The First Binding

Tales of Tremaine #1

by R.R. Virdi

All legends are born of truths. And just as much lies. These are mine. Judge me for what you will. But you will hear my story first.

I buried the village of Ampur under a mountain of ice and snow. Then I killed their god. I've stolen old magics and been cursed for it. I started a war with those that walked before mankind and lost the princess I loved, and wanted to save. I've called lightning and bound fire. I am legend. And I am a monster.

My name is Ari.

And this is the story of how I let loose the first evil.

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Audiobook, Magic

832 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2022

About the author

R.R. Virdi is a USA Today Bestselling author, two-time Dragon Award finalist, and a Nebula Award finalist. He is the author of two urban fantasy series, The Grave Report, and The Books of Winter. The author of the LitRPG/portal fantasy series, Monster Slayer Online. And the author of a space western/sci fi series, Shepherd of Light. He has worked in the automotive industry as a mechanic, retail, and in the custom gaming computer world. He's an avid car nut with a special love for American classics.

The hardest challenge for him up to this point has been fooling most of society into believing he's a completely sane member of the general public.

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publishers—Tor Books & Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

The First Binding is a South Asian inspired high fantasy debut reminiscent of The Name of the Wind. I walked into the book in search of the most important thing in the world of escapism. An unforgettable story. And I ended up swept into one of the most memorable ones.

"All stories are true from a certain point of view. But, I know you want a clearer answer than that. To be honest, I don't. But I'd like to think so. I've often thought that might be the most important part of belief and stories, choosing to believe the pieces we want. Otherwise, what good and fun are they?"

The year 2022 so far has been full of great reads for me; in all the books I’ve read in the past four months, none of them received anything below a 4-stars rating. But there was a downside to this. Despite all the wonderful books I’ve read this year, there was only one book (Illborn by Daniel T. Jackson) that received a full 5/5 stars rating from me so far this year. The First Binding will be the second one. I haven’t read anything by R.R. Virdi before this book. And still, The First Binding made it to my list of most anticipated books of 2022 due to its gorgeous cover art by Felipe de Baros and its strikingly similar blurb to one of my favorite books of all time: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Despite the immense popularity and praises for The Kingkiller Chronicle, I can count with my hands the number of superb fantasy books/series that utilize the same framing narrative as The Kingkiller Chronicle did. I cannot get enough of it. Framing narrative is one of my favorite types of narrative to read in a fantasy book, and The First Binding is another example of an excellent framing narrative usage.

"Stories have grains of truths hidden within them. The problem is pieces and things are lost to time and translation, especially when told distance and traded through different languages. But there are always kernels to find. The wise one knows how to do so."

Before I get to the meat of the long review, I need to mention, first and foremost, that Rothfuss didn't invent the framing narrative in the fantasy genre. He popularized it for modern fantasy, and he's in my opinion a master at it, but he didn't create it. It is easy to immediately call a newly released fantasy book that uses a framing narrative as The Name of the Wind inspired. Sometimes that's rightfully deserved, but the opposite tends to occur more frequently. I will, however, say as a huge fan of The Kingkiller Chronicle, whether it’s subconsciously or not from the author, The First Binding is HEAVILY inspired by, at least, The Name of the Wind. I could list you all the similarities, but that would end up spoiling things for readers who haven't read The Name of the Wind and The First Binding. Basically, almost all the key events that happened to Kvothe in his past timeframe told in The Name of the Wind happened to Ari as well, one way or another, almost in the exact chronological order. But this isn't me claiming The First Binding straight up copied Rothfuss's debut novel. I mean, there’s even an Easter Egg to The Name of the Wind in the book!

"I made my way to the bed, setting my belongings down at one side. My
hands went to one of the journals I always carried, turning it open with a brush from my thumb. An old and familiar story flashed before me and I smiled.
It was of a red-haired boy who grew to be a man many thought a demon. Partly on account of his odd hair color, but more so for the deeds he came to be known for and by. By the end of it all, they say he killed a prince. Some say a king. Wizard. Bard. Hero. A villain.
The world saw it easier to mark him both, none, and sometimes, pick between depending on the day. Only he knew the truth.
And now I found myself understanding why he never told us the true accounting of things."

As I said, The First Binding is definitely inspired by The Name of the Wind, but there are enough originalities and distinctions unique to this novel that helped The First Binding stand strong as its own thing. All of this is to say, if you don't like The Kingkiller Chronicle, I doubt you will like this one, too. This review is almost four months ahead of the book’s publication date, and I feel it’s important to set the right expectations for future readers as best as I can. But if you're a fan of The Kingkiller Chronicle, like me, and you crave a dose of the magic told in The Kingkiller Chronicle again, well, The First Binding is for you. And let me tell you why.

“Everyone wants their story to matter, and they do. But people forget that. Everyone wants someone, just that right someone, to listen attentively with wonder and happiness to the greater moments of their life. And everyone wants someone who’ll sit by and listen without judgment over the moments we fell. Especially when we’ve gone too far, at least for ourselves.
I think I found that person in Eloine.”

The First Binding is the first book in the Tales of Tremaine series by R.R. Virdi, and although this is not the author’s first published book, this is indeed his first high fantasy novel, and the genre is better off with Virdi’s contribution to it. The stories in The First Binding revolves around Ari, the Storyteller. The novel begins with a beautiful passage about stillness, silence, and its breaking in a similar fashion to A Silence of Three Parts in The Kingkiller Chornicle. And then, within the Three Tales Tavern in the current (the present) time frame, Ari encounters a mysterious singer on the run that he named Eloine. As their chemistry with each other sparked, Ari then proceeded to tell her the truths behind his many deeds, fame, and titles/names. Right from his childhood, entirely told through his first-person POV. It's worth noting that the past timeframe itself didn't begin until page 80, and my recommendation to you is to be patient. The narrative jumps back and forth between the past and present time frame, and I enjoyed reading both time frames, but the main highlights of the storytelling strengths in The First Binding undoubtedly lie in the past time frame. It is a novel about coming-of-age, found family, kindness, empathy, storytelling, magic, truth, and lies. And most of all, The First Binding is a novel about stories and their importance.

“The hardest thing anyone has to go through in their lives is exactly that, Dannil. It is the hardest thing for them. No one can take that away from them. No one can dismiss it out of hand. We are, all of us, given the difficulties we are, and it’s not our place to try to put the hardships of others into places of value. They are hard. That is enough. And they need a place to forget those hardships. And so do you.”

One of the many ways Virdi renewed the intensity and the compelling factor of the book was by frequently emphasizing how easily stories and legends get twisted, voluntarily or not, from their origin. Whether we realize it or not, in telling a story to someone, little by little, a story could transform constantly. This is how Ari earned his many titles. There is truth to his names, but the audience's ignorance and willingness to submit themselves to a specific story also played a huge part. When a story has been told multiple times, will an individual choose to believe the truth revealed that differs from the story they're used to, or will they choose to believe in the familiar stories they know? One of my favorite books, Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas Lietzau, mentioned: “Once the mind commits to a story, the facts become secondary. Truth bows to bias.” And I do honestly believe there is a lot of accuracy to this statement. This is also what Virdi highlighted a lot in The First Binding, and I loved it.

"Knowledge. The first things told and recorded were stories. Not great started with stories-lore-and the tales those people told their families first, before letting them spread wider in the world. You eventually learn everything is a story of something. A story of empires fallen and the ones that took their place. Stories of great men... and the worst of them. Stories of bindings and how they came to be, or how we think they did, and stories of how coinage systems work. But they are all stories first. Before any of the facts, the first keepers of knowledge kept stories."

And great stories are not exclusive to Ari. Powerful tales exist behind everything and every individual, and all of them are unique depending on your perspective. After all, there is a story behind everything and everyone. But for the purpose of reviewing this book, we will, of course, be talking about the main character, Ari. It has been a few years since I've reread The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss or Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. And my goodness, I forgot how satisfying it can be to witness the truth behind the attainment of a specific title or fame. For example, Ari mentioned that he buried the village of Ampur under a mountain of ice and snow before he started telling about his past. Then he killed their god. We, readers, get the opportunity to read these events, and personally speaking, I highly enjoyed reading every revelation behind Ari's fame so far.

“Names are parts of our story. The ones we are given, the ones we choose to use, and the ones we let others call us by or gift to them. Together, they form parts of us and our identity, and with that knowing, you come to understand the heart of that person. And a heart, like many things, can be bound.”

Finding out why Ari earned the title of Khoone (Bloodletter) or Unburned, among his many names, was rewarding to me. Ari is thick-headed, quick to anger in his journey for revenge, and obsessive about learning. I have no doubt that whether this book will click with readers or not will depend a lot on the prose (I will get to this later) and whether they could overlook Ari's brilliance and flaws to feel invested with him. I personally could. We can tell that Ari as a storyteller in the present timeline is of legendary status. But Ari, in the past timeframe, has suffered a LOT. Similar to Kvothe, his brilliance is balanced frequently by his torment, especially during his time as a Sparrow in the streets of Keshum. Or even the bullying and prejudice he has to overcome in the fabled Ashram. He learned, multiple times, the hard way that there shouldn't be a cost to kindness.

“Bondage isn’t done with ropes and chains. No. It’s done with honeyed whispers and poisoned promises never meant to be kept. And if you follow them—believe them—you may never live long enough to realize those promises and dreams on your own.”

I found Ari's pursuit of knowledge, Bindings, and the art of storytelling to be admirable. Though he is prone to anger, he can't keep his mouth shut most of the time, but Ari has some appealing qualities to him, especially in kindness which he proved time and time again to his friends. Ari's friendship with the member of The Sparrows and Ashram, especially Radi, were some of my favorite scenes to read in the book. I think with coming-of-age fantasy with a magic school (yes, Ashram is a magic school) setting, it is mandatory for the main character to be accompanied by precious friends who genuinely care about each other. It's even more necessary when there's a rich and spoiled bully (like Ambrose from The Kingkiller Chronicle) in the book. Ari got that friendship in Radi, and hey, have I mentioned there's an animal companion for Ari, too? A stray cat named Shola, and what a riot Shola is.

“Is he here to perform? Even though I hadn’t developed a keenness for music at that point in my life, I wanted to see my friend in the heart what he loved most. It was right, and more than that, I owed it to him. But, there is a simpler reason well—a better one.
He was my friend.
And that is always reason enough.”

I should note that if you're starting this book expecting a lot of actions or battle scenes, it is very likely that you'll find yourself disappointed by it. The First Binding is not a novel with many battle scenes, it did contain a few battle scenes in the last quarter, but battle scenes and actions were not the main charms of the book. The First Binding do, however, have more than enough intrigues, manipulations, and so many mysteries in its rich mythologies to strengthen the core of the narrative. I actually think the Game of Families at the end of the present timeframe was the least captivating part of this entire book for me. The Game of Families was not bad per se, but it fell in quality compared to Ari's retelling of his past. I certainly loved the kite fighting more, and I cannot wait to read more revelations of Ari’s names in the next book.

“There’s something to be said in practicing old skills, no matter how impractical they might seem. Trials a lifetime ago had taught me nothing ever loses its usefulness. And that being prepared pays well, sometimes in saving one’s life.”

To put it as simply as possible, it feels appropriate for me to claim The First Binding as The Name of the Wind inspired novel infused with a South-Asian world-building. The world-building, the magic system, and the prose are the factors that transformed The First Binding to be its own thing. The world is extremely rich in its myth and history, and there is a myriad of room for theory-crafting if you're into that. The stories within stories were enchanting. Reading every section about Ashura (think of Ashura in the book as a mix of The Chandrian and Halifax), Brahm (The Creator in Trimurti), Abrahm, Radhivahn, and more were alluring. The Indian-inspired Mutri Empire and the brutality of the caste system felt well-realized. And lastly, the magic that revolves around the principles of faith and beliefs proved to be a good decision. The binding is a combination of soft and hard magic systems influenced heavily by the power to believe. This means the user must REALLY believe in something even when the reality is different than intended. Essentially, it is like rewriting reality. For example, fire always burns, but a successful binding can turn the burn effect into freezing when they truly believe in it. The foldings and the bindings were complex, and they never failed to be interesting to me.

“Believing is easy. And it’s the hardest thing ever. Just forget everything you’ve learned about how the world works, and believe it works how you want it to, no matter what. And no matter the cost.”

I loved this book. This book is 800 pages and 350,000 words long, but I never felt bored reading it. I felt distraught the sequel is not available for me to read yet. The First Binding is Virdi’s first high fantasy performance, and the immersive stories he put on this tome have ensured him a spot as a high fantasy author to keep an eye out for. I thoroughly enjoyed Virdi’s accessible and lyrical prose. I shared many quotes in this review, but I actually highlighted more than 40 passages in the book. I wish I could share them with you, but I will leave the rest for you to read and find out for yourself.

“Belonging is one of the oldest calls and cries our hearts make. And when they go unheard, pain fills those empty spaces. It makes that part of us go distant—grow cold. Ice forms and it’s ever harder to let anyone ever come into those places again.”

My instinct says the sequel will be even better. If that’s indeed the case, it’s only a matter of time until Virdi and the Tales of Tremaine will be remembered for many years to come. The First Binding is the first volume in a new magnificent and ambitious high fantasy series to obsess over, and I can see myself coming back to this world multiple times. The First Binding even made me pause playing Elden Ring for a week. Let that sink in. It requires something exceptional to stop me from playing that masterpiece, and Virdi’s high fantasy debut fulfilled the requirements. If you are a fan of The Kingkiller Chronicle or keen to read a great take on framing narrative, be kind to yourself and the author by pre-ordering and reading this incredible book when it’s out. Tor Books promised to get R.R. Virdi a Trex with a laser beam cannon if The First Binding attained 100,000 pre-orders. Let’s get Virdi his Trex.

“Kindness is freely given, without the want of reciprocation, let, obligation, or lien.”

You can pre-order this book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Blackwells (Free International shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

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[Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Check out my YouTube channel where I show my instant reactions upon finishing reading fantasy books.

0/5 stars. The worst book I have ever read and the most blatant rip-off of another book (Name of the Wind) that I've ever read!

I am legitimately angry at goodreads that they force me to give a minimum of 1 star for this book, as it deserves a big fat 0 stars. Not only is the book extremely poorly written, but it's over the top plagiarism is borderline criminal. Instead of giving a review of this book, I am going to share with you all the things directly stolen from Name of the Wind. Beware spoilers below (however, if you've read Name of the Wind none of these are spoilers, as these books are identical outside of this one being horribly written).

1. The first paragraph talks about "stillness".
2. The poetry of the writing is an attempt at identical style of writing.
3. It starts in an inn
4. The protagonist is young and wise beyond his years
5. The story is about a mythic hero who is telling his life story using a framing narrative
6. The main character has a magical cloak that is made by fayries.
7. The inn is attacked by demons.
8. He is a musician.
9. He is in a theater group.
10. They have someone holding a story/song hostage from them.
11. Their parents are both killed by an evil ancient being who is trying to stop their story from being told via a play in public.
12. There is a love interest who holds secrets who sings.
13. The relationship with this girl is cringey.
14. He has a magic teacher in the first act with a long training montage.
15. The teacher dies immediately after training him.
16. The boy is too clever for the teachers liking.
17. He then goes on for several chapters to have an "Oliver Twist" adventure.
18. He cannot let anyone ever have his blood because of what other magic users can do with it.
19. He finds out that the magic school he wants to attend is way above his station in life.
20. The protagonist claims their story is a major tragedy.
21. He pisses off teachers at this school, and the one who eventually teaches him is offbeat and kookie.
22. The university admissions scene is virtually identical.
23. As he advances through school the characters are given items that denote how far they have advanced.
24. The magic they learn at the beginning is associated with a candle.
25. Their powers are elemental in nature.
26. The magic is about "splitting the mind" in one, and "folding the mind" in the other.
27. There is an addictive drug that turns teeth white.
28. When abilities are pushed too far it can put themselves and others in danger.
29. There is a religion where the ultimate creator is said to have come in the form of a mortal body, with the aid of a moral human mother, and is known as the son himself.

This is plagiarism pure and simple, and R.R. Virdi should be ashamed of himself.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poetry snuck up on me.

During a section of this book, there was a story within a story, a chapter-long tale that was written in regular narrative fashion… but then I started noticing how all the sentences were split in half, and those half-sentences started to rhyme. They weren’t written on the page in verse (although there were plenty of songs and poems found elsewhere throughout the book). No, this chapter had built-in rhyming couplets woven into the chapter’s narrative that were subtle, yet incredibly powerful. And it went on for an impressive length of time. Not all lines rhymed, but enough to feel like you’re reading some epic poem of yore, adding to the mystique of the ‘storyteller-telling-a-story-within-a-book’ vibe. A Russian doll of tales. An ouroboros of oration.

The First Binding is a massive undertaking. I’ve read trilogies shorter than its 800+ page length. And as I neared the end, I did not want it to finish. It is many stories in one: about present day Ari, ‘The Storyteller,’ who is on a mysterious mission far from home. It is intercut with Ari telling his life story to a mysterious stranger, where we learn about the legend of his youth, and how he became so powerful and infamous. And it is about the changing world surrounding Ari and this stranger, as turmoil and unrest may force Ari’s past to catch up with his present.

You may have heard this one before: a talented kid with a tragic beginning, telling his tale at a tavern to set the record of his infamy straight. The comparisons to Name of the Wind are deserved. Although I am a fan of Rothfuss’ series, I felt like Kvothe’s story often spun its wheels. Not once did I get that feeling while reading this book. Virdi packs an incredible amount of lore, memorable characters, hateful antagonists, complex magic systems, religious history, races, classes, geography, music, and of course, stories into one volume – yet by the end, it still feels like our time with Ari is just beginning.

There’s so much to unpack in this story: hidden clues, jarring mysteries, and nagging questions as to why certain things are the way they are. This book isn’t even out yet, yet I have to restrain myself on Twitter from bombarding the author on when he thinks book two is going to be published. Virdi is excellent at giving us just enough information to theorize a hundred different paths for the story to turn.

I think this is going to be a landmark book when it publishes. It might take some patience, as the first 10% or so is a bit slower than the rest, but once you lose yourself in this South Asian-inspired fantasy world, there’s no turning back. The First Binding is a grand, mesmerizing story that never ceases to unveil new layers of mystery and wonder throughout its epic scope. A rare treasure of a novel, and something truly special.

5/5

[Mihir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The First Binding is an epic story and RR Virdi is certainly getting a lot of plaudits for it. He deserves them and more but that’s not why I think this book is to be feted. The author is what people of yore would call a spinner of yarns, so effectively he chronicles his stories via his main character Ari.

The premise of the book is one that will draw most fantasy readers like Hobbits to fireworks. The blurb promises a storyteller and a legend who is recounting his legends. It’s a premise that has been made popular by Name Of The Wind but isn’t original to it. RR Virdi claims to be a fan of Patrick Rothfuss and he showcases deftly his homage here. Ari is not Kvothe but they share musical, & intellectual aptitudes.

The First Binding is a complex undertaking but, basically it’s a tale about Mysteries (yes that’s a capital M). The main story is about Ari a binder legend & a musician of note who is seemingly a stranger in a strange land and we the readers are left wondering who he is. He meets an equally mysterious woman who calls herself Eloine and asks him for a recounting of his story. In the past, we get to see Ari and his childhood sojourns and how he came to be associated with theater, thievery & his journey to the Ashram.

One of the best part of this story is the multitude of stories that are presented within. We see the start of the story between Ari and Eloine as they flirt and try to parse each other out. There is the mystery of who Eloine is as well what Ari is doing in the land of Etaynia? In the past, we get to learn about a major portion of Ari’s childhood. We learn how he feels about being an orphan, a sullied caste person and how much he hates not knowing about his birth family and how he got inducted into being a sparrow.

Amidst all of this, we are introduced to many legends such as:
- Antoine the Solus blessed knight vs the Des Embras
- Brahm and his children and the creation myths,
- Brahm and his fight with Saithaan
- Abrahm and his fight vs the shadow,
- Brahm & his rebirth as Radhivhan & the birth of the Asir
- The rise of the Ashura
- Brahm’s (supposed) second birth

The author takes his time to pepper the readers with these stories and from a mythological standpoint, it was utterly, utterly fascinating. I am a mythology geek and reading these stories was just something that blew my mind. I could see where and how the author was doing his best to seed the main story via these mythologies. I can’t claim to be understand his plans but I know this book is meant for re-reads and I absolutely can’t wait to re-read it to see what else I pick up. As a reader, it can be a bit frustrating when the mythology story just ends or is incomplete (I believe this is on purpose as the characters in the book are also searching for stories).

The biggest mystery is who or what was Brahm? I like this entity created by the author that corresponds to Brahma the creator from Hindu mythology. The name similarity is on purpose I presume, Brahm as an entity is all-powerful but the stories make him out to be frustrating. His creations are a bit flawed and thus cause more issues as detailed in the stories. There is a nice tract that bears a solid similarity with the conflict between YahWeh & Lucifer, this conflict is mirrored between Brahm and his first born Saithaan (which sounds remarkably similar to Shaitaan which is what the Devil is called in Islamic mythology. Also Robert Jordan utilized this same concept in the Wheel Of Time series where the Dark One is also referred to as Shai’tan)

I loved how the author utilizes real world lore and then mingles it up for his world of Tremaine. We also get to see how different portions of the world have reinterpreted the original mythos and how twisted it becomes. This is very much like our own and further complicates things for our protagonist.

Another plus point of this gorgeous book is the incredible world showcased within. As seen in this gorgeous B/W map drawn by Cartophile extraordinare Priscilla Spenser. We are showcased a world that features a facsimile of the Indian subcontinent as well as the Asian nations along the Silk road (referred to as the Golden Road). This year by either happenstance or the whims of fate, suddenly we have seen epic fantasy inspired by Hindu mythology & Indian subcontinental culture/lore (Kaikeyi, Sons Of Darkness, The Oleander Sword & the forthcoming The Phoenix King). The First Binding sits solidly amidst these fantastic titles and promises an epic that will perhaps outshine the myths it borrows from.

I also loved how the author interspersed different nations such as Zibrath, Laxina, Amir & Etaynia which correspond to African, East Asian, Middle Eastern & Mediterranean European regions from our world. We are never explicitly told that which is which but you as a reader are given enough information to draw your own conclusions. The Mutri empire corresponds to an Indian empire similar to the Mauryan Empire of the Old, we come to understand it’s similar to the Indian subcontinent because of the mention of the caste system, the several words that have the same meaning in Hindi and the names. As an Indian fantasy fan, this is the type of fantasy that I’ve been waiting to read since I first discovered fantasy (Winter Warriors by David Gemmell). The author really integrates several words such as Rishi (sage), Ashram (place of learning where sages & mendicants reside, usually in and around forests), Brahmthi/Brahmki (similar to Brahmi script, which was the written script for Sanskrit-Pali), Ashura (very similar to Asura who are the race of demons in Hindu mythology).

The magic system is one of bindings and using one’s mind to create these bindings that can be used with elements present in the world. The story tells us with that there’s ten fundamental bindings that binders can work with. However there’s an indication that are more bindings but they have been lost to history or purposely forgotten. The magic system is explained solidly and I believe has tie-ins to the mythology that’s interspersed. The characterization is also just ace as throughout the story we only get a first person POV from Ari & third person POV from Eloine, yet it’s to the author’s credit that the supporting character cast is etched brilliantly. From Nisha, to Mahrab, Ari’s friends at the university, etc. Almost every character we meet is three-dimensional and even though we are seeing them through a memory lens, they get to shine and become intriguing. One minor hiccup for me was the main villain of Ari’s childhood is the only person who is the least explained (this is due to their flitting appearances throughout the story & while this is done on purpose as they will have a bigger role going forward. They were the only weak link amidst this amazing character cast.

Lastly I want to highlight what I and almost every other reader has said. The gorgeously purple prose that the author has showcased within. There’s so many examples of it, from Ari and Eloine fliriting with each other:
“There was…. Magic in your voice. It was the gift of the Rua. A people born of fire & the distant echoes of the the first folk. You wove sounds into stories.”

“A universal truth I’ve learned over my life is this: no matter how clever the man, we are all fools when it comes to words with a woman who’s taken our heart.”

To Ari describing his life living as a jack of understudy in Khalim’s theater:
“The ceiling sat far enough out of reach that it would take at least six of me standing on top of each other to brush my fingertips against it. Each piece of stone, unlike the next and mortared irregularly, was larger than my skull. Every contraption meant to add to a performance stood a beastly thing beside my rail-thin body. It was as if everything inside the place was meant to drive home just how pitifully tiny I was in comparison. How insignificant.”

To just describing his state of mind as an orphan:
“I don’t know if you’re aware of what it’s like to be deprived of your past, your parents. The idea that there is nothing connecting you to anyone in this world apart from your work. There is a certain hollowness, singular and all encompassing, that fills you. The notion that you are all that is—nothing more—and when you’re not much on your own, it’s a rather crushing thing.”

To describing people:
“The man stepped closer, and a smile crossed his face I’ll never forget. A razor’s line along a sheet of ice. Cold. Cutting. And utterly without warmth.”

“Mahrab was everything a young boy could have wanted in a teacher. Patience came as naturally to him as breathing. He appreciated curiosity, and rewarded it. He had energy to spare and a mind strong enough to dedicate to the rigors of dealing with me as his student. Most of all, I remember his eyes and his voice. The first were like pieces of jade worn until nothing but a tired gray remained with the slightest tinge of green to serve as a reminder of what had been there once before. His voice resonated strong and clear. He had a commanding air like he’d taught more than just young boys in the mystic arts. He could have led an army. But his gaze and baritone were never without a measure of kindness.”

There is almost an example for everything you can think of and more. RR Virdi’s prose is possibly his best facet and that is saying something in a story where the worldbuilding, mythos & plot as a top-notch as one can get in epic fantasy. Plus to top it all, this is the author’s traditional & epic fantasy debut.

I have to highlight a few things as they are not detriments but I do think fans of the KingKiller chronicles are going to be banding about how their character “Kvothe” and his story is basically the original and Ari and The First Binding treads a similar path. There are some overlaps in how Ari first learns about the magic system and world history (Abenthy-Mahrab), how he loses his family (Chandrian-Ashura), how he survives on the street (actually in this case, Ari’s street struggles significantly outshine Kvothe & the details are much more abundant), how he gets back at bullies, how he reaches the Ashram (University/magic school & faces significant troubles within the (University-Ashram). None of this is anything original and Pat Rothfuss can’t claim to be have a trademark for it. It is a hero’s journey trope that he (PR) utilized in his own way and here RR Virdi employs in a much more significantly heroic way.

If I have to make a small detriment about this awesome story, then it would be that it takes nearly 80-100 pages to get the main part of the story going. This in a 350K story is a decent portion of it and so perhaps there might be some readers who might find that bit tricky. Lastly the bit about the main antagonist of this book being a bit thin on motivation, that part is also a bit of a left turn and I’m hoping the sequel will improve on it greatly.

CONCLUSION: The First Binding is magnificent, it marks itself out because of the way the author has utilized south Asian culture and Hindu mythology to make this epic fantasy story more than a bit unique. RR Virdi is an artist who has brilliantly utilized his culture & desires to write a story for readers such as myself & thousands of South Asian fantasy readers. Just for this very ingenious act, I will always be grateful to him for the rest of my life. The First Binding is the brilliant kind of epic fantasy that enthralls you completely, and makes you want re-read it over & over. If that’s not something you wish for in a book, I dare say, why are you even reading?

[James Tivendale · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First Binding is the epic fantasy debut of author R.R. Virdi and is an intriguing and exciting first entry in the Tales of Tremaine series. The novel itself is a massive 817-pages.

In a similar fashion to Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind and Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire, The First Binding is about an important character revealing their epic tale, telling the truth about their becoming legendary or infamous and how they ended up in the position they are in at the present time. It's been a while since I read The Name of the Wind (and gave up halfway through The Wise Man's Fear) but there are a few apparent similarities that stuck out to me which may put some readers off, whilst enticing just as many to give it a chance and pick up what I found to be a pretty special story. The First Binding is beautifully written, vast in its scope, and features a world with considerable depth and a flourishing rhythm throughout. After only 50 pages I was completely invested.

In The First Binding, The Storyteller (Ari) is a red-headed, magic-wielding performer, who wears a blood-red cape, and is hunting an ancient evil known as the Ashura (who are disregarded by most as being nothing but farfetched tales to frighten children). He can weave his tales how he wishes, sometimes merging stories together, twisting them, outright lying, increasing his legend, or changing the truths to however suits his needs or audiences. This is all intertwined with his magic usage, which could seem to his observers as cheap parlour tricks, yet, he may be utilising the Bindings. He's developed an impressive knowledge of the stories regarding the Lands of Tremaine and the Golden Road. Some of the novel's finest worldbuilding moments are presented through Ari's tale-telling, for example, the history of the Gods, such as Brahm.

I'd estimate that about 25% - 33% of The First Binding is set in the "present day" period. This is more than I remember The Name of the Wind being, and the present-day actions here seem more dynamic and important than in Rothfuss' debut. The story of Ari's youth is told to the almost as mysterious, charming, and witty Eloine, whose past is also shrouded in intrigue. When I was scribbling some review writings, I noted that Ari's history is told in chronological order which I distinguished as "Theatre", "Boy Thief", "Travelling", and then "Magic Academy" periods. I believe these descriptions give a brief indication of what to expect, without really spoiling anything. Ari's age as the storyteller isn't disclosed. I was trying to work it out as I'm sure there are a few hints, but, due to the magical nature of this fantasy world, he could be anywhere between 30 and 100+. The flashback storytelling sections of Ari's life cover his early youth to teenage years.

Jim Butcher reflected that Virdi's The First Binding was written with passion and love and I think he's completely accurate. It's poignant, poetic, and neatly paced, with some noteworthy standout setpieces, and many moments that present a unique sense of awe. The novel has a lot of what you'd expect too, including intricate training montages, magic tutoring segments, bitter rivalries, misunderstanding love, true friendships, horrid happenings, and curious motives of supporting characters, and I absolutely loved that kookiness of the characters in the Crow's Nest. The fact that there might be a God wandering somewhere in the mix as well really piques my curiosity. Observing the artwork on both the advanced review copy and the first edition hardback; it looks sweeping, bold, and beautiful. Virdi's words painted mental images for me that were just as striking and will stick with me for a long time. Just recalling some of these moments and images now, I can't help but smile.

I've mentioned the books from The Kingkiller Chronicles a few times throughout this review, and the influence is definitely there which I believe Virdi has acknowledged. I'd say The First Binding stands strong as a peer rather than an imitation and personally I enjoyed this book more than any of Rothfuss' (although The Slow Regard of Silent Things is pretty wonderful). I don't have too many negatives about my reading experience. Having to state a few minor issues, I became disinterested quickly with a couple of the songs, certain moments seemed to drag and I think the length of this novel was intimidating to the extent it slowed my reading pace. The intermissions returning to the present day were mostly well-timed but until the excellent political game of intrigue, favours and masks close to the end, these seemed more like filler than the tales of Ari. There were a few minor inconsistencies in terms of how Ari’s powers manifested, though nothing that hindered my enjoyment of the book and overall, The First Binding is a high-quality fantasy epic and I can't wait for the next book. 8.5/10.

I received an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to R.R. Virdi and Gollancz and Tor Books. 

[Library of a Viking · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite reads of the year!

Is this book better than The Kingkiller Chronicle? Well, I don’t know because I haven’t read Kingkiller yet. But I will say that this book was a pretty good read. Let’s talk about it!

The First Binding is one of the most anticipated releases coming in 2022 and is being “marketed” as an Asian-inspired high fantasy, similar to The Name of the Wind. However, this review will not discuss whether this book is similar to Kingkiller Chronicle since I haven’t read that series yet. If you are interested in knowing whether those comparisons are fair, I recommend reading Petrik Leo’s review of this book. That being said, I really enjoyed my time with this book!

It took me about 100 pages to get fully immersed in this book. However, I am glad I didn’t give up on this book. Virdi has an astounding ability to write beautiful sentences, vivid scenes and compelling characters. It took me nearly a month to finish this book, only because I wanted to savour and enjoy each page.

The story follows Ari as he tells his life story to a singer named Eloine, and the story starts all the way back at Ari’s childhood. I absolutely LOVED how Virdi has set up this story. You have two main storylines, “present” and “past”, but within these two plotlines, we also learn about beautiful and heartbreaking folkore stories and mythology. While most of the story focuses on telling Ari’s story, the present plotline still has a lot of tension. Ari is not an old man when he tells Eloine his life story, and he is still on a quest which adds another layer of tension to the “present” plotline.

Consequently, The First Binding has multiple chapters where you have a story within a story within a story. Each story told is rich with detail, tension and riveting dialogue, which adds so much depth to this world. Although we don’t get that much insight into the greater world, this world felt so rich and real since Virdi intently fleshes out the tales about the Gods and the different supernatural beings. The magic system is also incredibly fascinating and rich with detail and plays a significant role in the story.

One of the reasons why this story worked so well for me is because it utilises a lot of my favourite tropes. The First Binding is, at its core, a coming-of-age/underdog story with the found family and pet companion trope (and LOTS more!). Consequently, this is an Asian-inspired fantasy, which is one of my current favourite subgenres in fantasy.

However, this book will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Virdi has a unique writing style, with many poems and beautiful sentences, and the pacing is incredibly slow. The First Binding is arguably the slowest-paced book I have read this year, and I have already read three Robin Hobb books!! The crazy part is that after finishing this 800+ page tome, it feels like the story is only just about to start. The pacing did not bother me since Virdi was able to get me fully immersed and invested in Ari’s story and this world. However, I could see readers either love or hate this book. Either this story will work incredibly well with you, or it won’t. However, I would suggest giving the first 100 pages a try before giving up on the story.

I could go on and on about this story, but I will end my review by saying this – if you enjoy slow-paced, character-driven stories with beautiful prose, this book will be for you! The First Binding is a new favourite of mine, and I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

4.5 / 5 stars

Thanks to Gollancz for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to my Patreon's Erin, Blake, Mel and Áron Sofus Vest!

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

The First Binding is spell-binding.
I admit it's not a very clever play on words, but nevertheless, it's fitting.
Normally, the marketing pitch of South Asian The Name of the Wind wouldn't really pull me in, but I saw an interview Petrik Leo did with author, R.R. Virdi, and I loved his passion and what he had to say about his book. I encourage everyone to hear him out, he is a great guest and it made me look his book out which, if my rating wasn't enough of a clue, was the best decision ever.

Some of my favourite novels are coming-of-age, single point of view fantasy novels. You know main character is a legend, that their actions determined the history of the world author imagined. And then, you are thrown to the beginning to see how they actually got there, what kind of life made them become legendary. It's the type of story that brings you close to the main character and it never fails to be compelling.
There is Fitz, Vaelin, Rin, Foolish Cur... and now you can add Ari to that group. The man who is hero to some and a demon to others.
The book covers the earliest period of his life he remembers: when he worked understage as a Sullied kid for a piece of bread, through pickpocketing years on Keshum streets and the beginnings of his learning to be a magic-binder in Ashram.
So, let's get this out of the way first: is this similar to The Name of the Wind? Yes, even author makes that point with opening the book with man entering a tavern and ruminating on silence. Ari is a performer, a Storyteller known for his ability to ensnare his public and makes his stories stick to their mind. So, yes the story opens with a lyrical prose and a certain flair, just like the book that directly inspired it, but it quickly develops into its own story. To be completely honest, the more Virdi was getting away from purple prose and finding his own voice the better it made his book for me. It took me several days to get through first couple of chapters because it felt like author was paying so much attention to the way story was told and the pace took the brunt of it. But once he actually started telling what went down, I couldn't stop reading. I ended up reading all night this book and went to the work with red eyes and happy. And isn't that the best experience for a reader?
Then there is also something else author infused into his story with that's completely him: South Asian mythology and culture were clearly the foundation of the world Virdi imagined, while ticking all the boxes of a classical epic fantasy. It's rich and exciting in its uniqueness and novelty it brings to the genre, but my favourite part is that he made a point to show it's an old world with a rich history, a world that was lived in a long before Ari came to it. Stories he tells about Gods and First Men made me feel that for a such a long book it's like we barely scratched the surface and there is so much more to find out and be amazed by.
The story is kind of episodic in nature, because you can clearly divide it in 3 periods of Ari's life:
-Ari working in a theatre where he first learns to love stories and the importance of performing it. It's also where he first comes in touch with Binding and decides he wants to become a Binder. The kid Ari is easy to love and easy to be annoyed with and it's honestly where book really clicked for me.
-But, I started really loving it with second part of the book when Ari was forced to become a pickpocket and a child beggar. It's probably the darkest part of the novel and it made Ari into a student Ashram has never seen before.
-Third part is ever-the-favorite theme in fantasy novels: the school where our main character learns magic. The life Ari led so far made him miles ahead of other students. You know how there is a rich Draco-rival kid and a teacher with whom our heroes in this type of stories come to clash? You have that here as well, but Virdi flipped it on his head because it's not a usual kid out of his/her own depth who somehow pulls it off- Ari is clearly out of depth, but so is everyone else with Ari. They are not ready for someone like him and I was delighted by his mischief and his adventures as he learned the principles of Binding. It's the part of the story that comes as respite after his Sparrow years and I flew through it.
-Intersected with the story of his life are interludes happening in the presence as Ari meets mysterious woman, Eloine, in Etaynia, a coastal city of Mutri Empire. Both of them are there for a reason and their plans keep putting them at the same place. I loved her and I can't wait to know more about her, but I do have some suspicions on who she may be.
The story ends up on a hell of a cliffhanger and it's going to be hard waiting to see where Virdi takes this story next.
The First Binding is a delight to read. It's just one of those book you lose yourself completely in and I truly hope it will become a big thing.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and R. R. Virdi for an advanced copy of The First Binding. All opinions are my own.

[Sally Coulson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter (a county librarian) gave me a copy of this book to read and I've never read anything like it. It's beautiful, like poetry. I love the stories within stories and genesis myths shown throughout it. My family is East African in origin ancestrally, and there are themes in here even though this is mostly Asian that feel so similar and like I'm reading bits of my own culture, and that is beautiful to see.

I almost didn't pick this up because of some of the reviews saying Ari is unlikable at first, and I almost have to wonder if those people are POCs who've ever had to apply for a job with an ethnic name on their resume. I'll say this. As a black woman I've had to fight 5 times as hard while being more qualified than a white person to get the same job. Ari came off cocky to me until I realized the opening is a performer doing a job audition as a Storyteller literally as a foreigner in another country.

Idk about you, but I wouldn't hire someone coming in ho-hum humble and looking at his shoes if I had a business to run. I was sold when he literally deflates when the crowd of men in the beginning leave and what he does next is just start getting to know the bartender. He talks to him and asks about his story and life. THen we see Ari get distant, and sad.

Then he performs again, and he comes alive, then cocky. When he's done, and goes back to his room where no one can see him, he breaks down and cries. I'm not going to spoiler all of the book, but I'm glad I didn't listen to negative reviews.

Some people really are not going to get this book, but I'm going to say this. If you're minority, you're going to see a lot crap you've probably had to deal with in your life in this book in one way or another. Racism, poverty, weird treatment from people, and owning your business to get your job when people are already looking at you sideways.

Don't let the negative reviews get you off this. Anyone whining about cocky people didn't read far enough to see how complex they all are and they probably never had to hustle for a job in their life.

Read this book, and take it slow. I enjoyed it after dinner every night before bed. It's like a song. Slow, but beautiful. There's not much action of normal kind with big battles, but there's amazing stuff that still happens. Murder, revenge, pain, loss, growing up, trust, and having your trust broken. Friendship, betrayals, and huge adventures. This reads like those old epic adventure stories about getting to see different worlds and cultures. Traveling across the world.

5 stars!

[Ryan Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lyricism of this book is like sitting next to a warm fire in the winter. It's cozy and inviting, all the gentle things you rarely get from an epic fantasy, and especially from one of this size. Ari is a character that has so many flaws and short-comings and yet is so easy to empathize with. Almost everything that happens in this story is the fault of a child that's suffered and it's heartbreaking to see the (quite literal) road it brings him down. So much so that you can feel Virdi's own pain in the words.

Is it long? Yes. Does it, at times, appear to meander? Yes. But there's so much underneath every word. If you really look, there are things in all those meanderings that point to a greater road ahead. You can see the meta-analysis of storytelling and the shifts stories can have. It's easily to lose yourself in the fables that get told, but if you really think about them, they tell you so much more about what's happening in the frame story--and that's another thing. The frame story is EXCELLENT. Say what you want about the inner story and its similarities to NotW, but no one can convince me that the frame story in TFB isn't much, much more exciting. It feels more like The Wheel of Time there than it does NotW, and that makes it all the better.

I've heard Virdi intends for the Tales of Tremaine to go on well beyond 3 books. It's easy to see, after already getting through 800+ pages, how that will be the case. There's so much here. So much to uncover. So much to love.

[Siavahda · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disclaimer: I did not get far into this book at all. My usual rule is to not DNF a book before at least the 20% mark, but readers, I didn't even make it to 10% before I wanted to throw this thing out a window. So it is very possible that First Binding gets much better after a rocky start. Take my following review with a fair bit of salt.

The biggest issue I have with it is something that I doubt other readers will even notice: the 'rhythm' of the prose is off for me, like listening to a song that's just a little out of tune. I really wish I had the technical knowledge to be able to explain this, because it's an issue I run into a lot - often with books other readers enjoy, so I do think it's more a me-problem than a book-problem. But when you put a comma after 'but' and 'though' at the start of every sentence, my eye starts twitching, and I'm not a fan of first-person anyway, so The First Binding was already working at a disadvantage.

But this is just so pretentious. It's over 1000 pages on my Kindle, and I'm willing to bet that's because the entire thing is the main character loving the sound of his own voice way, way too much.

The worst sort of prison held the Three Tales Tavern.

An emptiness.

A stillness.

And that is always meant to be broken.

It hung like a cord gone taut, quivering and waiting to snap. It was the quiet of held breaths, wanting for a voice, but ready to bite at any that dare make noise. It was the soundlessness of men too tired to speak and with an ear to hear even less. And all the stillness of an audience waiting for the play to begin.

This opening reminds me, painfully, of the opening to the first draft of the first book I wrote at 13, which was an awful lot of purple prose about the fact that it was raining. I just Cannot. It's so...I'm blanking on coming up with anything other than pretentious again. I think it's largely because this is in first-person. You can get away with this kind of thing in third-person, I think, sometimes, if you're a good enough writer. But first-person? If you speak like this in first-person I already think your narrator is a jackass, and that's not a great way to begin our relationship.

It just gets worse and worse from there. The magic system is intriguingly different to anything I've seen before - it involves 'folding' the mind like origami, as best I can make out - but that can't trump describing the first female character you take notice of as having skin like cooked sugar. I really hope she turns out to be an ice-cold assassin or something, but she's introduced as a singer who strokes men's collars and bats her eyes and is The Most Beautiful and wow this is a very Straight Male book, isn't it?

None of the drink left a trail of foam and froth across her lips. It was like it refused to adhere.

I'm having flashbacks to Kvothe obsessing over Denna in Name of the Wind.

And the singer isn't even the first time we get these vibes; before she's introduced in chapter 2 (in a chapter titled A Dark and Wild Woman, which, how about NO) we get this;

"It's a silly thing--a woman was involved."

There always is--always.

And this

Her. How so many stories start.

I really hope I'm wrong, and this book subverts all my new expectations of it, but everything I read screamed 'dudebro book' and I am just not here for that.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy from the publisher. My reviews are always honest.

I've been following R.R. Virdi's inspiring journey for a while now and have been eagerly awaiting this release.

I have also been in a reading slump for months, basically for most of 2022, and I was worried that I wouldn't manage to tackle this 800 page book, but the opening drew me in right away, and I rarely looked up to check Twitter on my phone. That's a rarity nowadays.

The First Binding is the first novel in a new epic fantasy series, Tales of Tremaine, infused with South Asian world-building elements, and if you've read The Name of the Wind, you will without a doubt compare the two.

The opening and pacing in general is slow. Virdi takes great care to build the characters, world, and plot without rushing, but at no point did I feel impatient. On the contrary, I enjoyed every single tangent Ari, the Storyteller, takes the reader on.

Virdi uses, much like Rothfuss, a frame narrative. At the beginning Ari arrives in an inn, just like Kvothe, and ends up telling his story. Told in first person, The First Binding jumps back and forth between the past and the present, but there isn't just a story within a story, several narratives are woven through the main plot, and I found all of them gripping.

The world-building and magic system are rich and immersive, and Virdi's prose is beautiful, even lyrical at times. Ari is a fascinating character, flawed, troubled, impulsive and can't keep his mouth shut, but he's also caring.

There is a magic school (of course) and I'm not a huge fan of that setting or the coming-of-age theme, but this is mostly a novel about stories and storytelling, and the emphasis lies more on the importance of found family, friendship and kindness.

I highly recommend The First Binding to every epic fantasy fan and am assuming that in a decade it'll be remembered as one of the cornerstones of this genre.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can we all just agree to be honest here for a second? The First Binding is not the spiritual successor to Name of the Wind…..It IS The Name of the Wind.

I feel like I’m going insane reading all these reviews praising the ingenuity of this debut novel, when in reality this exact story was written over a decade ago by another author. Yes, the setting has a different cultural inspiration. Yes, the magic system is totally unique and frankly quite intriguing. HOWEVER, despite not having read Name of the Wind in over four years and also having indulged in over 500+ stories since then I was able to identify a shockingly long list of plot points, character traits, tropes, and actual story progression details that felt completely ripped straight from another story. This isn’t an homage to one of the most recognizable fantasy stories in decades. THIS IS THE SAME FREAKING STORY.

Let me be clear- Patrick Rothfuss does not own the framing device and other authors have also utilized it to great success. That is not a problem. Those other stories relied on the storytelling backstory to frame completely unique stories. The First Binding completely ignores this point and matches the story encompasses within the framing device to such a degree that if it were the final term paper of a high school English class it would be flagged as plagiarism almost immediately.

My most overwhelming umbrage with the fact that no one else seems to want to acknowledge this point comes from the glaringly obvious truth that THIS AUTHOR HAS SO MUCH TALENT. Its transparent from the opening pages that Virdi has an obvious, natural talent to craft a beautifully written story. The prose is flowing, pleasing, and full of the enriching details that show the author gave his heart and soul to tell this story. The problem lies with how in any given instance, The First Binding blindly follows in the path blazed by Name of the Wind. This outright spoiled my enjoyment of the positive aspects of the writing. No amount of elegant prose can disguise a story devoid of an original idea. Dress it up with any little details you like in a poor attempt to justify that no one challenged Virdi to buck the temptation to blindly copy + paste the above mentioned details into his story. If only he had occasionally attempted to take his story or characters in a different direction, made some small concession to an original idea I may not feel the need to hate write a review so bitter that I’m actually giving myself acid reflux thinking about it.

The longer I reflect on what was one of the single largest time investments I’ve put into a story this year (18+ actual reading hours believe me I counted them) the more I’m ready to chalk this up as one of the most overhyped, disappointing “debut” books of all time. ~~Originally, I was going to give The First Binding 4/5 stars, but if I’m holding myself to the same honestly metric I’m asking other readers to admit to I’m realistically going to give this 2.5/5 stars for a blustering overblown rehash of what another author has done better.~~

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, thank you to NetGalley and Tor for an advanced copy of this wonderful tome.

This book is lyrical and beautiful in all its tragedy and harmony. It definitely feels like a successor to "The Name of the Wind" but it's also its own creature. I went in thinking I was getting a gorgeously written book, but now I know that this will be one of my favorites for a long time to come. The words swept me away every time I opened the book and it really is a shame it had to end so soon. If there were ever a genre of escapism, this book fits that description perfectly. There are so many places this story can go from here and I can't wait to read every word that RR Virdi has to offer of this world. I've already preordered the ebook version and will be ordering the hardcover when it comes out. I just can't wait for more!

[Richard Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of extraordinary depth; people are going to be unpicking the secrets of Tremaine for years to come.

[Juliano Dutra · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I started reading, the information I had was that the "narrative structure" was similar to "The Name of the Wind". I thought: "Great. It's a structure I like. Keep those books coming!"

So the book starts...
"The worst sort of prison held the Three Tales Tavern.
An emptiness.
The stillness".

I thought. Humm... Too similar, but it's just the beginning, right?

Then it starts pouring out EXACTLY the same plot points and "mythology" from the other book.

Lives with a group of artists. The smart teacher appears, who teaches you magic and tells you about the school where you will learn more.

Now, the ugliest part of the copy: the group of artists you live and work with decide to performe a work of art about a legendary group - which people are afraid to mention - and when the play is about to be performed, the legendary group of IMMORTALS shows up and kills everyone ...

That's right...

Then you go to a city and have to work with a group of other street urchin...

Well, the list is much longer than that. There's copy of a lot characters, like Auri, Ambrose - I haven't read that part, but it looks like they're going to have the same fate. Even Vintas's "Social Rings" system is used.

Here was where i could go no longer.

Other reasons i didn`t ejoy the experience: The MC always talking about how he is smart and the best storyteller in the world. And no story he tells seems special to me - he just uses "Visual Effects" to enhance them (like Michael Bay movies). After the audience's effusive reaction I even waited to see if he had used magic to control them or something...

Anyway. If you want a fan fiction - actually, a rewritten copy - of "Name of the Wind", maybe you will enjoy, only the prose is much worse and, amazingly, the depiction of the female characters is even more dated and sexist than Rothfuss books!

[Amal · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Long Review** - I was provided a copy of this book to read for review

“Beyond the sides of good and evil,

There is a field of curiosity and dreams. I will meet you there.

At the end itself. Bring me your stories; live, love, and learn. I want to hear it all.

I am waiting. Find me.

-Brahm The Wanderer”

The First Binding is several stories within a story, several narratives clamoring for our attention all woven through the main narrative; it is several characters that are both completely unsympathetic and at the same time, in desperate need of solace and kindness; it is the use of creation myth from a part of the world that frankly doesn’t get nearly enough attention and finally: it is a fully immersive tale of humans – the good, the bad, the poor, and the powerful.

Due to the depth and breadth of this novel, the review is being sectioned off into separate pieces so as to do it justice. Fair warning: I will try to make it as spoiler free as I can but there may be a spoiler or two.

Narrative:

The basics of this story are familiar – and will read familiar to many readers of high fantasy. This is actually a good thing in and of itself because while the basic narrative is familiar and comforting, the details and surrounding story structure are wholly the author’s own. In addition to taking a familiar trope in fantasy and turning it upside down and inside out – contorting it to make it his own, the author weaves in almost seamlessly several narrative threads throughout the story. You always feel like you are just getting immersed just right and boom – you find a new thread. That is the trick to really exceptional narrative structure in this reviewer’s opinion. It is making the threads you weave into the narrative not perfectly seamless. A reader should be jarred a little – so that they are wondering if they actually just read what they read – this makes a novel more interesting than just a run of the mill read. The devil is in the details in this book and it is a million little details that move the narrative along AND introduce tiny little threads. This is brilliance in narrative building. Who knew that gold eyes would have such a significance? Not this reader – at least not the first time they appear.

World Building:

What a beautifully complex world R.R. Virdi has built; a lot like our own in so many ways and not at all like our own in other ways. The first indicator that this world is a world that crushes regular tropes is the unabashed / matter of fact discussion of castes and how they work in this society Virdi is building. There are the obvious class divisions (rich / poor etc.) but the caste system and how it really works just kind of is. There is no real way to describe how it simply appears on the page, the characters discuss caste like it is a common place normal thing. It isn’t demonized or lionized – it just is. That is not to say the characters who do discuss it don’t use their elevated caste to sneer down at those in what is a low caste or that slurs against lower castes are not really considered poor manners but it is just so matter of fact that it is as normal as anything else in this world.

I really enjoyed the author’s supremely realistic depiction / view of true poverty and what it looks like and feels like in a place with no social safety net. The descriptors of the taste of a mango for someone who would consider it an unbelievable treat were so beautiful. The normalcy of hunger, of only eating what most consider slops is as true to life as real poverty is. The indignity of being not clean because soap is an unimaginable luxury and you are the lowest caste so no one cares that you are suffering an indignity was described with almost a detached laser focus that still managed to convey the humiliation subconsciously felt.

The society itself is a society that can really be found anywhere and that is to his favour. Magic (the Bindings) are at first an afterthought but later they are all. I loved the use of magic to do the most mundane things like a cold box. The sights, smells just come through the page at you. You aren’t just reading about a market place or festival or hospital for that matter – they are so vividly drawn that you are right there.

The combination of all of these things plus a liberal dose of imagination make this just a fascinating world to immerse in. It is just so vividly drawn that you can’t help but fall into it.

Characters:

A caveat from this reviewer: I don’t have to find the characters likeable to love the book.

I wonder sometimes if when authors create characters, they spring fully formed into their minds and are just there. That can be one explanation for how fully formed most of these characters are. The other is that the author could just be a master at creating characters that soon just grow and take on a life of their own. Could be either one.

Ari, Master Binder, the Sparrows, Koli, so many characters that if I listed them all, I would be here all day. They are all just so well done.

Our main character (Ari) owns the page when he needs to but blends seamlessly with others in the scene when he doesn’t. One of the most heartbreaking scenes in the whole book is a scene that I can’t say much about without spoiling it but it is a moment of realization for Ari that perhaps things aren’t always as they appear and some creatures aren’t creatures of malice but are just acting in their nature. As a reader, this scene actually made me tear up – as a reviewer, the way the scene was written made me giddy. I like that Ari isn’t wholly likeable – I like that he can be cruel and devious; real people are not 100% likeable and in an epic like this, why would you not want to make your characters a bit real. Adult Ari is just as shades of gray and I love it.

There is another very important character in this book but I don’t want to review this character as yet, she just isn’t so fully formed here in this novel and I feel like with what little we have, reviewing her isn’t a good idea. I do wish, given the pivotal roles she is seeming to play, that she was a bit more fleshed out but we will just have to wait until book 2 for it.

Language/word use:

I have waxed poetic about so many things in this book but here, here is the true mastery of this author. I don’t have adequate vocabulary to describe the beauty and lyricism of the writing in this book. It reads like a song, it reads like a poem all while actually being a novel. The stories told by the Storyteller are long form oral history poems drawn with words that bring them to life, the songs beautiful or menacing depending on where they land in the novel. The way Mr. Virdi weaves his story using words is incredible but it is in how the words are used that the true beauty lay. It is as though he envisioned the story as a tapestry and is weaving it using language.

The quote at the top is lifted directly from the book.

This is a must read. Not a maybe read – a must read. It is going to go on my permanent re-read shelf because it is 100% the kind of novel that if you read it again, you will find something you missed the first time around.

[Ashley Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrical, lovely, and beautifully South Asian

It was great to read a competent South Asian protagonist in this story as I don't have so many still in fiction or even other media (Reader note: I am mixed, so this is important to me). We are so often seen as comedic relief or the nerdy type characters. Ari is not, and that is both inspiring and refreshing. He is gorgeously flawed, and you realize that the more you get through the book and the layers are peeled away from him. Why he acts the way does, what his masks are, and the beginnings of who he really is and how he came to be.

The story starts off in Etaynia, a country that comes off to me like Spain or Portugal? Somewhere at the end of Virdi's Silk Road (called the Golden Road here). Ari is a traveling performer/storyteller trying to pursue a new goal in the present day.

You get both vibes of someone who is tired, maybe broken, but still persevering in the face of that to do some good.

The story shifts to the past around the first ten chapters, and then you begin learning about Ari's past. We are taken to the Mutri Empire (what is Virdi's South Asian inspired empire). It was wonderful as a South Asian to see through his eyes and something familiar to me being done in fiction and on the epic fantasy size/scope (because this is a big book). The worldbuilding is phenomenal and I loved it, and the magic system is something I haven't seen before.

It's somewhere between hard and soft magic? There are rules and you learn some of them, but a lot is still being kept from you as it's kept from Ari, and figuring out the way it works is part of his journey.

We are taken through the low bad parts of Ari's early life, seeing some hints at caste problems, poverty, and what he has to endure with there, and then a shift to seeing the better (sort of) and more aspirational side/life in the Mutri Empire when he leaves his first home off to somewhere else.

It is a great journey story, and I loved seeing the level of diversity over it and the range of characters that it's shown through.

I am really excited to see where the series goes.

Note: I was given a free ebook advance reader copy for an honest review

[Xerxes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The First Binding is a story treasure trove, surrounding the stories of mankind and gods. Suffice it to say, it's written in the style of old Indian epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is a gigantic bibliographic story of a character who has done much in his life, but I do not see the main character, Ari as the villain of the story. Rather, the characters around him shaped his life into what he became today. Suffice it to say, I didn't end up liking Eloine in the story because she had her own motives, and was driven out of an interest to gain, but not too much to benefit Ari. She was an important character that held her own ground, and she was a very dominant personality.

It's hard to summarise such a long tale as this because each chapter has a story to tell. The prose is written in a fanciful way to achieve this effect, illuminating us towards the works of older styles of epic lore and literature. I also read the note of the author thanking Jim Butcher for his advice on this: if the novel will sell, it will sell. And I agree. This novel will sell because it tells a story of creation, of beginning and time. And to talk about Ari, at every single moment of the book I never felt that he was the villain because he never did do anything that would cause harm to others. Rather, if he did, then it was out of his own selfish motives and greed. It's said that in Hindu Mythology, we have multiverses. Different multiverses of the same world.

Specially written in the Puranas, one of the most epic and oldest literature of Hindusim that notes that there are hundreds of planets like this. In one area of a different world, Ravana, the King of the Asuras, would be a hero. In another area, he would be a tragic hero brought to become a villain. In the same way, I feel as if there are hundreds of different multiverses out there, I have no doubt that if Ari was given a time machine or some way to travel back in time and correct his mistakes, I have absolutely no doubt that he would. And I would urge the author to look into some time travel for the sequel of this wonderful novel.

In the end, it's a story spanning hundreds of characters, of descriptions that will make the world come alive, and it does not hide the horrors of war, or caste, or brutality. This would be a perfect series for a TV series, and I would love to see something like this being adapted one day. This is an epic novel, and it's a great novel. Wonderfully written, it's a rich exploration into Hindu Mythology and a unique combination of West meeting East. Love it, 10/10.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
I appreciated the teeming surrounding storytelling which definitely felt reminiscent to The Name of the Wind (a clear inspiration for this novel. However this book was just too long winded with not enough plot to justify 800 pages. I slogged through for the sake of a review but I wouldn't recommend it for people who are reading solely for pleasure. It felt very pretentious without the quality writing to back it up.

[fleshy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fanfic that somehow got published. There is no other explanation for the beat similarities with the Name of the Wind. The prose, dialogue, scenes, characters, plot, are all parallels to that specific book, not fantasy in general.

It’s a long, boring story which the unsubtle writing makes torturous. This has issues. The writing, the women, the way weight is described, the logic...


Writing

The, uh, prose reminds me of TNOTW. The narrator, or the author, thinks he’s very clever, and it’s obnoxious. It’s written in the first person, which makes it all the worse. If I was 15 years younger (like when I read TNOTW) I’d probably like it. Now I find this style of writing tedious. Some things are said prettily enough, but for the most part it was unbearably cheesy.

“His hair carried more streaks of chalk and iron than it should have at his age” - “Iron” is used constantly as a descriptor. It’s in hair, filling eyes (as a color or as an emotion!), voices are “ice over iron,” and so on. The word is used 70+ times in similar contexts.

“The air thickened into something chewable” - This is said in moment of tension

“A simple spun shirt” - the fuck is a spun shirt? It’s called “homespun” because people spun the yarn and wove the cloth at home. Entire shirts weren’t falling off spindles. It’s clear the author knows this because 200 pages later we have, “He wore a shirt of homespun that could have been cotton.” Clunky sentences like that abound, padding this fucker out.

“I exhaled, releasing warm air over my wooden tool.” - absolutely hilarious

“Somewhere between” is used 13 times to describe wide ranges of various things. Like, ridiculous wide ranges. Someone’s eyes are “somewhere between slate and pine boughs,” which shouldn’t even be on the same scale, but I think it’s supposed to be hazel? Another silly one is, "The beverage was a color somewhere between pine wood and molasses." It’s between pale and dark? Thanks, very informative.

“The promise of” - 25 times. It really stands out when you read the whole book in one sitting.

Lots of "bands" of things. Bands of rain, bands of ice, bands of moonlight, bands of iron, bands of flexible wood, bands of pain, bands of sparrows, bands of bandits. It’s used 60+ times.

Dialogue is broken up by big chunks of pondering and info dumping. Little details are obsessed over: the foam clinging on a woman’s lips, the color of a glazed jug, how big someone’s paunch is. Like the paunch, it gets in the way of the story that refuses to happen.

Lots of “kissed bys” and “made themselves knowns.”

Ari rolls his wrist a lot, whatever that means. At some point Eloine/singer starts rolling her wrists too. Everyone’s rolling wrists.

People are described in very unflattering ways. Faces like dogs, blubberous masses. "Flaws" are exaggerated and gone over in great detail. Either characters have godlike beauty or they are unforgivably hideous. Fat people are pointed out most frequently, and the narrator/author seems to have particular disgust for them; he chooses to present them as monstrosities drowning in their own fat, even the nice ones.

"Thrummed like a mandolin string" - mandolins are strung in courses, two strings tuned the same which are placed side by side. Ari carries a broken mandolin around with him, you'd think he'd know more about the instrument. This is such a silly thing to pick at, I know.

It's ironic that the narrator complains about other storytellers going on tangents when it happens constantly in the book. The plot is routinely interrupted for Ari to opine, philosophize, bemoan his fate, or tell us how ugly someone is.

"Set" is used to describe a number of days. The narrator tells us this varies by country since there is no universal calendar. The problem is at 80% I forgot what it meant in whatever country he's in in whichever timeline.

While I think how the author/narrator describes skin tone is often iffy (burnt sugar, sand, wet dirt, tree bark, tea, molasses, lots of sun kissed skin, etc), I do like the variety of ways he does so.

The stories Ari tells sound written, not like oral tradition.

Plot

Full spoilers. I note many of the things taken from TNOTW.

A guy walks into a bar. He’s very dramatic, gets a free beer, and convinces some old people to run around town and gather an audience from him. Dude starts folding aka splitting his mind, just like Kvothe.

He’s a performer who works the crowd, like Kvothe.

He knows the truth about things in the world, has some deep, essential understanding of them. It reminds me of someone, someone who was good at naming things. Things like the wind…

The similarities, scenes and plot points lifted directly from TNOTW, don't stop. I understand the author did a lot of research to emulate hanging verses from historical storytellers, which you can see in the stories Ari tells. I don't have an issue with the framing narrative in general, we just spend far too much time in it and the plot diverges frequently. It’s highly disruptive, as is all the in-story storytelling. I should have counted how many times it happens, it’s gotta be 20+.

The first chapter is him being dramatic and listening to the very short tale of how the owner of the bar came to own a bar. Then he spends more time being dramatic so he can tell a story. He gets distracted by a super captivating lady, dark eyed and mysterious, not at all like the other girls. Like Denna. From TNOTW.

In chapter three, we get the in-story story he built up to in chapter two. Riveting stuff. And to think, I was going to read a book about shipping containers instead! Why should I care about this world’s mythology when I don’t know anything about it at all? He tells the story in about ten minutes, does some magic shadow puppets, and people lose their fucking minds.

He goes for a walk in the rain with the singing lady. He names her Eloine (note that a song Kvothe performs is about a woman named Aloine). We are exposed to some of the most banal, cringy “banter” I’ve ever read. What intelligent woman is going to be like, “Why aren’t you staring at my soaking wet body? Don’t you find it pleasing?” Such puerile complimenting fishing from an adult is awful to read. The emotional whiplash is too. This pair flips between inelegant “flirting” to soul-crushing sadness every other sentence.

The narrator, who doesn’t have a name at this point, has a secret identity. One he is absolute shit at hiding, as the singing lady clocks him immediately. It makes him pissed when she calls him out. She pets him, which settles him down (she does this many times throughout). Dude has the emotional control of a baby. He gets oddly flustered whenever she’s remotely crass. I’m not into this dynamic at all.

Ari, who now has a name, decides to tell this woman, who he has known for all of thirty minutes, his life story. Why? Because she’s pretty, and there’s something about her, I guess. She isn't like other girls, and Ari isn't like other boys as she keeps reminding us. And yes, this is the same set up as TNOTW. Rainy night, tavern, a maudlin fallen hero, has their life story ready to divulge to whoever asks nicely/sexily.

There’s another delay in Ari’s actual story when their lame date is interrupted by some religious fanatic knights. Isn’t that what happens in TNOTW? At least Kvothe got the shit beat out of him in that and didn't leap into Matrix-style theatrics (as in Ari straight up leaping through a window to run across rooftops).

Finally, 10% in, we get to what we've been waiting for: the main character's story. He's an orphan who works at a theater. After two short chapters of this miserable life, he's telling another story. Yes, he is telling a story within a story within a story within a story. The plot, the main plot, stops dead. Half way through this sub-sub-sub-story, which is a creation myth, it turns into erratic rhyming verse. This happens when someone else is telling a story, too, just sporadic rhyming. I don’t know if it’s part of real world tradition, or the author’s invention.

What's strange, besides this disjointed story telling, is that child Ari talks and tells stories exactly like adult Ari. We don’t know his age, and he probably doesn’t either, but we could at least have an estimate. His little orphan friend Nisha kisses him at one point, so I’m guessing he’s over 10? Some speculation about his age could have helped with characterization, and explain why a child is spewing poetry left and right. [At around 50% we learn that, almost two years after the theater fire, he's 14]

A wizard shows up to teach him magic, to use his brain in a special way. More similarities to TNOTW. While Ari is learning how to firebend, he also learns sword fighting.

This training montage thankfully ends when everyone dies.

It’s worth noting the owner, Khalim, was researching stories about the evil Ashura, and the Ashura killed him. Very similar to why Kvothe’s family died. The exact same reason, one might say.

Just when it's getting interesting, we are flung back into present time. Some demons catch up to adult Ari and attack him in the tavern. I feel like I've read a book where that exact thing happened. Anyway, he then tells another story for the bar. I skimmed over it, it's filler which doesn't advance the plot, and it's more informative than entertaining.

Eloine shows up, having stolen his money to buy a dress for her private machinations, and we return to little orphan Ari. The kid falls in with a band of thieving urchins led by a man who conveniently has it out for the dude/demon that offed the theater troupe. The thieves are called sparrows and there is a ton of chirping and bird calls and other bird themes.

Things pick up around the halfway point. I fear I'll be sucked back into the terrible void of the framing narrative. The story continues to mirror TNOTW, and teenage thief king Ari follows a rumor he hears to an inn with a storyteller. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he finally goes to magic school, meets a girl, and makes money on the side as a performer.

But before that, he plans a heist because he needs more money to travel to magic school. During this part the forced lyricism goes away. I'd wager the author got tired of writing it. Instead, we are laboriously taken step by step through the plan, following every little interaction and explanation of why something is being done. Ari makes a shady deal to work for the merchant king after a year of magic school, then heads north.

We're subjected to another intermission. Eloise meets some Romani (I forget the in-universe name), Ari walks to another town to find a library/kill a prince. Why? Who knows and who cares.

Back in the past, Ari takes a wagon up north. I swear, he even travels in the same direction as Kvothe… On this wagon he meets another wizard/binder (also like Kvothe, when will this end?) There's a strange girl with secrets (Denna mk 4). She's Laki, from Ampur. More stories are told. Ari worries about money despite being an adept thief.

He shows up at the school and is immediately sent into a test, amazing timing. One of the teachers is a weirdo who refuses to teach him. Could Ari have a special relationship with him in the future? Will there be a rich boy he butts heads with? Based on what happens in TNOTW, yes, and the story indeed bears both out.

He gets into it with the rich boy, has to go through physical punishment, and drugs himself to walk across coals unscathed. He had the option of being whipped, but that was just too much like TNOTW, I guess. The teachers, the classmates, the classes are all the same as TNOTW. You think changing the manner of punishment obscures this? More examples are:

One reason he wants to go to magic school is to use the library to look up stuff about the demons who killed his family.

The wacky teacher takes him to a tower where they store all the students driven insane, a tower the teacher was once confined in. Ari is even pushed off the tower as a test.
He decides to focus on crafting magic to make money.
He talks to a tinkerer and hears news about an Ashura attack.

After this there's another "intermission". Ari gets an invitation to a noblewoman's room and the fucking weirdest, most nonsensical conversation takes place. I guess the lady wants to fuck him. Her husband shows up, and Ari books it. Later he gets a black flower pin and a note from the husband that says, "welcome to the game." A prince shows up to explain the meaning of all the flower pins.

An assassin shows up and they have a cryptic conversation. Soon after we learn something's wonky with Ari's magic. Like Kvothe. Ugh. Then Eloine shows up. She's been entertaining a prince, who's lending her to Ari to translate a children's book. I think three and a half days have passed in present time. They are skyrocketing up the social ladder.

The "game" is the same vague bullshit we've been getting since ASOIAF. Why space is devoted to this is beyond me. Why Ari, someone who ran a criminal information ring at 14, is so ignorant of the local political climate he is trying to infiltrate is also beyond me.

Back at magic school, he struggles with his magic string project. He goes to town and finds the rich boys about to torture a kitten. He gets beat up but saves the cat.

He hears about another Ashura attack in Ampur and spends a stupid amount of money to travel to the site. He learns a secret language. Like Kvothe. (I'm tired of it too).

In Ampur he finds Laki hiding in a cellar. Who could have predicted he'd see Denna mk 4 here? She talks about a giant serpent, he scoffs at it, then runs into a giant serpent. (Like Kvote runs into a draccas/dragon)

He and his friend Radi act like loud idiots, dislodging loose snow and riling up the serpent. It's a really frustrating scene to read. The snake dies in an avalanche caused by all the screaming. The truth of this is exaggerated, just like…

Ari/Kvothe starts inadvertently calling things by their "true" names. Will Ibrahm/Elodin notice? I'm going to predict at a certain point Ibrahm will say it's too dangerous not to teach him.

Ari manipulates a mentally ill student named Immi into teaching him, mirroring the relationship between Kvothe and Auri.

He uses the secret trader signs he learned for his reinforced strings. He’s making the strings for a kite contest so he can beat all the other kites. I think this subplot is one of the only original ideas present. The duel/betting scenario is not. There’s an entire chapter of kite fights. He gets caught cheating/betting, gets his winnings confiscated, and gets a promotion. Who could have possibly predicted that.

He takes the cat to visit Immi. Then he carries his cat around in a sack during a festival, not bothering to drop him off in his room. Has the author ever interacted with a cat in his life? You think they’d tolerate being bagged up and carried around loud places? Nitham/Ambrose gets hold of the cat. Ari/Kvothe finally binds something and uses it to attack. Ibrahm/Elodin shows up to prevent someone from dying. Ibrahm takes him as an apprentice because he is too dangerous not to teach. We’re following a map, and there was no other possible outcome. He gets drunk with his friends, and we’re back in the meta-story.

Ari goes to a masquerade. Eloine kisses him then fucks off. The next day some convoluted shit happens and Ari is accused of murdering a prince. We end with him in prison.



Worldbuilding/Characters

It wasn't clear at first where present day Ari was, how distant from his own culture(s). The meta-story is some kind of jumbled European region. There are a lot of Latin derived words, a church and theocracy, the lady he's talking to seems based on Romani tropes (much like Denna). She's dressed basically like a cast member of Carmen, barefooted, lots of bangles. It's very generic.

His childhood world sounds much more interesting. There's a caste system, colorism, a massive trade route called the Golden Road. Unfortunately, at the beginning, we're trapped in a rundown theater and don't get to see much of it. Much of the worldbuilding happens in stories the characters tell each other, mostly about gods and heroes. I wish we learned more.

The magic system is a little interesting. It's a watered down version of what the creator god, Brahm, can do. The way it works isn't clear, and isn't that impressive when you think about it. Ignoring the similarities with TNOTW, the magic here has Ari picturing multiple images in his mind then convincing himself that what he imagines is reality. It's not clear what "folding" is, or why he can't have something pre-folded and picture it all at once instead of going through the whole process. Does he fold it in half? I don't know, applying logic is kind of pointless. Magic works because it does. I think the problem I have is that it doesn't sound that challenging to me, and it doesn't sound like people need any special ability to do it. Ari gets a handle on it rapidly. He's a little prodigy. Like Kvothe.

I've read some reviews that explain Ari's pretentious and arrogant behavior as a way for him to move through racist and hostile environments. I would agree, except for one thing: he has the same attributes as a child. With his friends. It's who the character is.

Lots of gender and racial essentialism, which is too common in fantasy and far too common in the real world. Why do we still need it in modern fantasy?

No queer characters. Is that important? Perhaps not, but I don't see a good reason to not include any. The only hints of it are adulterers and rapists. Yikes. [A sexy androgynous person gets tacked on near the end. A request from the editor to be more inclusive? A trope?]

The place Ari is from is a kingdom named Abhar, which is within the Mutri Empire. I don’t think a kingdom could exist within an empire, definitionally. The ruler of the kingdom would not be a monarch as they are answerable to a higher authority.



Conclusion

Without the bloated framing device, without the purple prose, and truncating some of the story telling, this book could have been pared down to a third of its size and be all the better for it. It did not need to be a 350k tome. Cut away all the fluff and there's a decent, if derivative, story hiding inside.

As is, I'm not sure who could enjoy this. People who haven't read the Name of the Wind. People who believe clunky sentences and awkward metaphors are literary. For me, this was an immature slog that straddled the line of copyright infringement.

Cataloging all the shit lifted from the Name of the Wind was boring. The sheer amount of it...I'm stunned it was allowed.

[Pranav Prabhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The First Binding was a book completely outside my radar until very recently. After coming across a few positive reviews, an interview with the author, and knowing only that it was a retrospective story set in a South Asian-inspired world, I was intrigued enough to read it, though my expectations going in were fairly moderate. My thoughts during and after completing it are still quite jumbled and not set in stone. So I’ve decided to split this review into sections, which makes it easier for me to articulate what I felt about each of these individual aspects of the overall novel.

Structure and Framing

This is a first-person retrospective tale — Ari, the main character, narrates his legendary past to a travelling performer who recognizes him in a land distant from their homes. However, instead of this just being the frame for the main story, the frame narrative has its own ongoing plot that takes a non-negligible amount of page time. So, it feels like the frame begins somewhere in the middle of the character’s journey, which continues to progress throughout the book concurrent with the protagonist catching you up with his backstory. I quite liked this approach once I understood what was happening — it felt like both were active parts of the plot.

Writing

On the whole, I found the prose pleasant to read. It does not hinder the story, proving a solid vessel for its delivery that shines in its descriptions and performances. There is a certain lyricism that the author has tried to impart, and this both works and does not work. When there are stories within stories, like the chapter dedicated to a tale of this world’s creation myth, I really enjoyed the rhyming narration and the expressive, more mythic slant to the writing. It really felt like a performer telling this story to an audience, which is what it was in-world.

However, in certain other places, it felt a tad overdone. When certain emotions were being described, for example, they sometimes felt one sentence too long — the metaphors used or the depth of comparison that was presented ran just a bit too long to sustain themselves. In general, I found the writing to get better and more comfortable as the book progressed — at first, I had minor annoyances with some phrasings and quirks, but they seemed to smooth out over time.

Characters

Much of this book’s focus is on the various legends of Ari and how they came to be. When we are first introduced to him, he seems like an arrogant but muted figure, like an annoying travelling performer who won’t leave you alone. It is clear, however, that this is just a persona he puts on to gain employment at taverns and that he has more to him that immediately meets the eye.

I enjoyed reading about Ari as a protagonist, most of the book focusing on his adolescence and training culminating in the first majorly spoken-about mythic event of his life. He is a well-rounded character who goes through a decent bit of development, but the most interesting things about him are how his legends came to be of his own deliberate doing, a product of his ambition and youthful arrogance. Whenever it feels like he progresses in accomplishing his dreams too easily, there is something that brings him back to earth or chastises his lack of thought for the consequences of his actions. He definitely isn’t a character I would put among the greats, but he is a well-realised protagonist whose decisions and actions and status in life majorly drive the story. Since this is Ari’s tale, the side characters move in and out of the plot. Mostly, they serve their purposes well: they are entertaining and have distinct personalities. The characters at the Ashram especially were fun to see Ari play off of or butt heads against.

The Two Parallel Plots

The story that Ari narrates takes up much of the page time, and it was this thread I enjoyed reading the most. It begins with his days working in a theatre house, where he meets a binder who sets him on the path to the Ashram. The rest is about his relentless pursuit of that goal — getting to the Ashram and learning binding — and the reality of the situation when he gets there. One of the most interesting and recurring aspects of Ari’s story was the deliberate seeding of stories that get out of control. In many such books, exaggerated tales of the protagonist’s actions spread around without their knowledge and decisions. In this case, at every step of his journey, Ari plants seeds of legend in people whom he knows will spread the stories about himself around. Partly out of an innocence of the consequences and also for his greater ambitions. The subplot with the Sparrows was an enjoyable transitional step, but his classes and antics at the Ashram were my favourite parts of the story. The final event, his first true legendary action, was also great and very unexpected.

The concurrent thread taking place in the present — in between Ari narrating his story to Eloine — is my main issue with this book. This is partially due to the other story being much more interesting and also the presence of Eloine. Eloine is another travelling performer who meets and figures out who Ari is, the subject of his narration. The banter between her and Ari is, at best, okay. Many times, their interactions felt excessively awkward and like the author was trying too hard to make their conversations feel like genuine banter and flirtation that it came off as forced. To the point where I dreaded switching back in the interludes from the main narration, even though the plot as a whole was serviceable.

The Etanian family politics were a decent addition to this part of the story, and made some aspects of Ari’s overall journey have more meaning. It was quite interesting to see a figure spoken of in legend back in his home country still in the middle of his personal quest and end goal. His legend is an ongoing, developing one and not that which popped up after all the events of his life took place.

Since the first 30% is mostly focused on the present frame plot and set-up, it was easily the book at its weakest. I did not much like this portion (with exceptions) and only continued initially because it felt like I had to complete it. But once it settled into narrating Ari’s story after the inciting incident, I began to find it a pleasant reading experience and my enjoyment only grew from there.

Worldbuilding and Magic

Worldbuilding is where the book truly shines. Much of Ari’s story takes place in the Mutri Empire, a South Asian-inspired setting — it isn’t a direct analogue to any region or culture but feels like an original world with extremely well-integrated real-world cultures. It was great to recognize the little things the author has made an effort to put in: from the food to the linguistic inflections to the pervasive elements of caste, along with the inspired yet new lore. The creation myth and other such small stories of the world’s lore and history were excellent, for example. The present-time plot thread is set in Etania, which seems (from the map and the descriptions of peoples and culture) to be inspired by Spain. This setting is less sketched out, with less of the book focused here, but it felt distinct from the Mutri Empire where much of Ari’s story took place. The interactions between people of these different regions and their very different yet somehow connected legends of the world’s origins were some aspects I really enjoyed. Without the worldbuilding being as interesting or present in the story as it was, I do not think the book would have worked.

The magic of Bindings is also very cool. It is broad as well as displaying depth — there are rules but it is vaguely based on the person’s faith and philosophy, although it requires training — a good balance to give it an air of mystery and wonder while not feeling unearned or just a way to get out of hard situations. The consequences on the person to perform Bindings were also made clear. The principles of folds in the mind being tied to the nature of stories and perception is an essential part of the world and the themes of the book.

Comparisons with The Kingkiller Chronicle

The First Binding is definitely inspired by the Kingkiller Chronicle to a significant degree. To the point where I have seen people call it a ripoff of Rothfuss’ story. While there is enough similarity for me to understand why that comparison is being made (this isn’t like the comparisons between Empire of Silence and The Name of the Wind), I would not call this book a reskinning of Kvothe’s story by any means.

Many of the similarities in plot points do not feel like they were taken from Kingkiller because they existed in that story, but they are common tropes or archetypes present in the genre that fit with what this protagonist goes through. Ari’s coming of age does not feel like Kvothe’s stapled over a different setting — the plot points are intrinsically tied to aspects of the worldbuilding inspired by real-life cultures, meaning that they could not have gone any other way without maintaining internal consistency for what the author was trying to accomplish. There were a few instances where I felt it teetered on that line a tad, though — opening the story talking about the different types of silences and an inverted set-up for the frame narrative, for example. However, most of these occur in the first quarter of the story, and when they are expanded on, feel like their own things that bear similarity only in their vague descriptions and references.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this was a decent first entry with pleasant writing, some interesting story elements, and excellent worldbuilding although my enjoyment was reduced by certain issues such as the frame narrative plotline and the first 30% of the book. The pacing was slow, a tad too slow to start, but it never got boring once the story actually got started. This was a good debut, on the whole. While I won’t be queuing up to buy the sequel, the author has succeeded in hooking me to pick it up when it eventually gets published. 7.5/10

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Karin (book_scent) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay … so where is book 2? 👀

This has been one of my most anticipated releases this year, and seeing all the hype around it these past few weeks made me wanna read it even more. And am I sooo glad it didn’t disappoint!! I listened to the audiobook and wow, what an experience this has been! I now perfectly understand all the praise it’s getting, and can see this easily becoming a favorite series of mine.

Is it a massive chunk of a book? Ooooh yes … but once you start reading, it will pull you in layer by layer with its lyrical & captivating prose, leaving you wanting for more. You learn & grow with Ari, experience pain & joy, you go through it all together. This is as character-driven a story as can be, so if you love sticking with a character through thick and thin, then this is definitely the book for you. READ IT!!!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first ever GR review, so hopefully I don't mess it up too badly

I'm about 60% of the way through, and loving it so much! I will come back an update when I'm done, but so far this is easily a 5 star and my favourite read of the year.

I wanted to write an early review so that I could mention something I've noticed and really loved so far. In the story telling chapters there are rhyming couplets and quatrains embedded in the text. If you take them out and put them together they form an epic-style poem. I've only done the ones in chapter 10, Brahm so far, but this is what i have. Apologies for any spelling mistakes or missed verses, I was excited and typing fast. I have never seen this done before, and I think it's a testament to the skill of the author and how good this book is.

BRAHM

Flatweaver, Threadpuller, the one who bound the first flame and gave us light
The one who gave the moon its pale guiding glow, a beacon for our night.

But in deep slumber he laid,
leaving all to nothingness and things unmade.

This was before time, the making of the Sithre,
and the Fallen’s first crime.

To find a place perfect for his loneliness to end.
A spot to shape something new- somewhere to his talents spend.

He came across where we are now it’s said.
Distant, dark, and empty.
Somewhere with which to sew creation’s next thread.
To place the seeds for life’s first bounty.

He breathed a breath, hot and thin,
carrying flame and his own soul within.
Through cupped hands he blew,
the first winds of creation that would come to shape me and you.

Hard of skin and hot of core,
it was lacking and needed something more.
Knowing that his tears were flame,
Brahm could not shape like before – the same.

This place still lacked something needing,
a spark to make it lively, and a world true.
it lacked me and you.

So Brahm had no idea of what shape for these things to take,
of how another life to make.

In his confusion he tore once again at himself,
hoping for something new to spring.
A new form of being to bring.

In this moment, Brahm pulled at something past his body –
his own self an soul.
And thus he gave birth to the next of the gods we would come to know -
new life proud and whole.

Saithaan, prince of white fore and starlight.
He would come to aid his father in his plight.

Hand in hand, they took pieces of themselves to birth children,
brothers and sisters more,
crafting one by one to the score.

But even still Brahm’s solitude the new gods failed to quell.
Something was still missing in creation, but what…he could not tell.

But what else was left to make?
What other paths in creation were there to take?

He told them, “No. This time will not be the same.
It is time to end the birthing of gods and flame.”

“Will you my children, follow in my stead?
Will you give of yourselves, body and soul,
be willing to be bled?”

They’re not far enough removed from me to be spared that oldest pain.
What to do? What to do? I must make again.

They built kingdoms of their own under the dark and in starlight.
And they went on to continue shaping an mastering all things within sight.

The Shaen perfect in form and mind,
sought to create a new paradise for their kind,
And in doing so, with the passing of time,
they forgot the divine.

A new ache forms in Brahm’s heart, but this time he would not let it overtake him – no.
He would find another form of life to sow.

Too much pain has filled my makings.
This time I give something else for the taking.

A group forgotten in name and look,
of stories no longer kept in any book.

But they had their own gift to share and bring
They came to the world with a new magic – to sing.

Twisting words and breath like none before.
These people sang with a trace of Brahm’s voice and something hidden – something more.

All was well for the first time, or so Brahm had thought.
For his firstborn, Saaithan, was still anger fraught.
And his father’s undying love and attention he still wholly sought.

Brahm turned to shaping now still from bliss.
Knowing now he could make without ever feeling things amiss.

Then came the second people ever to be.
Those who would change things for folks for eternity.

The Ruma. Born next, under black, the struggled long and hard, keeping far from their elders first.
They wandered, restless like Brahm had done once in the dark, holding to the traveler’s thirst.

He waited – watched to see what the Ruma could and would bring as creations before had done.
And they did in their agitation and warmth, make something – hard won.
they toiled and tinkered, discontent, until one day they kindled a spark – fire spun.

Much like Brahm had birthed a flame and by flame.
The Ruma had sought warmth and fire, and thus brought about the same.

And so the Ruma traveled like Brahm, far and wide.
Passing time day and night with stories of all things; fire beasts, stone, and tide.

Stories, another gift they gave.
The telling of tales we’d all came to crave.

By paths in light, and nights by fireside,
the Ruma would tell tales so long as those listening would abide.

Lesser folk, still children the same,
all coming from that first flitting flame.

The first forgotten, second passed to mystery,
but now we’re here – you and me – having come from those who fill history.

But for this time, Saaithan sat unwell.
His pain and anger he could not quell.

Only to worsen as Saithan made the first blow,
striking at Brahm’s favorite creation,
in a n act of hatred’s first show.

Saaithan pulled of himself as his father had taught,
and birthed beings best left unwrought.

Hated, hunted to know no peace.
To know a toil and pain, like he had felt – one that would never cease.

And Brahm in anguish struck back at his first son,
tarnishing him in the vein of what he had done.

“For every step you take away from my light,
I’ll dim your fires – your very sight!”

Saaithan would work and twist things best he knew,
and wring new horrors so long as he could do.

So Brahm tore in anger and in fear at his eldest son,
casting the pieces to parts unshown,
And in this pain and sorrow, so did Brahm leave,
and left the world to a fate unknown.

“Remember what I’ve said.
Remember for what I’ve sacrificed and I’ve bled.”

The other god’s told hold their father’s absence,
Taking the Sithre to war with Saaithan’s makings.
This sent our world through many ages of pain to mirror Brahm’s
Endless rises and as many breakings.

But eventually peace was done –
hard fought and won.

And that is the story from which all creation came and of which it sings.
That is the story of Brahm and the making of things.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The First Binding is one of those books that people will either love or hate. I didn't hate it, but it unfortunately didn't work for me.

One of the main comps is The Name of the Wind of which I read only two or so chapters before dropping it, to pick up at a later date, but even based on those two chapters I'd say the comp is correct. It has a very similar feel to that book, and a few readers who actually read the whole thing said so too.

I have no problem with the writing, it's beautiful and I didn't mind all the descriptions. My main problem is the pacing, and some other stuff I'll tackle in a bit.

This is a slow book, and when I say slow, I mean you will feel like you aged a few years by the time the action finally starts. And even when it did start, I still found the present chapters slightly more compelling than the past ones. And the past ones are the majority of the book...

Then there's the length. Could it have been shorter? Probably. SHOULD it have been shorter? Here's the tricky part - I don't know.

Because for the whole book things are happening at a snail pace, then near the end they pick up and just when I felt like the action was starting for real...the book ended.

In a way it was a complete story (would be a shame if it wasn't for 800+ pages), but also not really? Somehow I think it could've benefitted from even more pages. Perhaps shorter past sections to balance out the present timeline?

Moving on to the next thing that bugged me, the "I'm not like other girls trope", but a male version. Let's call it "I'm not like other men". This is my very first encounter with that trope and I can't say that I like it. It ruined my enjoyment of those few present chapters.

Eloine kept saying that "most men wouldn't do that" or "most men don't think like/of that" and Ari in turn said how he's "not like most men" and that he's "different". This happened several times and nearly made me laugh.

Ari might as well be different from other men, but telling us instead of showing us is not the way to convince us.

I get that poor Eloine never met a man who did the bare minimum but...there's no reason to praise this one so much. His ego is big enough without it.

Which brings me to the characters. They were okay, I didn't hate anyone and had no favourites. But I wish we got to know Eloine more instead of Ari, she was more interesting.

The world building and magic system were some of the best parts of the book, other than the previously mentioned writing. WE NEED MORE SOUTH ASIAN INSPIRED FANTASY WORLDS!!! I really liked learning about it, and I do see the potential of this series and might even read some other books set in the world. Maybe following different characters though.

2.5

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

[Boe · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The First Binding is the first book in the Tales of Tremaine series by R.R. Virdi and this is the first book to the best of my knowledge that I’ve personally read that makes use of the Framing narrative (check out Petrik Leo’s review for more info) style of writing and boy did it have me hooked and wanting more.

I can honestly say hands down the opening to this book had me hooked unlike anything I’ve ever read. The story starts off with the main character Ari playing the role of a Storyteller/Bard inside the Three Tales Tavern. Ari however is no ordinary Storyteller/Bard and neither is R.R. Virdi writing, the way the opening reads and draws you in I felt like I was sitting right there inside the walls of Three Tales Tavern watching Ari perform and it was freaking magical. I’m talking like the first time you experienced Disney World as a kid, kind of magical.

As the story unfolds Ari comes across a beautiful mysterious singer with a checkered past of her own named Eloine. It’s safe to say their chemistry with each other sparked an instant attraction to one another almost as if they had known each other in a past life and were drawn back together.

Not long after Eloine recognizes Ari for who he really is and not who he’s pretending to be and well let's just say there's no better persuasion than that of a beautiful woman to convince a man to do anything. As a result she gets Ari to agree to tell her his true story, not the one of legends and myths that through Ari’s quick wit have been spread all over the lands about him. No, she wants the true origin of how he became the Binder he is today.

Since this book uses the Framing narrative as Ari tells us about his youth from a very young age and proceeds on to that of a young man in his late teens the book takes breaks from time to time. An intermission if you will to tell us the story of present day Ari and Eloine and the shenanigans they get into.

There is so much to this story I would love to tell you about but in doing so I fear I might spoil the story and the writing that R.R. Virdi is just too beautiful for me to risk that. Honestly if you want a more in depth review I would recommend reading or watching Petrik Leo’s review as he’s a pro.

This is the first book I’ve ever read by R.R. Virdi and it’s my understanding this is his first ever high fantasy and I think it's safe to say he found his calling. I truly hope he continues to write more high fantasy novels after he completes the Tales of Tremaine series because his first attempt is an amazing contribution to the genre.

As far as I’m concerned this is not only a 5 star book but it’s also arguably the best story I’ve personally read this year, even if Virdi did us dirty with the ending leaving us on a cliffhanger. Seriously man, when is the next book coming out I need answers. :)

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars. This is the first instalment in the Tales of Tremaine series.

I feel I can accurately claim that if you enjoyed The Name of the Wind then you would also love this book. A similar narrative structure appeared, where the reader was introduced to the adult protagonist who then returned to his youth, in a series of lengthy tales, to reveal his life story up until the present moment.

Similarities also appeared in the plucky and hard-headed nature of these characters, who are resilient in the face of the many grievances they face and who prove themselves magically capable in pressurised situations. Due to this, the novel was as full of as much magic and wonder as it was grief and loss and both brought about strong emotional reactions, which further aided in my bonding with the characters who appeared.

Despite my love for the contents of this book, I did feel like a very lengthy read. I anticipated it would take some time, given the page-length, and some brainpower, given the high fantasy setting and magic system. Some portions were less personally interesting than others and I sometimes would set the book aside for days, or read only a handful of pages at a time, before becoming invested again. Once I reached a point in this character's life that appealed, however, I would fly through a hundred pages in a sitting without realising I had failed to move for hours at a time. The latter were more present than the former, hence my high star rating.

This novel was detailed and intricate but also gripping and action-packed, providing the best of the fantasy genre in one gigantic portion. I can't wait to find where this author takes us next!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, R. R. Virdi, and the publisher, Tor, for this opportunity.

[Becca (Horners_book_corner) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this book. Stories within a story with extra stories added on top for good measure. Great magic system. Characters are brilliant. Sarcasm & humour level are on point. Highly recommended!

[Therese · Rating 1 out of 5]

locked myself alone in a cabin all weekend just to read this book. worst weekend of my life.

[CONNIE MINUTOLO · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't even know how to begin to write a review review for a book that has captured my heart and soul. To be honest I was very intimidated by the length of this book with going over a 800 pages but let me tell you it may be a slow start but as the story progresses Virdi's writing style will definitely tug at your heart strings. We follow Ari who is a traveling storyteller .He tell us tales of wonder that clearly will stick with you. Ari is stubborn but so open minded that I was immensely captivated by him.This has been compared to Name of The Wind .It's like a story within a story. The story was A little slow at first and I would say about the first hundred pages in it began to pick up for me.But I promise you to syay with it I loved the back and forth between the timelines and left me wanting more.My emotions were all over the place and I can't wait to travel more with Ari on his adventures. I was sent a copy in exchange for an honest review and I am truly grateful for this wonderful book.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell instantly in love with the lyrical language R.R. Virdi uses in "The First Binding". I enjoyed everything about this book (the story, setting, characters), but the writing glowed in my mind. It's nothing short of beautiful. This is a slow-paced book, but it really doesn't need to be any faster. This is one to sink yourself into and simply enjoy the ride. I hope book 2 won't be too far in the future.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.