2.8/5 ☆ = 3-

Nothing breaks my heart more than giving this book 2 stars. I was really looking forward to this book, with its sci-fi and dystopian elements. Yet, the plot and pacing were "off", characters were undeveloped and I believe this book would have done better if it went through another round of editing. I simply lost interest halfway through and began to skim through the book.

Here are some of my thoughts in bullet points 🖊:
➡ I was thrust into this new world and with no proper introductions to several organizations or something, the author suddenly decided to use a whole lot of acronyms. I was so confused. I'll write down some of the acronyms and what I think they mean at the end of this review for everyone else who has this acronym problem lol.
➡ The plot took <i>way</i> too long to...commence. The main characters didn't even meet until the start of the second half. The first half was confusing and, unfortunately, boring. I really tried hard to keep up, but just couldn't. Also, most of the plot from the first half didn't even play a role later. So many unnecessary things happened.
➡ This leads me to the third point, the pacing. It was SO "off". Sometimes the writing was as slow as a snail, and then BOOM something developed without any room for the reader to comprehend what was happening.
➡ The characters were kinda interesting, but also almost shallow. I didn't really get to know them. Moreover, they suddenly developed without the reader knowing. I felt like I was missing some parts when Taru suddenly just grew idk more confident. I know why, but it didn't feel satisfying as I couldn't see her journey or growth.
➡ Also, there's an insta-love. It bothered me so much since the characters had only known each other for idk less than 24 hours. Ugh. I get that they had to "love" each other to justify their protective actions, but gosh there was absolutely NO DEVELOPMENT. They went on a walk, saw a little around and then BOOM they were in love.
➡ Moreover, the writing was often inconsistent. One person said she had never seen a character, and then proceed to describe him. What?? Maybe I missed some points while skimming...probably. Either way, the writing style, and flow didn't really work with me.
➡ Usually, I like sci-fi dystopian mixes, and definitely rebellions. So maybe I just had too high expectations for this book? I got a lot of Legend (by Marie Lu) vibes. That made me think. This book is quite similar to sci-fi dystopian books. An evil government and teenagers in the rebellion. This book brings nothing new to the table, except for the setting. Therefore, it got quite predictable.
➡ (but maybe it's just because I'm seventeen? like, I feel like this book would fit great with middle graders)
➡ I was really looking forward to this book, as I knew it would have South-Asian representation. Since I'm Southeast-Asian, I wanted to support other Ownvoices books or Asian rep books. So it breaks my heart even more to give this book 2 stars.

Overall, I think the book was alright. It did feel like a chore to get through by the end. I do think this book would be better if it went through another round of editing to just tighten up the plot and get rid of unnecessary plot devices. Moreover, I wish the author had focused more on the development of characters. Either way, if you like mechas and cyberpunk vibes, as well as rebellions, this book may be right for you!

Over and out. -Nora<3

i liked it honestly, but maybe i had too much expectations the concept is Amazing and i liked the plot but the writing style didn’t helped to really dive in the book. the first part was a massive info dump, i had trouble getting through it, it made it seem like nothing was happening and terribly slow and i was also kinda confused.
also there was a bit too many pov who sounded the same, the romance i hated it but it’s small so it’s fine, i didn’t understand the point of it.
the world building was interesting and what it talked about too- ableism, elitism, activism, climate change, pandemic- it’s very on time, we can easily identify with it.
the characters lacked depth in my opinion, i felt like they had one layer.
beside that passed the first part i liked the story, i would still recommend it for the cyberpunk universe, it was enjoyable and the south asian rep + language was really nice, i wish i liked it more

A big thanks to Olivia Chadha, Erewhon Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book!

The world is dying; bombs and pollution have made the air toxic and the sea has swallowed up whole cities. In the South Asian Province, the lucky few who are deemed worthy get to live in Central, a climate-controlled biodome with fresh air and technology that can keep them young and healthy. The rest of the population live in the slums surrounding it, struggling to survive by any means necessary. Ashiva, a member of the revolutionaries fighting for the citizens, and Riz-Ali, a hacker living in Central, seem like an unlikely pair. Together, they will fight to protect their communities at all costs, even if it means going head-to-head with their province’s government.

I was excited to read my first climate-fiction book (cli-fi as I recently learned). The premise was intriguing; secret revolutionary groups in a dystopian future, cybernetically enhanced people, biodomes to fight toxic pollution, it all sounds fascinating. I think that the author Olivia Chadha put a great amount of effort in building a vibrant futuristic world affected by human-made climate disasters. Ashiva is a strong female character, and I loved that she is not some perfect cookie-cutter heroine. She is a war-torn and resilient as you would have to be when living in the slums surrounded by death and poverty. Riz-Ali was a great contrast to Ashiva, being one of the privileged citizens living in Central and having grown up in wildly different circumstances. The story Olivia Chadha built and the characters she filled it with is wildly imaginative and full of potential.

I wasn’t a big fan of the switching narratives between chapters. It made sense to move between Ashiva and Riz-Ali, but there were also chapters featuring Taru, a third character I was not expecting. I found that it became a bit tricky to follow each storyline, especially with all of the details and secondary characters that are included in the book. At certain points it was hard to follow exactly what was happening, because there were so many other details to remember in order to keep the story straight. The sheer amount of detail Olivia Chadha managed to pack into this first book is incredible, I just had trouble retaining it all at once, and this made it difficult to immerse myself in the story.

The Rise of the Red Hand is a book with many levels. It is rich in cultural elements which brings the futuristic South Asia to life. The author’s exploration of climate change, class disparity and rebellion against governmental agencies is nuanced and thoroughly explored. Maybe it’s my personal inexperience with science-fiction that made it harder for me to get through this book. It might potentially take me a second read-through to really appreciate it to it’s full extent. I will still recommend this book to Science-Fiction enthusiasts who are looking to start a promising new series.

Rise of the Red Hand is set in an (eerily) not-too distant future, where climate change and WWIII have decimated much of the world's population, and an algorithm has picked how who is deemed worthy--healthy and genetically pure enough--to continue living in comfort with the world's limited remaining resources. It's a cruel and brutal world "where children are thrown away for their imperfections, and an algorithm decides who stays and who will be left out of history."

Led by an entirely South Asian cast, this story is a fascinating new addition to the young adult SFF genre, tackling issues of ableism, classism, environmental damage and warfare with a fierce teen cast who help the rebel group the Red Hand rise against a society warped by the belief that "Without Sacrifice, There Will Be No Tomorrow."

A powerful book, especially for those looking for diverse science-fiction!

Such a cool opening to a sci-fi series set in a futuristic South Asia! The world building is complex and well-thought out, so there's a lot for your brain to work on here, and the themes of climate change and class issues are realistic and important. The heroine Ashiva is awesome, and the cover is just gorgeous!!

A refreshingly complex world that explores the potential impact of climate change on both society at large and individuals across the social strata.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

DNF @ 20%

2.5 stars for what I read.

The premise of this novel is very intriguing, and the characters we have met so far are good characters. That being said, the actual quality of the writing is just terrible. There were multiple sentences with omitted words and other mistakes were very noticeable every couple of pages and I have too many things I want to read to spend time reading something the author/editor clearly didn't spend much time on.

If the book gets a much needed re-edit, I would consider reading again because the content of the story is still interesting to me.

I'm a huge Blade Runner/Westworld dystopian fan so I went into this very excited. The beginning was really good and the world-building was rich and vibrant. About halfway through though I found it lagging. Each chapter started with several pages of exposition and I never really felt the tension. As other reviewers have mentioned, there were moments of heavy info-dumping that I felt slowed the overall story. Also with three POV's it felt slowed even further. I understand this is a duology so I look forward to reading the sequel.

I enjoyed the characters of this book, including the heroine, and her sister, but I admit that the info dump in this book was too much. I think flashbacks would have been better and to have some mystery to the backstory. It was interesting to see it take place in south asia. It could've been better, I suppose

Wow, I loved the stunning cyberpunk worldbuilding set in South Asia, and the well thought out history. Ashiva is a kick ass heroine, and I also really liked her sister. Rise of the Red Hand illustrated thoughtfully how society is willing to ignore the plight of less fortunate as long as they’re not personally affected, and also, how leaving decision-making to AI can be dangerous. The cherry on top: such a cool cover!

I was given this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has so much potential. It is a bundle of fresh ideas immersed into a fascinating culture, but the execution of those ideas just didn’t sit right with me.

The first issue I had with this book was the massive information dumps. It is literally page, after page, after page pf dumping information in your lap. The author had the right amount at first. At first, it started with a paragraph or two which is fine by me, then as the book moved on it turned into pages of information dump. It slowed down the entire plot.

The second issue I have is with the multiple pov shifts. I get that it can work, but for this book there were way too many character perspectives for me. I would rather stick to two characters who are radically different from one another than three or four characters who kinda sound the same.

Overall, I would still recommend this book for those who don’t find these issues problematic. Like I mentioned, there are great ideas here and the characters are refreshingly diverse. It’s just not the book for me.

A dystopian that seems to be fast approaching, this science-fiction set in the south asian province is a sword of horrifying climate change, classist ideologies, and impending destruction of those who don't deserve to be saved—a selection done by humans with more resources—on a lit candle of hope, justice, and revolution. Like a sword than can extinguish this flame, further genes-based stratification in the midst of a raging pandemic is set to choke the already struggling, barely surviving, and largely underprivileged population even more. Lightly but intentionally influenced by the real world tensions and imminent need for alignment to outlive the mechanical, technological, and environmental atrocities, this debut shows strength in the very many themes it wishes to highlight. Interesting is a world set in a dreadful future yet still stroked with nuanced desi cultural references, from food to salutations and from non-translated words to beloved values weaved through generations. The scientific explanations and detailed mechanics is impressive to the genre fans, and the side characters take away the spotlight as more complex personas than the cliched main characters who don't intrigue much—though, the heroines are clearly better developed than their male counterparts. Refreshing and much needed as a desi sci-fi dystopia, it provokes thoughts and inflicts a subtle pain of reality, but does underdeliver through a choppy writing, average editing, and disruptive pacing.

the premise of this story is brilliant -- a south asian-inspired dystopia featuring the consequences of climate change and a technocratic government.

unfortunately, i wasn't able to get through this book and ended up dnf-ing it. but because i felt so guilty about it, i've added it to my 'dnf-but-might-try-later' bookshelf on goodreads.

the first part of the book consisted of a whole lot of info-dumping and i didn't feel a connection to any of the characters ; it felt like they lacked depth. i tried multiple times to finish it off, but i just couldn't. it felt like a chore, and the more i tried to make myself read, the more i ended up skim-reading it.

however, like i said before, i'm going to try again later. since i dnf-ed it, it's likely that there could be better plot development in the second half of the book, and in order to be fair to that point, i'm rating this book three stars for now.

>> thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to review the digital copy of this book !

Rise of the Red Hand is a thought provoking and action packed story. The impacts of climate change and environmental destruction have not only wreaked havoc on the world, but also only exasperated the differences in class. In a world where our resources are dwindling, how do we make sure that we have enough? And how do we decide who deserves the resources? If that's got you hooked enough, then you definitely need to pre-order Rise of the Red Hand.

Amidst this story of a crumbling world, there's a revolution brewing. Never truly extinguished, the Red Hand is biding their time. Rise of the Red Hand is a multiple POV story that examines the intentions of technology versus their impact. A piece of technology, in the wrong hands, can easily be turned into a weapon or a saving grace. My favorite element of Rise of the Red Hand has to be the world building, because it felt so comprehensive and intriguing. Another theme that Rise of the Red Hand examines is the line between protecting someone and letting our protection smother them.

The Rise of the Read Hand is set in the South Asian Province (aka Indian subcontinent) in a post apocalyptic world. The world building incorporates cyberpunk elements within a stratified class system determined by genetics. Only a few [Uplanders] are blessed with the perfect genes needed to successfully link with the computer algorithm (Not quite an AI) that is responsible for coordinating the people and resources needed to survive, but the unlucky [Downlanders] are left to scavenge for themselves in the poisoned world that remains after WWIII. Frequently these means cobbling together cybernetic replacements for missing body parts (the existence of which is enough to prevent you from being accepted by the elite). In the background is a raging pandemic that complicates things for both sides and forces some rather questionable behavior from the powers that be, who themselves are competing for resources from the "Planetary Alliance Commission" (PAC) that prioritizes resources to governments can prove they can effective manage them ... and the neural synch from Solace Corp was created to prevent much needed resources from being reassigned elsewhere.

The story itself comes across a bit choppy with the word choice and diction similar to what I have found in books that have been translated to English and which make it difficult for me to understand some of the cultural nuance. Some of it worked okay, such as calling the prosthetic components for cyborgs replacements. Character interactions seem to be more forced and less natural that I am used to, but they still end about where you would expect then to within the dystopian, cyberpunk tropes. Even the apparent "Romeo and Juliet" romance comes across a tad perfunctory. This would not be as much of an issue if it were not for a rather hamfisted use of info-dumps ... which can be useful in the right place, but should NEVER be repeated. Over all it was an okay story within an interesting world that earned it an extra star on that point alone.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#RiseoftheRedHand #NetGalley

Sadly I didn't finish this one.
On one hand, the world-building was interesting and the fact that it is in a South Asian ambiance, at least from what I have read of it, was original and it added some colors to the story, but on the other, it had a feeling of "same old, same old" that didn't manage to keep alive my interest.
And I wasn't really interested on the relationship between the two sisters, either. I wasn't really looking forward to this development, I wasn't looking forward to anything, really, so I decided to drop it.
I am sorry, but thanks for the opportunity.

It’s evident the author spent time on research and did a magnificent job with world-building. That aspect can make or break novels in this genre. The premise – a city divided by genetics and class – grabbed me immediately, and the setting of South Asia was just a bonus.

As impressive and detailed as the world-building is, the info dump at the beginning of the novel is a lot to process and slows the pacing, and it seemed to get heavier the further I got into the book. I felt as if it got in the way of the underlying story. The plot is also weighed down by exposition, but even with that, I still never felt as if I really knew the characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed the imaginative storyline, but I was overwhelmed and frustrated with the elements that detracted from the plot. That being said, I’d certainly read any future books by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This book was just not to my tastes at all. it was dragging and a little too boring.

I liked the idea of this story but could not get into it and ended up stopping about halfway into the book.

Thank you so much to the author and publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review!!

The Rise of the Red Hand was such a promising book that was shot in the foot by its writing style.

When I first read the synopsis of this book I was like oh my god give it to me now! Talk about a new adult sci-fi with South Asian rep? Something wonderful is about to come my way. Unfortunately, 'The Rise of the Red Hand' was such a promising book that was shot in the foot by its writing style.


First, What I liked:
-The science of the book. Chadha was not afraid to explain full on the scientific explanation of something, like the water filtration system. As a huge science nerd, I absolutely loved this. Overall, her commentary on social dilemmas and climate change seemed so realistic throughout the book. I could totally feel this looming in out future.
-The characters. While a bit tropey, the girls in this book were my absolute favorite. They were strong yet so complex that they made me enjoy the story that much more. Unfortunately, their male counterpart seemed more sleazy to me than anything, even while he tried to redeem himself. The side characters of this book really seem to make the story, I honestly loved them.
-South Asian Culture. As a Pakistani-American, all the references to culture and experiences made me feel right at home. I absolutely loved how Chadha carefully weaved in the phrases and culture of South Asia. From the food to the references about Aunties and Uncles, everything seems like it was written first hand; this is why I love POC authors. My one worry is for people who don't understand the language because unless they had a dictionary they most likely wouldn't understand all of the phrases.

The things that didn't work as well:

-Info dumps. The entire first portion of the book seemed to be full of info dumps that made the plot move at a glacial pace. I was halfway through the book and felt like I had gone nowhere. It does get better in the second half, but overall it seriously impeded my interest in reading the book. Many of the info dumps also didn't feel needed. They seemed quite literally dumped in to keep the story moving rather than weaved into the plot.
-Writing Style. Building off the info dumps, most of the story felt like telling not showing; we were told the history, we were told about what was going to happen. There wasn't a lot of showing just the author informing us what had happened. I just didn't seem to mesh with the style.
-Editing. Overall this book had quite a few grammar and editing mistakes. I picked up multiple in the first few chapters alone and I feel that this seriously harmed my enjoyment of the story. I feel this story needs to be edited greatly before moving on.

Overall this book had a good storyline and great attention to detail but needs some more work on the writing style and info dumps. I was so excited about this book and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't what I had hoped for.