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A review by odds
The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
"I had some misgivings starting this book. I think I've heard it compared to NotW so many times that when it began in an inn talking about types of silence, my heart sank a little. This has been on my shelf for a long time, probably because, while I wasn't productive, a longer book felt daunting. I decided to start as I finished my final book in 2023 early, so I could get a headstart.
Not something I do often, but in this case I googled reviews. I found a great one by someone who loves NotW and acknowledged both the similarities and differences, then got me excited for a story in a similar structure and around the idea of biased storytelling. I went in open-minded as I have heard good things.
To begin with, it reads beautifully, but not as fluidly to me - I think the comparisons keep sticking like a stone in my shoe, because they are everywhere - even the blurb sounds similar. However, though I expected to struggle, I hit a point where I wanted to keep picking it back up because it had settled into its own fascinating story and only felt like the parts of other stories that I enjoyed. It's a slow burn to begin with (no pun intended), but builds into something brilliant.
One funny thing was that the cover was announced for book 2 while I was reading and hadn't realised it was called "The Doors of Midnight" which, though probably unintentional, is also fairly close to the unpublished NotW 3rd book title. The moment I can get my hands on that one, I will.
I did feel by the end of it that maybe this is the NotW vibe that I've been searching for in other books and it's great to get more of the same feeling from a story which, though a similar shape at times, developed into itself. I love so much of what's here - the unreliable narrator, watching stories and legends being exaggerated and built around a grain of truth, cocky protagonists you feel like shouting at sometimes, a magic system that feels plausible based on both faith and "science", a story being told within a story - maybe I was drawn to it because those are elements that I love. I did feel more of overall epic fantasy by the end and I will definitely be grabbing the 2nd."
Here's what I posted on Instagram (because character limit), but it would have been good to write more. It certainly made me think and I'm sure it will stay with me for a long time. I haven't made much secret of the fact that The Name of the Wind is one of my favourite books (there's a quote tattooed on my arm) and what I thought might annoy me actually helped me to see the strength of this book and what I enjoy reading. It also, cleverly, had me considering the nature of storytelling in general, particularly in epic fantasy. It's on the same publisher at NotW so a lot of how this book was marketed has to have been intentional. I'm hoping the series establishes itself as a strong contender for the attention of fans of The Name of the Wind with The First Binding and uses that to move away from the similarities and into itself.
There is a story here that I know I want to hear, even if (not a spoiler as we know that this is a biased narrator - a storyteller by trade at the beginning of the story who never claims to be telling the truth or even that such a thing is possible) it's an exaggerated one.
Not something I do often, but in this case I googled reviews. I found a great one by someone who loves NotW and acknowledged both the similarities and differences, then got me excited for a story in a similar structure and around the idea of biased storytelling. I went in open-minded as I have heard good things.
To begin with, it reads beautifully, but not as fluidly to me - I think the comparisons keep sticking like a stone in my shoe, because they are everywhere - even the blurb sounds similar. However, though I expected to struggle, I hit a point where I wanted to keep picking it back up because it had settled into its own fascinating story and only felt like the parts of other stories that I enjoyed. It's a slow burn to begin with (no pun intended), but builds into something brilliant.
One funny thing was that the cover was announced for book 2 while I was reading and hadn't realised it was called "The Doors of Midnight" which, though probably unintentional, is also fairly close to the unpublished NotW 3rd book title. The moment I can get my hands on that one, I will.
I did feel by the end of it that maybe this is the NotW vibe that I've been searching for in other books and it's great to get more of the same feeling from a story which, though a similar shape at times, developed into itself. I love so much of what's here - the unreliable narrator, watching stories and legends being exaggerated and built around a grain of truth, cocky protagonists you feel like shouting at sometimes, a magic system that feels plausible based on both faith and "science", a story being told within a story - maybe I was drawn to it because those are elements that I love. I did feel more of overall epic fantasy by the end and I will definitely be grabbing the 2nd."
Here's what I posted on Instagram (because character limit), but it would have been good to write more. It certainly made me think and I'm sure it will stay with me for a long time. I haven't made much secret of the fact that The Name of the Wind is one of my favourite books (there's a quote tattooed on my arm) and what I thought might annoy me actually helped me to see the strength of this book and what I enjoy reading. It also, cleverly, had me considering the nature of storytelling in general, particularly in epic fantasy. It's on the same publisher at NotW so a lot of how this book was marketed has to have been intentional. I'm hoping the series establishes itself as a strong contender for the attention of fans of The Name of the Wind with The First Binding and uses that to move away from the similarities and into itself.
There is a story here that I know I want to hear, even if (not a spoiler as we know that this is a biased narrator - a storyteller by trade at the beginning of the story who never claims to be telling the truth or even that such a thing is possible) it's an exaggerated one.