Tak! reviewed The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
The First Binding
1 star
This is so shamefully, outrageously derivative of The Name of the Wind that it reads like fanfiction
A Silk Road epic fantasy full of magic and mystery Tales of Tremaine #1
Hardcover, 656 pages
Published March 8, 2022 by Tor Books.
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.
Thus begins the tale of a storyteller and a singer on the run and hoping to find obscurity in a tavern bar. But the sins of their past aren't forgotten, and neither are their enemies. Their old lives are catching up swiftly and it could …
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.
Thus begins the tale of a storyteller and a singer on the run and hoping to find obscurity in a tavern bar. But the sins of their past aren't forgotten, and neither are their enemies. Their old lives are catching up swiftly and it could cost them the entire world. No one can escape their pasts and all stories must have an ending.
This is so shamefully, outrageously derivative of The Name of the Wind that it reads like fanfiction
A weary, mysterious narrator is encouraged to tell his life story. His story starts in abject poverty, and, against all the odds, the narrator learns all sorts of powerful magics and skills. In the framing device, the narrator's notoriety is hinted at, but that's all in the future of the bulk of the story. If that sounds a lot like another rather more famous recent SFF hit... Yeah. Look, it's Name of the Wind, but with some smallish hints of a sort of Hindu-inspired mythology, and the magic school is a monastery rather than a university.
The writing is sometimes awkward, but it's awkward because RR Virdi is trying to affect a certain style. It doesn't always work, but I kind of have a grudging respect for the ambition. Virdi has a weird liking for awkward zeugmas such as: "The poor and well-to-do didn't wear colors like that. The stark …
A weary, mysterious narrator is encouraged to tell his life story. His story starts in abject poverty, and, against all the odds, the narrator learns all sorts of powerful magics and skills. In the framing device, the narrator's notoriety is hinted at, but that's all in the future of the bulk of the story. If that sounds a lot like another rather more famous recent SFF hit... Yeah. Look, it's Name of the Wind, but with some smallish hints of a sort of Hindu-inspired mythology, and the magic school is a monastery rather than a university.
The writing is sometimes awkward, but it's awkward because RR Virdi is trying to affect a certain style. It doesn't always work, but I kind of have a grudging respect for the ambition. Virdi has a weird liking for awkward zeugmas such as: "The poor and well-to-do didn't wear colors like that. The stark vibrancy drew eyes, made a show of wealth, and required the latter to keep clean in a world where road dust inevitably found its way to your clothing." (kindle loc 7994) and "The kind of residence that only the wealthiest of travelers, just short of nobility and the comforts provided to those, could afford" (kindle loc 8136).
Story-wise, it's fairly predictable. About 80% of the way through I realised that this was going to be one of those books that works harder to set up the sequel than it does to give the current book any kind of satisfying conclusion. I was right.
The pacing of the book is kind of clunky. There were long stretches where I didn't feel like anything was happening. There were scenes that, I guess, were trying to build up a picture of Ari and his monastery friends that descended into cringey unnecessary banter. The jumps back to the narrator and his audience seemed oddly timed, and the whole thing just felt a bit flabby.
But, y'know, I finished the book. I liked the world building. When Virdi's prose works, it's nice enough to read. I probably won't read any sequels.
Abandonné à 30% (autour des 300 pages, quand même).
Le livre est lent, contemplatif, et "Rothfuss-ien", ce qui n'est pas un défaut en soi, mais après 300 pages rien n'avait vraiment démarré. Ce que j'avais lu était à la fois très cliché, et beaucoup trop similaire au Nom du vent pour éveiller mon intérêt. Je serai allé au bout sur un roman plus court, mais devoir encore affronter 600 pages de ça était un peu trop pour moi.
Abandonné à 30% (autour des 300 pages, quand même).
Le livre est lent, contemplatif, et "Rothfuss-ien", ce qui n'est pas un défaut en soi, mais après 300 pages rien n'avait vraiment démarré. Ce que j'avais lu était à la fois très cliché, et beaucoup trop similaire au Nom du vent pour éveiller mon intérêt. Je serai allé au bout sur un roman plus court, mais devoir encore affronter 600 pages de ça était un peu trop pour moi.