Fantasy

The First Binding

The First Binding

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-09-26 06:53:38
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：R.R. Virdi
  • ISBN：1250796172
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Sageleafpark ，

3。5/5 stars。I was really looking forwards to this book and it didn’t entirely live up to expectations。 The first thing that got me， on the very first page， was how overly descriptive the writing was。 I feel like 5 adjectives could’ve been taken out of every sentence without making any negative impact。 I like flowery language but this was too much。 By about page 80 I just learned to ignore it。 The second thing I didn’t like was how the women were written， especially Eloine。 I liked her character 3。5/5 stars。I was really looking forwards to this book and it didn’t entirely live up to expectations。 The first thing that got me， on the very first page， was how overly descriptive the writing was。 I feel like 5 adjectives could’ve been taken out of every sentence without making any negative impact。 I like flowery language but this was too much。 By about page 80 I just learned to ignore it。 The second thing I didn’t like was how the women were written， especially Eloine。 I liked her character but I feel like her actions were at war with how she was described （as seductive and slinking etcetera）。 She just seemed like a hot lady to immediate fall in love with Ari on the first page and string him along for the rest of the book。 However I will say I did love Ari’s backstory。 I loved reading about his time on the streets of Keshum and his studies at the Ashram。 I feel like if this book had just been more of his story and less of the whole thing in Etaynia it would’ve been better。 Also there was a weird thing with an assassin Ari was supposedly friends with near the end that just comes out of nowhere。 。。。more

Bri ，

DNF at page 267。 Soft DNF。 Maybe I’ll come back to this when I have more time， maybe I won’t。

Amber （seekingdystopia） ，

This book is a marathon， not a sprint。 At times it’s a story within a story within a story。 I thought the pacing was good， so even though it’s long， a LOT of events happen over the course of the story （as compared to， say， THE EYE OF THE WORLD where literally nothing happens from point A to point B except getting attacked）。 The writing style was easy to follow yet still elegant and often profound as the MC lamented。 There were not too many made up words and not too many names or places to rememb This book is a marathon， not a sprint。 At times it’s a story within a story within a story。 I thought the pacing was good， so even though it’s long， a LOT of events happen over the course of the story （as compared to， say， THE EYE OF THE WORLD where literally nothing happens from point A to point B except getting attacked）。 The writing style was easy to follow yet still elegant and often profound as the MC lamented。 There were not too many made up words and not too many names or places to remember。 I loved following the different stages of Ari’s life and seeing him learn and grow every time he failed。 （Though sometimes he won by accident or by wit alone and I often got annoyed by his temper）。 The one thing I am unsure about is how I felt about the present timeline。 Unless I missed something major， I didn’t understand his motivations。 But maybe that was the point - to have it be a twist at the end。 I definitely plan to read the next book in the series！ Thanks to the publisher for the gifted ARC！ 。。。more

Jenny T ，

Compelling， absorbing， with a unique magic system。 Review to follow after I've had a think。 Compelling， absorbing， with a unique magic system。 Review to follow after I've had a think。 。。。more

Bo ，

I’m very sorry for the 1 star。 I really wanted to love this book。 I personally could not get over the plagiarism from Name of The Wind。 If I could have I would have loved the book。 There were so many similarities that it was very distracting。 I couldn’t get through a paragraph without thinking of how it this book is just someone else’s version of Name of the wind。

Linda ，

The story is incredible-epic in length， scope， and beauty of writing。 The overall world building and sheer scale of the book is impressive， even more so when taking into account the beauty of Virdi's style。 This book is what epic storytelling should be。 The counties， people， cultures， and their stories are well thought out and beautifully detailed。 The changing timelines of the main character was at times a bit frustrating， mostly because I was involved in that time frame and it took a bit to ad The story is incredible-epic in length， scope， and beauty of writing。 The overall world building and sheer scale of the book is impressive， even more so when taking into account the beauty of Virdi's style。 This book is what epic storytelling should be。 The counties， people， cultures， and their stories are well thought out and beautifully detailed。 The changing timelines of the main character was at times a bit frustrating， mostly because I was involved in that time frame and it took a bit to adjust to the new timeline。 I listened to the audio version and will now buy the hardback to take my time and read this story properly。 If this was the story of the first of 10 bindings， sign me up for the next nine！Best review quote:"It reads like magic and tastes like saffron。" ―Yudhanjaya Wijeratne， Washington Post（I would add cardamom to the saffron）The Audio version:The narration is annoying， some of the characters voices （mostly the women） hurt to listen to。 I almost stopped a couple of times but the story was good enough I continued。 By the end I won't say the narration grew on me， just annoyed me a less。 。。。more

Melanie White ，

I was curious after seeing a few reviews calling this a plagiarist rip off， so I went back and read both books side by side （also noticing several comments using racist undertone/comments of Bollywood rip off – Virdi’s Indian I think he stated， so that’s obviously bothering some reviewers， which I’m shocked about in 2022）， and these are not the same book。Opening: A silence of three parts （in my paperback that’s a full and a half or a little over a page and a quarter） about Kote/Kvothe waiting to I was curious after seeing a few reviews calling this a plagiarist rip off， so I went back and read both books side by side （also noticing several comments using racist undertone/comments of Bollywood rip off – Virdi’s Indian I think he stated， so that’s obviously bothering some reviewers， which I’m shocked about in 2022）， and these are not the same book。Opening: A silence of three parts （in my paperback that’s a full and a half or a little over a page and a quarter） about Kote/Kvothe waiting to die – unrelated to the actual happenings of things in the present day。 Virdi’s opening begins with Ari stating why he’s at the tavern （searching for something） then describes a lingering stillness/silence in a paragraph （not a page） and stating it’s meant to be broken （like ari once did – implying a past connection）？ It moves immediately there to a line about waiting for the performance to begin （ari is here to perform both on us the readers and the characters inside a storyteller）。 Another reviewer commented this has undertones of a strong poc auditioning for a job （which we know soon ari is doing exactly that as a foreigner in a country with strong xenophobic tendencies which are shown again later）。 < So that is a counter or mirror to rothfuss’s opening， not similar。 Notw – a scrael shows up dead and kote lets slip he knows something and has a convo with bast about it later。TFB – Ari sets up a crowd for his performance and then talks to a tired barkeeper about his life， which is a scene that made me love Ari。 He’s offering a comforting ear while polishing the barkeepers bar and the man is reminiscing about his tragically dead wife and how they built the place。Notw – kote goes out to kill the scrael while chronicler crosses his path in the dark。TFB – Ari performs a past story （that I feel might be more important than we think because of all the commentary in the book of how stories are important） and meets the love interest of the story。While Kvothe and chronicler are connecting， Ari is connecting with the love interest later at night over a dinner where they are interrupted by religious military people that feel like Spanish Inquisition – they display prejudice toward Eloine for I suppose being something like Gi*p*y – and Ari and them get into a massive brawl which he escapes from。Chronicler is flattering and reacting to Kvothe’s story convincing him to tell it， in where Kvothe puffs up with pride and is willing to do so。Ari finds Eloine on a roof scared and she convinces him to tell him her story， but he is reticent and rather than being proud， tells her hes a monster， and works on trying to convince her why。Kvothe’s past is a traveling theater troupe and hes already a gifted musician as a boy。 They stop at a town that rebuffs them but their family is backed by a powerful noble and they’re allowed to play。 He meets his mentor （hero’s journey） Abenthy who is a traveling arcanist and calls the wind before Kvothe to scare the town mayor。 Kvothe welcomes him into the troupe。Ari is raised in an understage by a group of people who are in the lowest of castes and not allowed other trades （and virdi is indian discussing caste systems here）。 Ari works machines for his theater companys stage but does not get to perform in fact that’s stated and has no musical talent。 Physical abuse is mentioned， he’s an orphan and lives in utter poverty unlike kvothe。 Later， Ari is scrubbing a stage to make a good impression when his theater owner is seen discussing a business deal for money with a local drug lord and kingpin。 They are interrupted by a traveling binder （ari’s future mentor） who scares them off。Ben is passing through in notw， mahrab is actively seeking out this specific company in search of a story in tfb。 Differences。 Both kvothe and ari begin learning magics of different strokes with different exercises。 This progresses to ben leaving the company and kvothes family being killed by the chandrian。 Ari still has his mentor but escapes for a night with a childhood friend unlike kvothe randomly wandering the woods。 Both return to find families murdered。 See， luke skywalker in star wars and anyone else in a heros journey often。 Ari’s mentor however is still here and saves ari， dying in the collapse of the theater。 We learn that the drugdealer， koli， is one of the Ashura。 Difference – that’s like if cinder was working in kvothes life before the night his family was killed。Kvothe goes on the run and lives in the woods before getting a ride to tarbean with a family he loses later and is assaulted by pike and lives on the streets。Ari stays in his city home， running only a street to sleep in a stall where he’s beaten by the shopkeeper and…its insinuated the man might have tried to sell ari into slavery on account of his caste if ari didn’t escape down an alley with drug addicts who threaten him。 He’s saved by a ringleader of thieves who adopts ari over their mutual hatred of koli。Kvothe survives alone for years。Ari is pulled into a gang of thieves and survives with them， sort of also stealing from his adoptive thief father （squirreling away his own money to escape） while meeting his own bullies。 This part I really liked because there’s a point where kvothe sees a boy being hurt and does nothing to stop it， where ari goes out of his way to help spare low earning thieves punishment by giving them his own saved up money。Kvothe attends a festival where he’s beaten but gets money enough to escape tarbean。 Eventually wanting to leave after hearing a story about lanre/haliax by skarpi。 Also a plot point that happens in Eragon， and a lot of heros journey stories where the hero gets a reminder of the quest of why to leave/move on/motivation。Ari confronts his ringleader father only to learn hes also a drug addict in business with koli and has been selling/giving off low earning kids in slave labor roles or worse。 A fight breaks out and ari leads to the deaths of his father and a few goons…leading to ari’s first reputation as a murderer/bloodletter—khoonee。Kvothe takes his money and pawns his book and terrorizes a tailor and others to dress fine enough to pass as noble to leave tarbeanAri takes over running his thief family， teaching them to read and write and trade secrets， eventually finds out where koli’s gang keeps his drugs。 Ari goes on an arson run and literally burns down a whole drug dealing den and confronts koli here which is like if kvothe fights and ruins cinders business in tarbean， which doesn’t happen。 Then years later meets a storyteller who gives ari a story， but more than that， unlike skarpi， actually gives ari a philosophy lesson on why to leave and become who’s meant to。 Then ari meets a fortune teller girl who tells him something similar。 This prompts ari to go rob a very wealthy and dangerous merchant king。Kvothe rides up to university on a cart where he meets denna and falls in love – only important character on the ride up。 He plays music on the way。Ari fails to “rob the king” instead getting credit for it but is really giving a dangerous loan at the threat of his life and his family。 Ari has to write a heartbreaking letter leaving his family and sneaks away without them knowing。Ari rides up to the ashram， meeting a crew of characters， many more of whom seem important。 Laki， a girl traveling north to get medicine for her grandma （which shows back up）， and vathin （who will be explained later）。 Ari learns something like tai chai on this ride up and a story from vathin that seems important。Kvothe arrives at the university and cheats， sneaks a peek on answers early， and gets enrolled with his cleverness and getting a negative tuition。Kvothe is admitted and goes to the archives where he starts his rivalry with ambrose and gets in trouble with candles and is banned from the archives。 He also begins a hostile relationship with master hemme， makes a fool out of him in lessons， and is brought up to be whipped for it （the punishment is negotiated back and forth）。 Ari reaches the ashram and tries to answer questions – but doesn’t do what kvothe did， instead it feels more like slumdog millionaire， the knowledge he has for the answers， or doesn’t， is because of the uniquely weird life he lived。 However， he’s rejected。 Vathin， the man from the ride comes in and you learn hes a teacher at the school and kind of a flake， but is aris sponsor。 He’s let in and pays his tution with his stolen money， not hiding this fact， and starting some of the first rumors about him as a robber。Kvothe is whipped for his actions and doesn’t bleed – earning the name bloodless and is let into the Arcanum based on what he’s displayed。Ari sneaks into binding class but is NOT allowed or wanted in， and his magic teacher tries to pelting ari with stones， bindings， which ari demonstrates he can stop to a degree， leading to another student being hit。 Nitham – ambrose， different interaction， but also they’re both draco Malfoy。 This starts their rivalry。 Later， Nitham harasses ari in the cafeteria， where ari makes a veiled murder threat that leads ari into trouble with the professors （btw， this school actually has female professors， so that’s a major plus）， and ari is forced to walk hot coals like you see do monks do。 He succeeds without being burned and earns the name unburned。 Somewhat similar to kvothe， but different。 Kvothe takes a trip to haven with master elodin and shown some broken students and then is tricked into jumping off the roof。 He is furious with master elodin and instead gets jobs in other parts of the school studying。Ari goes to the crows nest and instead is introduced to a different kind of cracked student， taking more time to meet them actually。 Krisham who has something like magical dissociative identity disorder and believes he’s multiple heroes， then immi， a girl who has a broken understanding of time because she can hurt her hands and heal them to a point they’re okay。 Rishi Ibrahm tries to scare ari then actually magically shoves him off the tower， a deadly fall only stopped by a kind of portal magic。 Ari is thrown safely to the snowy grounds where he tries to physically assault the master and fails。 All while this， there’s little active plot in the present day。 It’s a sausage fest mostly and one chapters before returning。 Virdi has a moving active plot with， gasp， a female pov for the love interest。 Politics， games， a female character rescuing an abused woman and dealing with seedy tavern owners。 Kvothe goes to devi to get loans （there is none of this in the first binding at all – no devi， no loans， no money issues for ari， no debt of this sort）。 Kvothe has to pawn his lute。 Kvothe ends up unable to spend time with his friends。He duels in classes with other people， not a thing ari does at all – instead ari and his magic teacher keep going at it but all the while he’s bonding to vathin， his philosophy teacher。 Kvothe is dueling to win money – again not a problem for ari。Kvothe practices his lute and goes to play to win his talent pipes the hardest song he can， ambrose is in the audience， and kvothe wins his pipes with broken strings （hinted that ambrose cut with sympathy） and he meets denna here again， his love interest。 – nothing of the sort happens at all in the first binding。 Kvothe writes a song about ambrose that gets him in trouble。 Nothing like this happens with ari。 Kvothe is kicked out of his rooms at a previous tavern and has to stump to find a new place to eventually stay， which he does。 Also this doesn’t happen to ari。Kvothe spends the next terms lightening his load in school and courting denna – none of this happens with ari。 A fire breaks out where kvothe rescues fela and fears for auris safety when this happens。 Later he runs off to trebon on a rumor about the chandrian and has to get a huge loan from Devi to do so， there is a point about buying a horse and showcasing his naming talent here and getting “shimmed” on the deal because the horse wasn’t what the seller said it was。 Ari is continuing classes for a while studying and keeps sneaking into binding class despite the master binder not wanting him there and they continue their quarrel。 Eventually ari goes on a date with a student and during it he meets a tinker （gadhia lohar – which I googled are real people in india who are tinkerers） and they trade stories that let ari know the Ashura are far off to the south。 Too far in such a large country for ari to do anything about at all。 Kvothe is out in trebon and finds denna， and they have sort of a date， rescue， meet a country boy， and learn something odd happened at the farm nearby。 Eventually she eats denner resin and is sort of poisoned and they kill a draccus， a fire breathing lizard together。 But while denna is recovering in the village， kvothe and her treated badly by the locals。 Ari eventually sees nitham and his cronies at a local tavern and follows them。 He sees them abusing a kitten that he gets into a fight with them over in trying to rescue。 Hes beaten badly and the thugs are chased off。 On his way back he meets the tinker again who mentions signs of trouble in a nearer village that have signs of the Ashura。 Ari runs to have a friend take care of his kitten and his best friend radi runs to accompany him as they barter passage with the tinker north。 During this ari trades stories with the tinker and learns their secret language like morse code？ Ari arrives in ampur with the tinker and radi only to see the whole village destroyed。 Nothing。 But they find survivors hiding in a building， laki and her grandmother from earlier。 Later the nagh lokh arrives， a monstrous serpent that many believe to be a god itself。 Instead of tricking it or forcing it to eat poison， they wound it slightly， and run around the mountain surviving it until an avalanche is triggered killing the serpent that ari ends up getting credit for。 Here， on the way back， ari is instead regarded as a hero for saving the future of the village to be rebuilt by the people who fled days ago。 Kvothe returns to school， reconnects with friends， and has dates with denna – this past dating is a part of the plot as well as trying to find dennas patron – none of which happens in the first binding。 Kvothe is outside when ambrose steals his lute and breaks it， triggering kvothe into a fury in which he calls the wind。Meanwhile， ari returns and his rumors are spreading but he spends his time fostering his kitten and struggling to make a kite for a kite fighting festival – he succeeds in imbuing the strings with a magic from the idea of the tinkers morse code language。 There’s a huge gambling betting pool in which ari enters against nitham and ari wins the kite fighting festival but is brought up for cheating， which he’s exposed in and his kite and winnings are all taken。Kvothe and ambrose are both punished for their behavior， but kvothe is promoted and ambrose is fined – kvothe is promoted and he buys a new lute – end of past story。Ari goes to visit immi， a girl in the crows nest and she helps him with the magic lessons in theory that he feels he’s not getting in class， and its implied hes actually making progress here。 Later there is a new years fire festival where ari is outside and meets people including his sponsor/teacher vathin。 Aris things are taken from him by nitham and his crew as well as his kitten， which he tries to burn。Ari in a rage binds fire and loses control， but the huge spoiler plot twist here is he sees his teacher， vathin， is really koli in disguise all along and he battles him， trying to kill him， but is outdone and put down。 This would be like if cinder was at the university the whole time or darth vader and you had to fight him。 Ari tries to keep his cat （who survives） a secret and the master binder agrees to keep that secret。 Ari is brought before the masters and barred from studying for a fully year （unlike kvothe who remains admitted）， and is under a probation of death to prove he can not be a danger to people with the bindings…or else。 He’s given a one year probation like sentence。 Kvothe’s present day story wraps up in the tavern。 Ari’s present day story continues with a royal family political game， masquerade， being threatened by assassin to alludes to a past history with ari， and being framed for the murder of a prince and locked in jail。 People saying these are the exact same or prejudice or mostly the same are horribly cherry picking and there’s some clear racism in a lot of those reviews。 The First Binding is a much larger book with more active present day and past story and anyways， there you have it。 Both of these books take their own spins and cultures （rothfuss all European with no diversity and a few token women – virdi with south Asian， middle eastern shown in the first book with nods to spain and china and more women by far） and put them in a heros journey structure and frame narrative。 Like or don’t like them for their merits on individual stories， but to say one is a ripoff of the other is disingenuous。 I'll end with saying I like Ari more， it's pointed out by many including himself he's not infallible or amazing or wise。 He's clever and gets himself in trouble。 Kvothe almost wants you to forget he's not perfect。 Ari seems to thumb his nose at people who believe he's perfect and amazing， showing his failings so much more and how he's gotten credit for things that were out of his doing or luck and he just lied and ran with it to protect himself with reputation in a harsh world。 Ari is far more sympathetic of a character。 Also， again， holy crap， there are actually women in here who are not set dressing！ Have POVs， professors， strong， like thieves or fighters in ari's family。 。。。more

Lila ，

RTC

Donald ，

DNF @ 500/817。 I really wanted to enjoy this book but I just can’t anymore。 While I enjoyed the writing at times I couldn’t get over the fact that this is just an unnecessarily longer retelling of Name of the Wind。 Very disappointing。

Kat ，

4。5⭐️

Stefan ，

Not normally one to claim these things， especially given that fantasy authors all have their influences。 However， this one just felt like a direct copy of Name of the Wind。The author gives some tips of the hat to Rothfuss， which is absolutely fine， but the story beats are so similar that it made me feel a bit uncomfortable to read。Well written， and an interesting story no doubt。 It is just so similar to KKC that it felt like a pointless endevour。

Allison ，

I devoured this。 It’s incredible and mysterious and has great world building and characterization and I feel like I’ve been on an epic journey that has also just begun。If you’ve enjoyed Name of the Wind but wished the female characters were less like window dressing， you’ll love this。 It’s so good。

Chad Wessinger ，

I got to around page 360 and decided I just wasn’t enjoying myself， so I DNF’d this book。 I was interested for a little bit but eventually it just felt like the story was going nowhere。 I read other reviews that it was a bit of a slow burn， but to me， it was slow， repetitive， and uninteresting。 The protagonist told the reader/his love interest he’s “not like most men” several times… I hope she sees this bro。 Every scene the two characters had together was peppered with terribly lame sexual innue I got to around page 360 and decided I just wasn’t enjoying myself， so I DNF’d this book。 I was interested for a little bit but eventually it just felt like the story was going nowhere。 I read other reviews that it was a bit of a slow burn， but to me， it was slow， repetitive， and uninteresting。 The protagonist told the reader/his love interest he’s “not like most men” several times… I hope she sees this bro。 Every scene the two characters had together was peppered with terribly lame sexual innuendos。 Like， yeah I get it， you’re embarrassed by the pretty girl and the pretty girl is often disappointed by men that climax too soon。 How quirky and relatable！！ Anyway， I admire the ambition and the premise is interesting， but the execution just landed flat for me。 。。。more

Natasha Buh ，

The book captivated me at first and really held my attention。 Although as it went on and on， I found myself losing interest…nothing was really happening and yet the book had over 800 pages and I didn’t want to give up on it。 Could have been written in less than half of that。 The ending was a disappointment as it didn’t really have much of an ending that made any sense。

Gilda ，

Love it！！ You don't see books like this anymore。 Can't wait for the next book of this series。 Love it！！ You don't see books like this anymore。 Can't wait for the next book of this series。 。。。more

Chetan ，

Incredible！There's a fusing of two cultural ethoses in RR Virdi's The First Binding。 The classical western fantasy genre， with influences from some of the most loved fantasy series from past decades and the Itihasa of South Asia。 The First Binding starts out just like any other fantasy epic。 Using a lot of names， places， and a slow start。 A template that reminds readers of the genre of other books。 But slowly and steadily the story gets going and we learn about a complex， rich world and magic sy Incredible！There's a fusing of two cultural ethoses in RR Virdi's The First Binding。 The classical western fantasy genre， with influences from some of the most loved fantasy series from past decades and the Itihasa of South Asia。 The First Binding starts out just like any other fantasy epic。 Using a lot of names， places， and a slow start。 A template that reminds readers of the genre of other books。 But slowly and steadily the story gets going and we learn about a complex， rich world and magic system that's inspired by Indian culture。 This is a story of an underdog， a person marginalized by the world in every manner and way possible。 Someone who prevails despite it。 When this book gets going， there’s nothing else like it。 It stands on its own by its flair and sheer uniqueness。 An epic of extraordinary depth， adventure， and heart。 One of the best books I've read all year。 A definite re-read before the sequel！ 。。。more

Tomas ，

I'm currently on page 120 or so， and my opinion is that it can NOT compare to "The name of the wind"。The name of the wind started with a BIG mistery， witch grow along with the story。 Kote was a genius， a musician， an engineer。。 and the story had a good pace。 This is what I lack in this book: The pace is realy slow， nothing ever happens。 He tell us his stories， interesting but。。。 Theres no magic except for this bindings， wich I realy don't know what it is， yet！He save Aloine but after that they s I'm currently on page 120 or so， and my opinion is that it can NOT compare to "The name of the wind"。The name of the wind started with a BIG mistery， witch grow along with the story。 Kote was a genius， a musician， an engineer。。 and the story had a good pace。 This is what I lack in this book: The pace is realy slow， nothing ever happens。 He tell us his stories， interesting but。。。 Theres no magic except for this bindings， wich I realy don't know what it is， yet！He save Aloine but after that they sit down on the roof and he tell her the storie（s） of his life。 That is NOT a fast pacing storie， if there was not wery much happening in his lifetime。As it now is nothing ever happened， mabye that will happen in the future。 Still hoping though！As being a non-native english speaker it's sometimes difficult to understand what he is talking about， bindings， figures of the firelight。。。 I don't get all of it。So is this a good read？ So far into the book， I would say that there are better choices。 Maybee I change my mind after some hundreds more pages。 There is another question， why do anyone have to write 950+ pages as an introduction to a trilogy？What can we expect？ Will he increase the pace or will the story halt at the storytelling？I don't know but I'm realy curius to know。 That's why I keep reading :-） 。。。more

Nicole ，

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 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。。。（view 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。 （hide spoiler）]- 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。 。。。more

Sol ，

I only read the first chapter and it took over a week to do so。 Could not get into this book at all 🤷‍♀️

Amy Poirier ，

Clever and mysterious。The First Binding is one of the few books that I've highlighted。 It's absolutely brilliant！ Clever and mysterious。The First Binding is one of the few books that I've highlighted。 It's absolutely brilliant！ 。。。more

John Hassey ，

What hasn't already been said about this phenom of a debut fantasy novel that hasn't been said。 Is it comparable to the Name of the Wind？---YES！ Does it have incredible prose？---YES！Does it have an unreliable narrator？---YES！Does it have incredible world building？---YES！ You will suffer from a "book hangover" when you complete this incredible novel。 The characters are well fleshed out and the plot（s） leave you wanting more and more。 I love the huge majority of the characters （minus the bully who What hasn't already been said about this phenom of a debut fantasy novel that hasn't been said。 Is it comparable to the Name of the Wind？---YES！ Does it have incredible prose？---YES！Does it have an unreliable narrator？---YES！Does it have incredible world building？---YES！ You will suffer from a "book hangover" when you complete this incredible novel。 The characters are well fleshed out and the plot（s） leave you wanting more and more。 I love the huge majority of the characters （minus the bully who tried to burn a kitten alive）。 Thankfully Mr。 Virdi didn't go through with that one！ Nothing irks me more than when an animal side kick is abused or threatened。 Overall I am so eager for the sequel novel and hopefully we won't have to wait long。 Hell， even if we do it will be well worth the wait！！！Bravo。 to Mr。 Virdi for an incredible job！！ Encore， encore if you please！！ 。。。more

Tar Buendía ，

Estoy intentando decidir cómo reaccionar a esta novela。 Para empezar decir que esto se parece al Nombre del Viento es quedarse cortísimo。 Esto es un fanart， o aún mejor， un retelling。 Cambian algunas cosas pero es que hay momentos que me entraba la risa y todo。 Tipo The Office， de mirar a la cámara y decirle algo al lector。 A la vez， para mi gusto， no capta la esencia del misterio que hace tan atrayente a la obra de Rothfuss。 Le falta lo más importante。 Y lo que si tiene es que le sobra trama po Estoy intentando decidir cómo reaccionar a esta novela。 Para empezar decir que esto se parece al Nombre del Viento es quedarse cortísimo。 Esto es un fanart， o aún mejor， un retelling。 Cambian algunas cosas pero es que hay momentos que me entraba la risa y todo。 Tipo The Office， de mirar a la cámara y decirle algo al lector。 A la vez， para mi gusto， no capta la esencia del misterio que hace tan atrayente a la obra de Rothfuss。 Le falta lo más importante。 Y lo que si tiene es que le sobra trama por todas partes y palabras en general。 Muchas palabras。 Los interludios， especialmente todo el principio， se me han hecho soporíferos。 Eloine， uf。 En general lo he leído en vertical la mayor parte del tiempo。 Pero no es mi intención fusilar esta novela con la reseña， le he dado tres estrellas por algo。 Aunque quizá sean más bien 2'5。El caso。 Había momentos entre pasar páginas por encima en los que de pronto poom estaba completamente enganchada。 Empezaba a leer despacio， paladeando， disfrutando。 Y además tengo muchas ganas por saber cómo sigue y cómo termina esta versión Silk Road de la historia de Kvothe。 Sin duda esto se irá más pronto que tarde a una reseña más larga en gorgonas。com 。。。more

Jenny ，

Really interesting novel。 Has a similar feel to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss。

Bob ，

Given the author’s reputation and （I expect well-deserved） awards， I expected great things of The First Binding。 There was certainly high praise from so many reviews and reviewers。 But I didn’t get very far in my reading of this massive book， and have put it down for much later， in hopes that my own frame of reference might shift and I might approach it with an open mind。 At this point， I am so put off by the writing: it seems so pretentious and self-conscious， so fake， that I am angry at the ti Given the author’s reputation and （I expect well-deserved） awards， I expected great things of The First Binding。 There was certainly high praise from so many reviews and reviewers。 But I didn’t get very far in my reading of this massive book， and have put it down for much later， in hopes that my own frame of reference might shift and I might approach it with an open mind。 At this point， I am so put off by the writing: it seems so pretentious and self-conscious， so fake， that I am angry at the time I’ve wasted on the book。 A great disappointment， for sure。 。。。more

Kerry Smith ，

I loved this book and was disappointed that I have to wait for the next one。Ari is a likeable engaging character， running before he can walk but all for a good reason。 The world building was beautify done and for me the stories within the story were engaging and helped explain the world around him - the type of people， they way the dressed， their faith， all told smoothly without info dumps。I know many people have likened this to Name of the Wind and that it was one of the authors inspirations bu I loved this book and was disappointed that I have to wait for the next one。Ari is a likeable engaging character， running before he can walk but all for a good reason。 The world building was beautify done and for me the stories within the story were engaging and helped explain the world around him - the type of people， they way the dressed， their faith， all told smoothly without info dumps。I know many people have likened this to Name of the Wind and that it was one of the authors inspirations but I would take Ari over Kvothe any day。 。。。more

Liz ，

Sept 2022 -- Started this， but it appears to be epic doorstopper length。 Will need to return it to the library and try again later。 The first chapter seems heavily inspired by The Name of the Wind -- hopefully it will develop some original ideas as it goes along。

Rebecca Patterson ，

DNF。 I was hopeful when I read that this book was ‘inspired’ by The Kingkiller Chronicles， but this reads like an alt-universe fanfic。 I returned the title when I got to the point where the the storytelling launched into a retelling of the imprisonment of Taborlin the Great， complete with the confiscation of his magic items。 There are tributes， and then there is just being blatantly derivative。 I’m sure those who’ve not yet read Rothfuss are thrilled with this novel， but I recommend they skip th DNF。 I was hopeful when I read that this book was ‘inspired’ by The Kingkiller Chronicles， but this reads like an alt-universe fanfic。 I returned the title when I got to the point where the the storytelling launched into a retelling of the imprisonment of Taborlin the Great， complete with the confiscation of his magic items。 There are tributes， and then there is just being blatantly derivative。 I’m sure those who’ve not yet read Rothfuss are thrilled with this novel， but I recommend they skip this Bollywood reboot and go to the source material。 。。。more

Abnimex ，

So I have finished this tomb of a book after literally weeks of reading。I initially picked this up as I was interested in the South Asian inspired world and the book definitely delivered on that front， but my god was it a drag。After all these pages I still feel like I have barely gotten to know the characters。 Anyone except Ari seems to be just plot devices without much soul just there to push the story forward。 I am writing this a week after finishing the book and I can hardly remember any of t So I have finished this tomb of a book after literally weeks of reading。I initially picked this up as I was interested in the South Asian inspired world and the book definitely delivered on that front， but my god was it a drag。After all these pages I still feel like I have barely gotten to know the characters。 Anyone except Ari seems to be just plot devices without much soul just there to push the story forward。 I am writing this a week after finishing the book and I can hardly remember any of their trades nor their names。What I also found highly annoying was the amount of plot points that were taken straight from "The Name of the Wind"。 It is one thing to take inspiration from another story， but this one just copied so many scenes that it started to get really annoying。I might give the second one a shot though as I thought the world itself was well realised and the magic system was pretty interesting。 I just hope that Virdi will come up with a few more original scenes and characters。 。。。more

Josinho ，

Ari， chico para todo en el gran teatro de Khalim， empieza a conocer los vínculos mágicos de la mano de Mahrab， hasta que su familia resulta masacrada por unos demonios que sólo existen en el folclore。 Ari vagará por las calles de Abhar， convirtiéndose en el Rey de los Gorriones， robando tesoros y secretos， hasta que decida viajar al Ashram， donde aprenderá cómo hacer estos vínculos para vengarse de los nueve。 ¿A nadie le suena esta historia？R。 R。 Virdi no se esconde， es consciente de lo que ha h Ari， chico para todo en el gran teatro de Khalim， empieza a conocer los vínculos mágicos de la mano de Mahrab， hasta que su familia resulta masacrada por unos demonios que sólo existen en el folclore。 Ari vagará por las calles de Abhar， convirtiéndose en el Rey de los Gorriones， robando tesoros y secretos， hasta que decida viajar al Ashram， donde aprenderá cómo hacer estos vínculos para vengarse de los nueve。 ¿A nadie le suena esta historia？R。 R。 Virdi no se esconde， es consciente de lo que ha hecho。 Pero te puede explicar muy bien por qué lo ha hecho。 Su pasión por contar historias， por la importancia del lore， y por la necesidad de sentirse racialmente representado en una novela de fantasía。 Y para ello， ha fusilado El Nombre del Viento o， como quien dice， ha hecho un fan art。 Y lo ha hecho muy muy bien。 Esto puede servir como aviso para navegantes。 Si no te gustó el estilo de Rothfuss， no te acerques， pues esto son dos tazas。 El argumento es el mismo， hay un montón de guiños a ENDV， los personajes son los mismos， escenarios， escenas， casi frases calcadas， y easter eggs en abundancia。 Entonces， ¿por qué debería leerme este tocho de 800 páginas？Porque R。R。Virdi no solo tiene la calidad escribiendo， y la poesía en el verbo， para hacer algo de calidad， sino porque es capaz de introducir ligeras variaciones que hacen la historia muy atractiva。 Para empezar， mientras que Ari cuenta la historia， van sucediendo cosas。 Su pasado le persigue， y eso es emocionante y ofrece dos líneas de acción， muy ingeniosas。 Además， los elementos culturales y mitológicos están por todas partes y son preciosos。 Desde la historia de Brahma hasta los semidioses como la Naga。 Como colofón， deja clara la importancia de las mentiras y las medias verdades en la transmisión de historias， lo que hace la historia muy ingeniosa。 Tiene sus defectillos， como un personaje muy atrevido， pero luego inútil en el flirteo， un abuso de este， así como un abuso de la lentitud y las pausas en la escritura， pero， ey， ¿quién es perfecto？Si eres un fan de las historias， del lore， y de cómo se crea， te recomiendo mucho The First Binding。 Lo disfrutarás。 Aunque te va a sonar familiar。 Valoración: 4 Pratchetts 。。。more

Karen Cohn ，

This novel is a story within a story， and sometimes a story within that。 Ari is a binder， and a storyteller - The Storyteller - a magic wielder who uses folds and bindings to fashion changes in the world。 He stops at a small inn to tell stories， and ends up telling his personal story to a woman with multiple names， an autobiography within a narrative frame of the present。 Ari's family is murdered when he is a very young child， and his life is shaped by that - he is an orphan， a thief， a murderer This novel is a story within a story， and sometimes a story within that。 Ari is a binder， and a storyteller - The Storyteller - a magic wielder who uses folds and bindings to fashion changes in the world。 He stops at a small inn to tell stories， and ends up telling his personal story to a woman with multiple names， an autobiography within a narrative frame of the present。 Ari's family is murdered when he is a very young child， and his life is shaped by that - he is an orphan， a thief， a murderer， and a student， with the deep emotions that such a background can bring。 Despite that， he retains his compassion for others， and the combination of compassion and deep emotions - particularly anger - lead to significant troubles for him。The concept of magic as bindings and folds - the explanation of which I'll leave to the novel - is an interesting one， and Ari's story is compelling， but the ending of the novel seemed abrupt and didn't， to my mind， really fit， as if the author couldn't determine a proper ending and thus stopped writing - an interesting concept for a book well over 800 pages。 While I enjoyed the novel as a whole， the ending left me with a sense of incompletion that seemed unusual in context。 It may be that the author is planning a sequel， but this volume seemed rather long to end so abruptly。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The First Binding

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The First Binding&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The First Binding&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0