Rise of the Read Hand primarily follows the story of Ashiva and Riz-Ali (with a smattering of additional characters as well)set in a utopia/dsytopia cyberpunk-esque South Asia where two populations are at odds.

The Uplanders, including Riz-Ali and his family, live luxurious lives within the Ring, a biodome free from the outside world's threats. The rest of the population, such as Ashiva, struggle to get by with a threats such as unbreathable air, deadly viruses and diseases, and rising sea levels threatening to destroy their adopted home.

Ashiva works for the Red Hand as a smuggler, deeply entwined in the Red Hand's fight against the government in the SA Province. When Ashiva and Riz-Ali cross paths, they both become embroiled in something bigger than they ever expected to find - horrifying conspiracies on both sides.

Overall, I REALLY was entranced with the world-building. The author brought the world to life so well, it really made the book what it was. The characters were relatable and realistic.

However - as much as I loved the story and the world-building, I didn't love the ending. The end of the book seemed extremely rushed compared to the rest of the book, like the author was just wanting to finish it quickly to be done with it. I didn't feel the connection at the end anymore, and that was really disappointing.

I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SciFi YA/NA is already so rare that getting crumbs of it is a delight. getting that plus a non US story brings the picture to be even more powerful. I was so excited for this book.

This was such a frustrating book to read, because it had so much potential only to be walked over by it's own prose- which I personally found to be rambling and full of exposition. Non stop tell and not show, non stop using conveniently asked questions all of the characters should no so a character could answer and explain to the audience basic concepts. This at times, dragged the book to a slow grind.

The plot itself of an upper and lower class in scifi isn't original, but doesn't have to be. I thought the world was incredibly atmospheric and strong and extremely happy with it. The main character was also likable enough, even though I sometimes feel like we didn't get to know her well.

I hope to see the next installment of Rise of the Red Hand address some of these issues, I can see this being a real hit.

The world-building of the book was amazing! The fact that this was set in south asia made me more interested in finishing the story since the culture was so so rich. The storyline of the book was so engaging and action-packed that it kept me reading until the end, I honestly flew by this book. Will definitely recommend this book!

<i>Rise of the Red Hand</i> scratched my cyberpunk itch. This is a really promising first book in the series.

<b>Hands down, the worldbuilding is brilliant. This is a smart sci-fi novel that actually reads like it was published in 2021, unlike many other cyberpunk stories that seem perpetually stuck in 80s Blade Runner mode</b> (I love Blade Runner, but I hope you get me). Honestly, this universe is a believable extension of our own. A segregated city that divides by both class and genetics, a pandemic sweeping across the land (ehem, 2020) that started from the rich but is used as an excuse to oppress the poor, a government fabricating news, climate change eradicating the world, robots and neural-links and plans to migrate to the moon...

Furthermore, it's set in South Asia and is beautifully rich and casual with culture. <b>As much as I love cyberpunk's Asian-inspired visuals, I wish that they actually represented the cultures they drew from, and <i>Rise of the Red Hand</i> reclaims it all for its own.</b> Asian authors are winning.

<b>It's action-packed from start to finish, which made it an easy read despite the overwhelming info-dumpy writing style that turned me off at first.</b> But once I got used to it, I flew through the story because I wanted to learn more.

<b>However, I couldn't give it a full 5 stars because I felt like some plot points were too convenient.</b> It didn't give me too many twists and turns, and while our protagonists were distinct, I wish we had a slightly deeper insight into their characters. There's a whole lot of them taking things too calmly considering the circumstances lol. <b>Plus the romance felt forced and unnecessary, although it was tiny enough that you can easily ignore it.</b>

<b>TL;DR A promising start to a new series. Recommended for readers who haven't read a lot of cyberpunk, or want a YA dystopia story that's actually pretty deep and has solid social commentary.</b>

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for providing me with a free e-copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Needs a lot more editing. I really like the setting and story presented in the book. Unfortunately i had to stop reading around chapter four. There are numerous typos, missing comas, and words out of order that distract too much to keep reading. I'm hoping these are just artifacts of the conversation from text to digital and they do not show up in the final product. I will try again if a different review copy becomes available or when the book is published.