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A review by ngreads
The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
5.0
So...more of a 4.75/high 4.5 than a true 5, but since that's not a star rating option, 5/5 it is!
A big thing that's going to be popping up A LOT in this review is that the book shares a lot of similarities with The Name of the Wind, which was both a good and a bad thing for me. As someone with a lot of love for NOTW, these things naturally stood out to me, so I will be bringing them up since the similarities affected my reading experience.
The Good:
- I quite liked Ari as a protagonist. Imagine taking Kvothe from Name of the Wind and Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files, and mashing them together into one very dramatic and mouthy smartass with a healthy dose of theatre-kid. That's basically Ari. As someone who likes these qualities in a protagonist, it was a good mix for me and made for a fun character to follow.
- I'm a big fan of Southeast Asian/Indian/Desert-type climates and cultures as settings for fantasy worlds, and this really delivers. The world this book takes place in is big and deep, and I enjoyed reading about it. I look forward to seeing what else Virdi has in store.
- I enjoyed the magic system and the lore behind it.
- On the subject of lore, this isn't just a story within a story. It's more of a story within a story within another story, which was fun to read, with two main plots (present-day and flashbacks), and a minor side plot that weaves together through the tales told by characters throughout. I quite enjoyed it, and it was well done. The storytelling as well (as in, the storytelling that Ari does as a profession and plays a huge role in the book as a whole), was engaging and fun, even the prose having a different cadence depending on who was telling the story. I liked it.
- The "current day" plot was very engaging and probably the one that grabbed my interest the most out of the two main storylines. I had expected it to be the more stagnant of the plots (similar to NOTW), but instead I found the "current" plot to be really engaging and have the bulk of the intrigue and momentum for me. (I have a hunch I know why, but I'll get to that later.)
- The ending! The twist! Oh, I had a theory, and I was wrong! I was very surprised! That doesn't happen a lot! There were a few really neat twists in the book, but there was one at the end that really made me excited.
- Shola. Read the book and you'll understand. Just...Shola.
- There was a cheeky reference to The Name of the Wind that got a laugh out of me. Good job, sir.
What Held the Book Back:
- So...about what I said about the Name of the Wind comps and how this book shares a lot with it...
When this book was being The First Binding, I was having a great time with it. I really enjoyed reading it, I was engaged, and I was eagerly waiting to see what would happen next.
When the book was being The Name of the Wind, my engagement died.
Let me explain. You see, right from the beginning it's easy to see the influence NOTW had on the book. I've always been of the mind that two different storytellers/artists can take the exact same/ a similar premise and give two completely different products. And, for the most part, that's what I got. Ari had a similar feel to Kvothe, but it didn't feel like a replica. He was very much his own character with his own voice and his own story. There were a couple moments that edged a bit close to NOTW, but nothing too dramatic. It didn't bother me.
Then I hit a section in the middle, and it was beat-for-beat the same plot as a chunk of The Name of the Wind.
I really struggled through it. Not because it was like NOTW. NOTW is one of my favourite books of all time, lasting with me more than a decade after I read it. It was formative to my reading and some of my real life. I LOVE that book.
But I'm not here to read The Name of the Wind. I'm not here to read about Kvothe. I'm here for Ari and his story. So, even though those plot beats were still well done and held the identity and flavours of The First Binding, I had a hard time getting through them because I just wished that they were a bit more to the left. The end of the book really tied that all together for me, redeeming the issues I had in the middle, but I wish those issues simply weren't there. This was a big part of why I preferred the "current day" storyline more than the "flashback" storyline. The "current day" storyline was something new and fresh, working its identity and bringing about all the new flavours I craved. The "flashbacks" had little chunks that, though still good, felt like something I'd already had.
- I struggled to figure out the time frame of events in the book. I wasn't always clear on how long had passed. There were sections where it could have days, or it could have been weeks. I had no way of really knowing until a character finally said something conclusive about how much time had moved.
- Speaking of time...
- Though Ari was really great and some of the side characters were fun and memorable, there were quite a few times where I wanted to feel the relationships between the side characters and Ari a bit stronger, especially in the flashbacks.
- On occasion, Ari's philosophizing over life and such got a bit heavy-handed. It was well within his character, but it's just the kind of thing that never resonates with me in books so it made my eyes glaze over a bit. Just a personal reading thing, I'm sure most readers won't even notice it much.
Overall:
This was a good read and a great start to a series. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the story goes, especially since it seems like it's really going to take on its own identity in the future and that's what I like the best in it. Provided that R. R. Virdi writes the sequels at a reasonable speed, I can easily see myself recommending this to readers who want something that's a bit like Name of the Wind, which is something I've been trying to find for a long time now.
Any issues I had with this book I'm sure can easily be smoothed over in the sequels, and I'm eager to follow Ari on more of his adventures in the future.
A big thing that's going to be popping up A LOT in this review is that the book shares a lot of similarities with The Name of the Wind, which was both a good and a bad thing for me. As someone with a lot of love for NOTW, these things naturally stood out to me, so I will be bringing them up since the similarities affected my reading experience.
The Good:
- I quite liked Ari as a protagonist. Imagine taking Kvothe from Name of the Wind and Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files, and mashing them together into one very dramatic and mouthy smartass with a healthy dose of theatre-kid. That's basically Ari. As someone who likes these qualities in a protagonist, it was a good mix for me and made for a fun character to follow.
- I'm a big fan of Southeast Asian/Indian/Desert-type climates and cultures as settings for fantasy worlds, and this really delivers. The world this book takes place in is big and deep, and I enjoyed reading about it. I look forward to seeing what else Virdi has in store.
- I enjoyed the magic system and the lore behind it.
- On the subject of lore, this isn't just a story within a story. It's more of a story within a story within another story, which was fun to read, with two main plots (present-day and flashbacks), and a minor side plot that weaves together through the tales told by characters throughout. I quite enjoyed it, and it was well done. The storytelling as well (as in, the storytelling that Ari does as a profession and plays a huge role in the book as a whole), was engaging and fun, even the prose having a different cadence depending on who was telling the story. I liked it.
- The "current day" plot was very engaging and probably the one that grabbed my interest the most out of the two main storylines. I had expected it to be the more stagnant of the plots (similar to NOTW), but instead I found the "current" plot to be really engaging and have the bulk of the intrigue and momentum for me. (I have a hunch I know why, but I'll get to that later.)
- The ending! The twist! Oh, I had a theory, and I was wrong! I was very surprised! That doesn't happen a lot! There were a few really neat twists in the book, but there was one at the end that really made me excited.
- Shola. Read the book and you'll understand. Just...Shola.
- There was a cheeky reference to The Name of the Wind that got a laugh out of me. Good job, sir.
What Held the Book Back:
- So...about what I said about the Name of the Wind comps and how this book shares a lot with it...
When this book was being The First Binding, I was having a great time with it. I really enjoyed reading it, I was engaged, and I was eagerly waiting to see what would happen next.
When the book was being The Name of the Wind, my engagement died.
Let me explain. You see, right from the beginning it's easy to see the influence NOTW had on the book. I've always been of the mind that two different storytellers/artists can take the exact same/ a similar premise and give two completely different products. And, for the most part, that's what I got. Ari had a similar feel to Kvothe, but it didn't feel like a replica. He was very much his own character with his own voice and his own story. There were a couple moments that edged a bit close to NOTW, but nothing too dramatic. It didn't bother me.
Then I hit a section in the middle, and it was beat-for-beat the same plot as a chunk of The Name of the Wind.
I really struggled through it. Not because it was like NOTW. NOTW is one of my favourite books of all time, lasting with me more than a decade after I read it. It was formative to my reading and some of my real life. I LOVE that book.
But I'm not here to read The Name of the Wind. I'm not here to read about Kvothe. I'm here for Ari and his story. So, even though those plot beats were still well done and held the identity and flavours of The First Binding, I had a hard time getting through them because I just wished that they were a bit more to the left. The end of the book really tied that all together for me, redeeming the issues I had in the middle, but I wish those issues simply weren't there. This was a big part of why I preferred the "current day" storyline more than the "flashback" storyline. The "current day" storyline was something new and fresh, working its identity and bringing about all the new flavours I craved. The "flashbacks" had little chunks that, though still good, felt like something I'd already had.
- I struggled to figure out the time frame of events in the book. I wasn't always clear on how long had passed. There were sections where it could have days, or it could have been weeks. I had no way of really knowing until a character finally said something conclusive about how much time had moved.
- Speaking of time...
Spoiler
I was really stressed out and kind of annoyed that Ari seems to have forgotten that he needs to meet with Arfan in one year from the time he robs him in order to pay his debts or else Arfan will likely have him hunted down and killed? Is it just me, or does that seem a bit important? Shouldn't he be thinking about this? He doesn't have all the time in the world to study at the Ashram, and yet he acts like he does...maybe it'll be rectified in book two? Since he meets with Azrim, it's assumable that he ends up with Arfan at some point, but...you know. I'd like to see him more stressed about the whole situation.- Though Ari was really great and some of the side characters were fun and memorable, there were quite a few times where I wanted to feel the relationships between the side characters and Ari a bit stronger, especially in the flashbacks.
- On occasion, Ari's philosophizing over life and such got a bit heavy-handed. It was well within his character, but it's just the kind of thing that never resonates with me in books so it made my eyes glaze over a bit. Just a personal reading thing, I'm sure most readers won't even notice it much.
Overall:
This was a good read and a great start to a series. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the story goes, especially since it seems like it's really going to take on its own identity in the future and that's what I like the best in it. Provided that R. R. Virdi writes the sequels at a reasonable speed, I can easily see myself recommending this to readers who want something that's a bit like Name of the Wind, which is something I've been trying to find for a long time now.
Any issues I had with this book I'm sure can easily be smoothed over in the sequels, and I'm eager to follow Ari on more of his adventures in the future.