NetGalley Review: The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
Hey all, Sam here.
Welcome to me talking about the best book I’ve read so far in 2023. Yes, that is how I am starting this post. And what’s even more exciting, I’m meeting the author today (actually, I’ll have already met the author by the time this post goes live, but whatever–time is a weird soup).
So, no, that didn’t happen. Come to find out, the author cancelled. I don’t know if it’s for the whole con or just during his scheduled signing session. Instead, it is the end of the day. We’re getting ready for bed, and I’m remembering that I didn’t completely finish this post. Whoops.
Basically what ended up happening is that I didn’t get any sleep whatsoever last night. I went in to work at 6pm on August 2nd and got off work at 3:15 am on August 3rd. Then we drove from our home in Iowa to Gen Con in Indianapolis, arriving and finding parking and walking to the convention center basically right around the time that the doors opened. So we didn’t miss a whole lot, but we were a tiny bit late and by the time afternoon/early evening came around, we were really feeling exhausted…
I think it’s time to just get this review up and then go to bed, so let’s do that.
My Thoughts
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.
Rating: 5 stars
I already said it in my introduction, but I’ll say it again now…this is the best book that I have read this year so far, and it’s going be be pretty difficult for something else to dethrone it.
I love when books have the story within a story (or story within a story within a story) setup. It’s just really neat, and if our storytelling character is interesting, then I’m going to be as enraptured and captivated as the other characters listening in on the stories. Because in this book not only do we have Ari telling stories about world history and lore and such, but Ari is also telling his personal story to another character.
It takes a certain amount of skill and certainly there is a lot to keep track of when it comes to a story like this. There are so many plot threads and time lines that dance around each other, and occasionally meet briefly to highlight similar situations happening…and while I enjoy this sort of story, I honestly don’t think writing this sort of story would be one I would be likely to attempt writing any time soon. I’m having enough complicated fun keeping the in-game and out-of-game stories straight in my TTRPG contemporary romance book.
Oh, this is where I should definitely point out that this is a HUGE book. I am not at all kidding when I say that my hardcover is 822 pages long. There is a lot to introduce and set up and describe, and there’s always so much banter and dialogue going on, that it just makes it feel like you’ve just stumbled into a bar yourself and are starting to hear all about this complex adventure.
I was utterly fascinated. I wanted to know more about the characters, and the companions that they meet. I really wanted to know more about the different regions of the world, as well as knowing more about the history and lore and magic system. There was action and there was hints of romance and there was friendship and there was intrigue and there were a bunch of plot lines that slowly wove together into an elaborate tapestry…and even though it was a chonky boi book, I read it pretty darn quickly. It seriously only took a couple days while at work.
I do believe that the paperback just came out…okay, no, the paperback is coming out September 5th. But you can currently get the book in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook. And I wish I was alert enough to make this review a bit more coherent, but honestly, there’s only so many ways that I can declare that I love a book and that I’m hooked and want more.
When are we getting book two, because I’m so ready to find out what happens next!
Well that’s all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
