The Crown's Game Review - Tray

The Crown’s Game is a fantasy romance story set in nineteenth century Russia, following Vika, Nikolai, Pasha, and some other supporting characters. Vika Andreyva and Nikolai the orphan kid are both enchanters with extraordinary abilities, and when Russia is in need of magical assistance due to political conflict, the two are brought out to compete in a game. A competition that will grant one with complete power, and the other with death. The Crown’s Game is not something to lose. However, complications arise from romantic attraction, and the two question whether everything is worth it.

If I were to describe this story in two words, they would be “average fantasy”. Why? Because this story is probably one of the most average stories in all of the fantasy genre. An overpowered female protagonist, an instant love triangle, and a few questionable plot points. This story is something that I would have enjoyed very much as a nine to ten-year-old. The abrupt love triangle was exactly my type of thing, but that changed after I grew some standards. During my first read-through, even though I was young and easy to impress, I did not particularly like the story. I wasn’t disappointed by it either. In fact, I was neutral. Completely and utterly neutral. The story was okay. The plot was okay. The characters were okay. My urge to read melodramatic fantasy romances was stifled for another day, and that was all that mattered for me back then. 

There were a few things that stood out to me when I was reading this story, other than its complete averagitity, one of which was the magic. Not the magic system itself, as it’s pretty standard, but the things the characters do with the magic. It’s pretty cool. In my second read-through the awe was dulled quite a bit, but I know I was surprised by the creativity on my first time through. Sometimes the amount of energy it takes to do some magic is inconsistent, for instance, Nikolai can give a neighborhood a makeover and then make a thousand rock birds, but the thought of making two cool dresses tires him out. Another thing that stood out to me was the setting. The story being set in Russia gave it an overall vibe that refreshed me, even though the setting was mostly irrelevant to the story. 

The explanation for the Crown’s Game existing is best described as sufficient. Along with everything else in the story, it’s just okay. The explanation is as follows: Russia has a certain amount of magic and one Enchanter needs all of it in order to make an impact in the conflicts it’s experiencing. This begs the question of why the two mages can’t just work together instead of killing each other and wasting this source of magic. In fact, it might be even more helpful, as Vika specializes in elemental magic and Nikolai specializes in industrial magic. Two brains are better than one. Nikolai could draft the blueprint for a gun and Vika could make it shoot fire bullets. When one person is tired, the other could take over or just transfer their energy to the tired person. Vika could be focused on the raw power side of things, while Nikolai composes strategies for the war. It’s a beneficial relationship. 

Now let’s talk about the characters. They are fine. Sometimes Nikolai’s friend Pasha, the Tsesarevich (basically a prince) and a significant character in the story, feels out of character. Sometimes Vika is a Mary Sue. Sometimes Nikolai is edgy. It’s all fine. They’re clearly based on tropes, but are developed far enough from them that they can be classified as their own personalities. Vika is clearly made out to be impressive, as seen by many descriptions from other characters that describe her as “beautiful, volatile, otherworldly, ethereal, and a redhead with a single lock of ebony black through the middle”. Nikolai is meant to be a proper lad because he always has a top hat on. Pasha is a simp that almost kisses Vika the second time they meet. 

And that transitions us into character relationships. It’s a love triangle where Vika is being pursued by two guys, Nikolai is being pursued by some other girl, and Pasha is being pursued by everyone except the girl he actually likes. The two people who have a crush on Vika pretty much fall for her immediately. Nikolai’s quick attraction kind of makes sense because something about their magic attracts them together, but Pasha just likes her because she’s not like other girls. 

While this book isn’t Oscar material, it’s a nice type of story that you read after chugging through Jane Austen or Othello. It’s not fantastic and not horrible, and you can just shut your brain off and read some easy literature for 400 pages. A self-indulgent story for when you want to just dive into your comfort zone. While the characters may have only half a realistic personality, and the plot could be better, and Pasha could have played a more substantial role in it instead of chasing this girl all day long, the magic was interesting, and that clearly balances out all the flaws. 

Finally, it’s time for my rating: Out of a possible “Harry Potter”, this story gets a “Sarah J. Maas”.