TL;DR: The First Binding is truly an epic high fantasy. It’s a story that I have mixed feelings about because while I loved the vastness and richness of it, I think that was also what made it a struggle to read at times. Despite feeling like I had to “work” to get into it, there were many moments when I was captivated and felt fully immersed in the lush world-building. I became very invested in Ari’s story and I was intrigued by many of the characters we’re introduced to. This is a coming-of-age tale mixed with murder, mystery and an abundance of well-developed stories within the story, and I highly enjoyed the narrative framing. Overall, while it’s not a new favourite, I’m keen to continue with the series and I hope we get more answers to some burning questions soon!

Firstly, I’m so glad I read this with Leslie because it wouldn’t have been as fun without someone to commiserate with and bounce theories off of as we worked our way through this considerable chonkster of a book! Be sure to check out her review.

This is compared to Name of the Wind and it’s easy to see why. But while some see the similarities as a negative, I loved the way the story was told, as this narrative framing isn’t one I read regularly. I think the author did an incredible job with the world-building of this South Asian-inspired epic fantasy. The world is so richly developed from the different countries along the Golden Road, the application of the brutal caste system, travellers, languages, myths, beliefs and, of course, the magic. I was fascinated by the concept of the bindings, the philosophy and the study behind the art—it’s so well-formed! The way the author brings this world to life is honestly one of the best things about this story and it made it so easy to feel immersed in the setting and have the story play out like a movie in my head.

That said, while the rich world-building was incredible, I think what I struggled with most was how verbose the writing could be. I feel like the author leaned heavily on dramatic and overly-descriptive prose to amplify the storytelling and while it worked at times, I also found it to be overwhelming. As I said, I loved how it brought scenes to life so vividly but somehow it also made it difficult for me to retain much of what I read once I put the book down. The pages felt overloaded with information and served a level of detail that I didn’t think we always needed as it bogged down the pace, IMO.

Going back to the narrative framing, I love how this is a story within a story filled with many other stories. It did take a while to find my groove, especially as there were times we jumped from one story to another and then another within that. However, I love that we get to hear Ari tell his tale in first person and how we get his present-day reflections as he recounts his coming-of-age story that leads to where and who he is at the time of the telling. Ari was quite an interesting and multi-faceted character who amused, befuddled, and infuriated me at turns. His younger self could stand to learn what patience means and I guess it’s something that takes him a while to learn because we still don’t see it by the end of book 1, haha! 🤣 He’s too smart for his own good, has quite a mouth on him and can be rather arrogant too. But he’s also ambitious and so driven to see justice served for all that he has lost. I understood the motivations behind his actions—even if his younger self’s way of getting things done left a lot to be desired—and I respected him for it. After all that he has been through and really, it’s so much, I can’t even begin to fathom what it would be like to experience such a harsh reality from so young an age!

There was a slew of side characters we were introduced to—some I felt indifferent to, some I grew to love after disliking them strongly at the beginning, and others still whom I’m unsure about. I wish some of them had been better fleshed out, such as Radi, Master Philosopher and Master Binder. Many of the side characters are still mysteries, and I’m sure some are purposefully so, but I wanted a bit more of them to feel more invested in their roles. Eloine is a character that Leslie and I have great suspicions about and the little bits we learn and are told from her perspective only made me curiouser!

Overall, I’m glad that I finally read this and I’m so glad that it was a buddy read otherwise I might’ve faltered getting to the end, lol. While this hasn’t become an unexpected new favourite, I’m keen to continue with the next book cos not only did this end in a cliffhanger but I have so many questions that I hope we get answers to in the sequel!

Have you read The First Binding or is it on your TBR?

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