets readers process and think for themselves too. She includes informative text at the end of the book.

[Nettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this! Loved hearing more of Pinki's story and getting to see how when she is crowned demon queen, we see Neel and Kiranmala (travel through time) to speak with her and bring her the Chintamoni and Poroshmoni stones!
Loved this story so much! Highly recommend all of Sayantani DasGupta's books!

[Arisha (Free Palestine 🇵🇸) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sayantani DasGupta so much. She does a remarkable job writing about the importance of stories and the effects of colonialism. She writes about hope, the past, and the future. Learning about legends from my own culture was absolutely fascinating and Sayantani does a great job of integrating humor with her messages. This is a series I want my younger sisters to read.

[gowri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe because it's been a while since I read the first book but I felt like the pacing was off and the plot wasn't as developed as I remembered it being in the first book. Still it wasn't bad, and I enjoyed the themes but I was left wanting more, but maybe some of my questions will be answered in the Kiranmala series

[CHAYANIKA · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny yet dissapointing that pinki could not find arko .... i hope that pinki serves the chintamoni and poroshmoni good...... it is a fun and action filled story with bengali terms like rakkhosh , khokkhosh, kachkola, kanmola, deembo, ekla cholo re, pinkoo shona ree....

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crown of Flames is the sequel to Force of Fire, both books serving as Prequels to Sayantani DasGupta's Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series. And it was just as incredible as its predecessor!

[Victor Vilchiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think this as better than the first one in what i expect will be trilogy. Kind of dissapointed the 3rd book (hoping there will be a 3rd book) has not been publishd.

[Lost Inthe Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love pinki. A fierce heroine, I shouldn't forget her rage. There was no way I wouldn't love this, it's a prequel to a book I love. The author wrotd in alignment to the event of Neel and Kiran appearing in the past in pinki's point of view. Also it had humor, which was really fun and a cool atmosphere that won't readers bored-That's me dreaming of Rick's works

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i thought it was pretty good although i hate how Pinki is used as a pawn by Sesha