Cyberpunk with a South Asian spin, climate change dystopia, and a slumbering rebellion waiting to awaken make for an amazing premise! Unfortunately this book fell super flat for me. There was so much info-dumping, especially throughout the first couple chapters. I didn't find it very engaging, and didn't end up finishing it (only made it 25%). The writing style fell really flat, and I just didn't find the characters themselves interesting enough to care about.

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

Rise of the Red Hand sounded like it was going to be a really good post-apocalyptical sci-fi novel set in what appears to be Southeast Asia. I LOVED the representation. I cannot speak to the authenticity of the representation because I am not Southeast Asian, but this is a perspective I don't see often in sci-fi so I was happy to see something new to me. However, I didn't like the constant info dump. There was so much to digest, I would've liked to see more novelization and less info dump. I think its because of all the info-dumping, that this book sent me into a book slump. It took me almost 3 weeks to finish this book.
Depending on the synopsis of the next book, I may continue with this series, but I have no decided yet.

I'll be honest, I was very close to giving up on this book about 20% of the way in, purely due to difficulties with the prose (this is extremely unusual for me!) This was an ARC, so I am really hoping that major edits were made on the final edition. In the early chapters of the book, things were clunky enough on the sentence and paragraph level that I had trouble following the author's meaning, and there were a lot of info dumps that took away from my enjoyment of the story. Luckily, this didn't seem to be as much of a problem after the first few chapters, and the story drew me in enough that I was able to complete the book.
Given these challenges, it says a lot about the rest of the book that I decided to give it 4 stars. The story and world building really were amazing, overall, and this author clearly has a lot of promise. Something they did especially well was helping the reader visualize not only the interior spaces (fancy futuristic high-rise apartment units! Open-office plans but with literal "transparency"!), but also the overall geographical layout of the region. I also love sci-fi explorations of technology related to neural implants and cyborg-adjacent body modifications, and this is something the novel worked with in interesting and thought-provoking ways. The challenges and inequalities facing this fictional world are of course relevant to readers, but the novel doesn't rely on simplistic allegory - the world building is complex enough that it is interesting on its own merits, not just in relation to our 2021. The characters were engaging, too, though I think the romantic chemistry was kind of lacking (I was surprised by the fact that two of the main characters were suddenly a couple). Since I do enjoy a nice romantic subplot, myself, I feel this was a missed opportunity. Overall, though, I'd recommend this book and would like to read more of this story.

Rise of the Red Hand is excellent. It combines climate-change dystopia with South Asian-inspired cyberpunk flair. The world is intricate, from its tech to its history to its politics. It's a cut above most YA dystopian--a world that feels plausible and even imminent.

I'll add that I'm a sucker for the hardass-girl-saves-cinnamon-roll-boy dynamic, and Ashiva and Riz-Ali's chemistry is a lot of fun.

If you love grounded sci-fi with a complex, nuanced world to get lost in, definitely give this book a try!

This book was engaging, but not engaging enough for me. I did not end up finishing this book, and it just felt a bit long.

As soon as I heard about this desi sci-fi dystopian novel, I knew I had to pick it up! And although it wasn't a new favorite as I was hoping it would be, I still liked it and had a good time with it. Rise of the Red Hand attempts to portray themes of climate change, environmental atrocities and classism within a South Asian setting, and I liked how these themes were explored with care and nuance. I loved seeing the inclusion of desi elements with the references to salutations, values, as well as untranslated words, alongside the more complex scientific explanations. The plot was also pretty exciting once it took off and I was kept fairly engaged.

However, there are some glaring issues with this book that I couldn't look past. Poor writing quality, terrible pacing, characters I simply didn't care about, way too many info dumps. I think this book needed several more rounds of editing before being published and I'm a little disappointed because I loved the premise so much. I would still recommend if you're as desperate for more desi books in different genres as I am.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 50%.

I went into RISE OF THE RED HAND with the highest of expectations, and perhaps, that's my fault. All I know is that RISE OF THE RED HAND was supposed to be a new favorite. I am, after all, an avid dystopian fan, even though the dystopian train supposedly crashed in the mid 2010's, and, being Indian and a STEM student, I was indescribably excited for Ashiva's story. With all that said, I am the saddest of all that this book, unfortunately, just did not work for me — not even a bit.

Some things that went wrong, include:

— CONVULTED WORLDBUILDING (feat oh-so-many infodumps)
Arguably, the best part of an dystopian book is the worldbuilding and the politics. Unfortunately, neither of those made any sense in this book. Right of the bat, Chadha drops numerous acronyms, many of which we still don't know or understand well into 50% of the novel. There have been several catastrophic events that have shaped the world, but they're all presented in a rushed, sloppy manner, so that it's hard to keep track of the events. The world, in this book, is divided in provinces — and I just couldn't get behind that. There was, apparently, a South Asian province and an East Asian province, and the rest of the Asian continent was dumped into an overarching Asian province. The entire continent of Africa was also a province, and I just ..... didn't understand that? Why were two of Asia's regions split, but the rest of the continent (which includes southeast Asia, central asia, the middle east, etc.) all one province? It just made no sense.

— CHOPPY (& frankly, boring) WRITING
I'm of the strongest opinion that this book could have seriously benefited from some serious editing. Chadha's writing is stunted — they're are some beautiful sentences sprinkled throughout, but the majority of the writing is choppy and detached. I understand that I'm reading an ARC, and that some of discrepencies might be fixed, but the writing — and its complete lack of any emotional evocative-ness, given the story — was glaring and hard to ignore.

— CHARACTERS (that were not characterized)
I'll keep this section short: I could not connect to any of the characters. This might, honestly, be because of the glacial and uneven pace, and the choppy writing, and the constant infodumps, but I never felt like I could connect to the characters. And, honestly? I felt like the characters could barely connect with each other.

///// WHAT I LIKED /////
The only slightly redeeming aspect of this book, to me, was the South Asian rep. As an Indian girl, I recognized a lot of Hindi words and phrases sprinkled throughout the book, and it was cool to see culture embedded within the world like that. However, I'm not 100% sure if the South Asian rep was clear to those who aren't already familiar with the culture — due to subpar writing, I think a lot of the references and "easter eggs," if you will, were lost in the blur of infodumps, and ultimate misses.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is very rare that a book doesn't work for me., the premise of the book itself is very promising but the writing style and the overall story fell flat to my expectations. One of the key points for me as a reader is characters. Personally, I will like or dislike a book based on how attached I get to the characters and how good the characterization of the characters are. Bonus points if there is good character development.
I normally would not expect these standards for the first book to a series but.. for this book I seriously do not care about the characters at all.

The main characters had potential to be something more but they weren't as fleshed out as I hoped for them to be. They feel strangely detached and stiff at some points. Additionally, the first half of the book especially contained a lot of info dumping at some points, while there were other aspects of the world-building that were not thoroughly explained. I loved the elements of South Asian culture peppered throughout making the setting feel real. However, while it's possible that the writing style itself just didn't work for me personally, I really feel that this book needed editing.

I wish I liked this more, but I believe that Olivia Chadha does have potential as a writer. Her ideas for this book is spectacular and holds a lot of potential. But sadly, this book wasn't for me.

This book had elects that typical make up my favorite reads. But I just did not mesh with the writing style.

The following review was published on www.thenerddaily.com

In this fast-paced dystopia, Olivia Chadha transports us to a climate ravaged future in South Asia. Rise of the Red Hand is filled with complex characters, a deeply flawed and divided society, and technology with searing ramifications.

The entire world is crumbling in the aftermath of the last World War. And the South Asian province is no different. Split it two, Uplanders live a comfortable life in a climate-controlled biodome while the Downlanders are forced to live in the exterior slums where rising sea waters, hunger, and disease constantly threaten their existence.

Ashiva is a smuggler. A good one at that. She works with the Red Hand, a group of rebels and revolutionaries scattered throughout the province. Her priority is protecting her sister and fighting for the future of the abandoned children deemed unfit by Central’s merciless AI.

Riz-Ali shouldn’t live in Central. It’s only because of his mother’s status that he wasn’t declared unfit. He finds refuge in the underweb, battling in virtual mecha war games and attempting various hack challenges to try and chip away at Central’s impenetrable control. But bad timing places Riz-Ali in the middle of the Narrows during an illegal crackdown.

Fighting to survive, Ashiva and Riz-Ali accidentally cross paths and uncover a horrific government conspiracy. With a virus threatening the population, mecha robots destroying the Narrows, and soldier’s intent on keeping them quiet no matter what, they have to put aside their differences to uncover the truth. On the run, betrayed by people they love, they have one chance to prove to the world that Central isn’t the utopia it claims it to be and save their communities from complete destruction.

From beginning to end, Rise of the Red Hand is an intense ride. Chadha introduces us to the world layer by layer as Ashiva goes on a smuggling run. It’s a smart way to blend the details of the world without halting the nonstop forward momentum of the plot. Ashiva is a character that is constantly on the move. It makes sense, too. She’s a smuggler but she’s also restless. Movement helps her feel less out of control, and let’s face it, in the Narrows, there’s a lot that isn’t in her control.

This mix of plot, world-building, and technology is consistent throughout every facet of the book, which all place it firmly in the hard science fiction genre. Technology isn’t there to provide flashy fight scenes or to make plot elements convenient. Rather, they play specific and important roles, designed to stand out as if they were characters themselves. It’s vital to understand how technology fits into the world because the plot is a direct reaction to how the characters interact to and with it. But don’t mistake detailed world-building with a slow pace. Rise of the Red Hand throws the reader into the melee immediately and doesn’t stop, even when we reach the end. It’s a book that will leave readers breathless and ready to dive in again to catch the details they may have missed.

The technology also serves to raise the different moral and ethical questions science constantly struggles with. Everything Chadha introduces is realistic in terms of science and technology we have or are working towards today, which further calls attention to the deeper ramifications these technological advances and inventions could have in our very real future. It isn’t intended to bash us over the head with opinions or answers. Rather, the characters themselves have the debate, making decisions that lead to consequences that allow the reader to decide if they agree or disagree with how it all plays out.

Solace, the artificial intelligence that runs Central, is an excellent example of this. We live a life run by algorithms today. How we shop, the news we watch, even the things we see from people we know are all determined by unseen and unknown programs. These programs are meant to evolve as we use them, leading to consequences we may not be able to see yet. AI is often seen in books as a thing that battles humanity with flawless logic. But in this world, Solace acts in similar ways to the extensive algorithms we live with now. It isn’t an all-seeing, all-knowing being. Rather it functions based on the parameters coded into it, trying to assess and calculate the perfect traits within human genetic code to produce a society with very specific traits.

This is a terrifying thought and yet, close the cover of the book and open any app or website, and we can see this curation at work. At what point does allowing an algorithm to decide how we shop, or choose friends, or consume media morph into more invasive decisions? It’s a fascinating way to dive into the dangers inherent in letting these types of programs dominate our lives, particularly when we add in the element of the neural-synch tech. At what point does humanity end and technology begin? And is there ever a way to seamlessly merge the two? The deeper we get into this world, the murkier the answers get, because for every advantage, there is a disadvantage, which raises realistic debate that avid science fiction fans relish.

Technology and world-building aside, Chadha does not skimp on creating a full cast of characters that simply pop off the page. But again, the technology and world-building do double duty, even in character development. Ashiva, for example, has a robotic arm. It’s made from castoff technology and while there are a lot of people living in the Narrows with replacements, it isn’t an easy surgery and Uplanders don’t offer any resources to make it easier. As a result, it rarely works the way it should, so something that should give her the literal upper hand, can often become a liability. Her arm is further complicated because while it’s something that gives her added strength, this use of technology on the human body is looked down upon in Central. Uplanders will use nanobots and genetic editing to stay flawless but marring the body with physical implants––other than the neural-synch––is seen as something only poor people do.

This irony over who can use what technology in what way is less a conversation on the technology itself and more an indictment of how technology can divide a society. It isn’t just a wall that separates them. It’s the medicine they use, the food they eat, the upgrades to their bodies. Never mind that most implants are required because of the brutality of the world itself, and that not having robotic limbs would mean certain death for most. Or that elites implant a neural-synch directly into their brain, arguably allowing access for technology to potentially influence and infiltrate their thoughts. It’s a testament to Chadha’s writing and storytelling that every detail is wrapped in deeper commentary.

Attention to detail isn’t limited to these bigger world-building elements. We’re given a glimpse into what the rest of the planet looks like, even seeing ties to a developing space station. But while we get the sense that this story can expand, we are simultaneously immersed in the rich culture of South Asia. Everything from language to the food feels vibrant and authentic. Chadha doesn’t define or explain when Punjabi or Hindu words or affectations are used and it’s these little details, in every layer of the book, that give this world its realism.

Rise of the Red Hand is a stunning read from beginning to end. This is the first in a series and while the book offers a satisfying end, there are plenty of threads that will leave readers eager for the next instalment. Fans of smart science fiction based in grounded, realistic science will devour this book. It’s fast-paced, filled with dynamic characters, and topped with realistic issues relevant to modern life. The scenery and technology are easy to imagine while being fantastical and futuristic, but for all of the incredible technological advances, it’s impossible to ignore the devastating downside. It’s a gritty, bleak future, and Chadha isn’t afraid to immerse us in it. But she also shows us strength in community and the power of hope.

DNF 86%
I was dragged in by the blurb and the very beautiful cover. But i ended up dnf-ing it. It was so much info dumping, the writing was jumping and wierd, i couldn`t connect with the characters and felt like they had no chemistry.

While Rise of the Red Hand had a captivating storyline, I felt like a large portion of the novel was focused on world-building and not enough on the plot.

I always enjoy a good dystopian and Rise of the Red Hand is definitely an interesting one. I love reading about different cultures and really liked the South Asian representation in this book. While the world building was not the greatest I did like the characters and I am interested in seeing where this series is going.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so different from any dystopian book I've ever read, starting with the setting, which is in SE Asia, so finally somewhere else than the US. What's more, the setting is very realistic - you could actually believe something like this could happen in the future. There is also a multiple POV narration, which is very unusual for a dystopian book. Each of the narrators has their own character arc and their own adventures, which, as the plot thickens, become more and more tightly interwoven.

The world building in 'Rise of the Red Hand' is vivid and very imaginative, the characters are likeable and you really want them to overcome all the obstacles - both external and internal. What's more, the book is rather fast-paced, so it's perfect for the readers who love books with a lot of action.

So, if you want a fresh take on a dystopian novel and you like stories about the resistance, cyborgs and people who won't let those at the top erase them, this is a great book for you!

Rise of the Red Hand takes place in a future, and yet not too hard to imagine world beset by war and climate change. Set in a post-apocalyptic South Asia, society is divided into the haves and have-nots, and the stratification couldn't be more stark. The poor fear for their very lives at every moment of the day. Yet there are those who are willing to fight, and die for equity for all, and to take down the corrupt rulers who would live off the backs of other.
With complex and vivid world-building and 3 compelling POVs,this is a thought-provoking start to a fascinating new series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

I received an eARC from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(This review will go live on my blog on 13 February)
DNF 23%

Rise of the Red Hand was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I’m always looking for cli-fi (climate change science fiction, if you’re wondering), and this was also set in South Asia (and written by a South Asian author!). It had quite a few buzzwords for me too: climate change, plague, giant mechas. So while the book didn’t work for me for a couple reasons, I still think it has loads of potential, and will almost certainly find a receptive audience.

So, starting with what I liked: the world building/setting. It was super detailed, and the author has clearly done a lot of research into what the world is going to look like in the aftermath of massive climate change and a nuclear winter (as a result of war for resources). The changes to the environment on global and local levels, the increase in pollution, the increase in diseases, the difficulties in obtaining clean and safe food and water were all discussed. The reactions and probable outcomes of such events were completely believable.

When I say this world was fully realised, I absolutely mean it. The history, the politics, the technology, and the society were all covered in plenty of depth. This, however, was both a positive and negative. I love world building. But even for me, this was a lot of info-dumping. So while I could picture this world with perfect clarity, it definitely slowed the plot. So much so that by time I gave up at 23% the plot hadn’t really started yet. It was ready to go, but there was a lot of set up before we got to that point.

On the positive side though, I think that it actually really helped build the atmosphere in a way that was more organic. The chapters are narrated in first person, so the effect of telling me so much about the world resulted in me being able to feel the helplessness, and anger, and desperation of the characters, and really get behind their fight for a better world.

The story is narrated by three main characters; Ashiva, a smuggler working for the Red Hand; Tavu, her younger adopted sister, who is a genius; and Riz-Ali, the rebellious hacker son of the Minister of Comms.

I think they had potential to be engaging characters, but their narrative voices weren’t that distinct. Whether this was due to the heavy emphasis on world-building up to the point I stopped reading, or an actual stylistic problem, I cannot say. The other thing was that there was a bit of redundancy, as I started reading the same information from multiple characters.

So I guess I should really get down to the crux of the review: why didn’t I finish this book? It comes down to bodily autonomy and what I perceive to be abuse. Ashiva is apparently so terrified for Tavu’s safety that she lies to her for most of her life and tells her she has juvenile osteoporosis in order to control her ,and prevent her from straying too far from home because she “might fall and hurt herself.” Ashiva even convinces at least one other person in a position of (medical and political) authority to perpetuate the same lie.

While it is obvious to me that this lie will not stand, and will certainly come back to bite Ashiva, it was not something I was personally prepared to continue to read about. I had a visceral reaction when it was first mentioned, and try as I might to ignore it, I failed.

So do I think this book is worth reading? Yes. If you’re looking for a YA cli-fi, or a sci-fi by a South Asian author, and you enjoy heavy world building, this could definitely be the book for you.

Content Warnings

Climate change, inequality, body modification, plague, systematic oppression, eugenics, child abuse, child neglect, abandonment, violence, suicide, needles, population control

Representation: All South-Asian cast

I was debating whether or not to write a review because, to be completely frank, I was pretty let down by RISE OF THE RED HAND.

It had potential--the underlying story of rebellion, class conflict, corrupt systems in politics and science were all inherently interesting. There's mechas! And hacking! What was happening in the world was interesting.

But the presentation of the underlying story just kind of muddled the essence of it, and made it difficult to understand and not as engaging as it should have been.

The worldbuilding was not to my taste. I'm not sure what really happened in the first half of the novel, and I genuinely feel like the story would have benefited a lot from being presented to us a little differently. Maybe if it began further along into the action and divulged information about the world as it becomes necessary. Starting the story when Kid Synth is Riz-Ali is taking the hacking challenge, and when the Narrows is being attacked.

It felt like the beginning was so broad, almost in that detached, adult sci-fi storytelling way. And that would have been fine, except it never fully committed to the more broad style. RISE OF THE RED HAND never really told the history of the world linearly in one place, and that's part of why it was so confusing in the beginning. It tried to fit it all into the current storyline.

We get repeated references to the world's history, but nothing direct enough that a casual reader can easily pick together. There's WWIII, the New Treaty, the Great Migration, something about a rare resource neo-something, a past nuclear conflict between America and the Middle East, a space colony, a pandemic, PAC (I still don't know what this stands for), the different places (Liminal? Narrows? Central? Rings?) and so much more. It's just so much background information, and it was just really difficult for me to get a clear sense of what was happening.

Maybe someone smarter & more dedicated than I am was able to get a better sense of it, but I felt like it could have been condensed more. Told on a need-to-know basis. The name of the resource kind of gets lost along the story, turning into "rare resources," and a lot of the history was never really relevant to the central story of Ashiva & the Red Hand.

I'm sure Chadha had reasons for doing things this way, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

The actual meat of the story (especially everything happening from when Ashiva and Riz-Ali meet at the 50% mark) was a lot more clear--not the background info, but what was happening in the present. There's an infiltration plot and multiple rebellious movements happening. There's actions and fighting giant mechas.

And only near the end did I begin to fully understand the emotional notes of Ashiva & her little sister Taru's relationship, which could have been played up a lot more to be super evocative.

I think RISE OF THE RED HAND had so much potential, but something about the framing and worldbuilding posed a huge roadblock that I feel is stopping readers from understanding the heart of the story, the connections that are happening with Ashiva and Riz-Ali, Ashiva and her sister, Ashiva and her questionable mentor figure. These all got lost in the world and that was the biggest disappointment for me.

Content Warnings: violence, class-conflict, genocide, death & murder, hostage, medical experimentation, body horror (mechas & cyborgs), use of ableist slurs (lame & dumb, casually by a minor-character), use of "obese" in the narration once

Also, quick pet peeve.

I wasn't a huge fan of how Chadha split the world into provinces—I understand why it was done, in a way, but I still wish this part of the worldbuilding was done differently. I was both a little unsettled by how large some of the regions were (Africa is just one large "African Province"? When it's like 30% larger with almost 2x as many people as North America?) as well as unsatisfied with how the regions were named.

Why is there an "American Province" and a "South American Province"? Wouldn't it be better than to say "North (or North and Central) American Province" instead? And why is there an "Asian Province" which is different from the "South Asian Province" and the "East Asian Province"?

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is intriguing but the opening scenes were quite choppy and world-building was repetitive. By the time I was in the third character's head I'd lost interest in any of the characters or their goals. So, sadly, I didn't finish and won't be mentioning the book on any of my social media.

I tried to get into this one but it just fell flat for me. It follows characters in a post apocalyptic world trying to take on a tyrannical government in an underground resistance. Sound familiar? It does play with the aftermath of nuclear war, if climate changes is ignored, cyborgs, etc. But honestly, I've seen all of this done much better in other YA dystopia, which I used to read a lot of in the Divergent golden age for the genre. The shifting POVs made it hard to track what the world was like as I read it. The character dynamics were interesting but found family and finding love on the run are also overplayed out to me. It was the South Asia setting that made this book stand out at all. I recommend reading Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton, The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg, The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow, or A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia Cole instead.

There's some really strong world-building in this post-World War III set dystopian, looking at a South Asia ravaged by the effects of the nuclear war and by climate change. Chadha captures a society in which the haves in the Uplands lead luxurious lives while the have-nots are forced to live in slums and fear for their lives. Switching between three POVs - Ashiva, a smuggler, her adopted sister Taru who she's desperate to protect, and Riz-Ali, a teen hacker trying to use his privilege for good - we're thrown into a fight to save the poorest people.

I loved the climax to the book - a sensational fight scene - although I found the pacing on the way there to be less great, with the first half seeming really slow at times. I enjoyed the three leads as characters, but there wasn't much chemistry between Ashiva and Riz-Ali, unfortunately. The strong world-building and the way the ending provided a satisfying conclusion but also set things up really well for the sequel means its one I'm glad I read. I definitely look forward to finding out what happens next, and to reading more from Olivia Chadha!