This is the longest book I have read since Babel (I think). The First Binding by R.R. Virdi has been on my to be read list since last year, and I finally started it on January 1. I was intimidated by the size, but once I started reading I knew I wanted to know what would happen at the end. TFB is a frame narrative style fantasy novel that I have not seen in any of the fantasy novels I have read. Ari, the main character, is a storyteller, and the narrative flashes back between his youth and his present time.

About 25% of the way in, I realized that I would have preferred Eloine as a main character over Ari. She is a mysterious woman who Ari tells most of the stories to. No spoilers, but I am so glad that R.R. Virdi included her perspective. While Ari seems to be very closed off and sort of like an unreliable narrator, Eloine seems to be upfront about her unreliability. Eloine, I think, is also interesting because sometimes, women can fall into the stereotype of only being there to advance the man’s story, but Eloine has her own story.

Also, while I found Ari’s backstory interesting, I am interested to know how R.R. Virdi will catch up to the present time when The First Binding takes place in. Ari seems to be a lot more jaded in the present time, although when he is a child, there are hints of the intensely, closed off man he will become. The majority of the book is focused on Ari’s time as a child which I was not expecting to be so interesting, but R.R. Virdi does a nice job of combining Ari’s story as a child and his time as an adult.

I am excited to see where The First Binding series goes and after that ending, I look forward to learning more about Ari and even more about Eloine. R.R. Virdi’s writing feels like hearing a story told by Ari, complete with the effects of Ari’s magic. R.R. Virdi also questions what magic and power means, and how the stories of magic and power can be manipulated by the people at the center. What I found most compelling about The First Binding is how the story questions the truth and the truth of magic as it impacts all of the people across the world of TFB.