I have traded one hundred and one stories with a creature as old as time, and survived with only my cleverness, a candle, and a broken promise.

 

Similar to its predecessor, this story is also divided into two time periods. We begin with Ari sitting in a jail being accused of what happened in the TFB climax. The second time period has him back at the ashram, trying to sort out a sort of moratorium on his academic life when he gets called out on a previous debt. I’m being pretty vague over on purpose as revealing more will be spolirific to The First Binding.  From courtly politics to tribal conflicts to mythological mysteries to magical dimensions, The Doors Of Midnight has it all and more.

 

Where do I even begin with this book, while being a sequel, I can simply say TDOM is The Dark Knight to The First Binding in every department.  From its pacing to the overall plot to the magnificent characterization, on every front, it outshines The First Binding.  As with the first book, characterization is simply top notch in both the time periods. With Ari, the author creates two distinct personas, the wily charmer in the present and the scrappy smartass of the past. Both are diverse in their outlook but yet retain the goodness within their heart. For the experiences of the scrappy youngster have informed & molded the charming storyteller into the dangerous enigma that he is.  The readers get to really see the events that present Ari offhandedly mentions or is asked about. We get to learn how legends are made via these stories and sometimes how the truth is stranger than what becomes the “official legend”.

 

 

 

“Stories are memory. They are love. And they are a kindness. Even when they are a lie. Sometimes, especially when they are a lie.”

 

“For a lie told long enough and come to be believed can in fact come to be the truth, long-held, and used to deceive.”

 

“And whatever wetness that came across his face must have been from the flurries that started to fall then. Were anyone to say those were in fact tears, then let us forgive him for a young boy’s joy.”

 

“An important part of listening, truly Listening, is knowing when to be as still and silent as stone. For stone has heard and seen the shaping of the world itself. And it remembers all things that have happened above it. In stone rests the stories of all things.”

 

 This and much more is to be found within this less than 400K volume. RR Virdi knows how to truly paint a picture be it glorious or grisly. There’s a lot for every type of reader and for me besides the ones highlighted above, I found and loved many, many more.

 

 

The plot doesn’t quite follow a regular epic fantasy story structure, it takes its moorings from the older epics and is more of a story that continues with its peaks and valleys. The aim of these epics is to immerse the listener/reader within the story and RR Virdi does his literary heroes proud herein.

 

The action is mostly on a personal scale as this isn’t a John Gwynne or Paul Kearney type of fantasy. The action sequences are few and far between and this might hamper those readers looking for their action fix. The pacing however is absolutely on an insane level. Considering this was a nearly 400K words book but it didn’t feel like it. I was constantly racing through the pages and was often confounded as to which was my favourite part between the two timelines.

 

Lastly I must address another weird accusation that TFB & the author faced (and to this day, gets a lot of abuse). The plagiarism accusations were a bit absurd to begin with and with the release of the sequel, paints those denunciations as being what they are. A whole lot of hot air from fantasy fans whose ire and chagrin are misaligned to say the least. Another fun nod within this book is the encounter between Ari and a being who western readers might think akin to a Fae creature. I would like to see what they make of it.

 

Also for objectivity’s sake, I must highlight that this isn’t a typical epic fantasy which readers have been accustomed to. This is a good thing as the author take various mythologies (Indian, Norse, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean) and melds them in the world of Tremaine to give us a breathtakingly four dimensional world. Readers looking for a simple good vs evil story won’t find it here.

 

For herein lies a story that is elegant, enigmatic and epic from end to end. RR Virdi has successfully avoided the sophomore slump and given us a sequel that takes the positives from the first book and builds an engrossing story on its shoulders. Further highlighting the fact that he’s slowly creating a league of his own and making sure that the RR within his name is no false sign. He’s surely going to end up rubbing elbows with the other two coveted writers sharing the same initials.