The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
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Web ID: 15058427Similar start but stands apart from NOTW for sure!
4.25 stars Full video review with all the thoughts is up as well. I really loved the storytelling that was written into this world. The author did such an amazing job with the depth and details of the mythos. The worldbuilding outside of the stories was not very much though. We got some character work but mostly only with our main character Ari. The magic system of the book sounds intriguing but was not shown much in this first novel.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Virdi has created the next great classic!
Reading like the epic poems and stories of yore, Virdi has created a piece that follows some of the beats from the greatest epics, and subverts them in places in clever ways, all to the taste, feel, and sounds of South Asia and the Silk Road. Very well rounded characters, well written women of all kinds, fantastic mythology, utterly gorgeous prose that makes you feel like you're really there listening to a storyteller perform and ply his trade.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Already desperate to read more !
Four and a half Four and a half and oh so close to being a five from me. This book begins with Ari aka The Storyteller seeking a bed for the night in exchange for entertaining everyone with a story. He’s clearly more than any ordinary traveler with abilities that include manipulating fire, shadows and sound amongst other things. Aria finds himself intrigued by a secretive woman who peddles songs but when she’s attacked they strike up a curious friendship that results in Ari telling her his background story and that is when this book truly begins to grip the reader ! If blunt I wasn’t sure at first this was for me but oo the things that Ari has seen, done and lived through totally encapsulated everything I want in a fantasy story. It begins with him as a young orphan, both pitied by some and yet reviled by others due to his lowly caste but Ari is ambitious, driven and indeed a force of nature. His life takes a turn when the stuff of myths and legends becomes all too real leading him towards a life that’s unbelievable, tragic and yet full of hope. Ari has not yet confided all his story and secrets as this comes to a close but wow what a journey so far and yes I’m already desperate for more. This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A modern masterpiece of lyrical epic fantasy
This is a masterpiece of lyricism and bildungsroman writing set to a theatrical and poetic prose style that evokes all the old classics. Virdi has written a different and modern brilliant fantasy set across a fictionalized silk road. A journey of self discovery, identity, growth, betrayals, love, and loss. This is intelligent, intriguing, and will make.you challenge a lot of what you believe. This is not a non stop hard magic throwing fantasy. It is smoothly paced, clever, surreal at times, and is why I love fantasy. A change, refreshing, and so much new wondrous things!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Diverse Epic Fantasy!
Ari is a storyteller, a legend, and a myth. When he meets a woman named Eloine in an inn, the two start to talk and Ari begins to unravel the truth of his story from the lies and exaggerations. Virdi's The First Binding is truly epic fantasy. Inspired by South Asian mythology and storytelling, it's full of stories within stories and does move between the past and the "present" within the story. I really loved Virdi's writing style and I found the world-building to be really thorough and vivid. Although I enjoyed the first half of the book, learning about Ari's childhood and his first encounter with magic, the second half of the book was my favorite. Everything really ramps up at that point and we learn more about Eloine in the present, and I was entranced. Ari is a nuanced character, someone you can sympathize with while still not agreeing with all of his choices. If you love storytelling, epic fantasy, and mythology, you should absolutely check out The First Binding when it comes out on August 16th!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
slow and lyrical epic fantasy
THE FIRST BINDING is an intriguing fantasy read that pulls the reader into the world of Ari, a Storyteller, whose own story is anything but simple. After he meets the singer, Eloine, and begins to connect with her, her perceptive nature leads her to ask him for his own story. The rest of the book is mostly told in Ari's own story, beginning with his childhood. This was a lush and complex read that moves slowly through Ari's life, interspersed with the present where he works as a storyteller and is relating his life to Eloine. This is a lengthy book at over 800 pages, and it does take a while to get into the story, especially given the number of characters and settings that appear throughout the present and Ari's past. A major theme of the book is around how everyone is the main character in their own stories and that each of these stories and lives have value. The power of such stories is evident through the telling of the book, in vignettes from Ari's life from childhood to the present. The pacing is rather slow with the value being placed on the intricacies of each story and the thoughts behind them, a style that will work very well for LOTR fans and fans of lyrical prose. Overall, THE FIRST BINDING is an enchanting fantasy that will appeal to people who enjoy slowly building epics with thought-provoking themes and lyrical prose. Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com