Rise of the Red Hand, 1
- 384 pages
- 14 hours of reading
A streetrat turned revolutionary and a disillusioned hacker son of a politician unite to challenge a ruthless technocratic government that sacrifices its poorest citizens for a false utopia. The South Asian Province is divided: Uplanders enjoy luxurious lives in a climate-controlled biodome, relying on technology and gene therapy for eternal youth, while the impoverished outside struggle with discarded black-market robotics in slums plagued by rising sea levels, toxic air, and superbugs. Ashiva, a member of the Red Hand—an underground network of revolutionaries—smuggles vulnerable abandoned children and possesses the best robotic arm and cybernetic enhancements available in the slums. When she encounters Riz-Ali, a privileged Uplander drawn into the Red Hand's perilous mission, they uncover a chilling conspiracy that the government desperately seeks to conceal. From armed guardians kidnapping children to massive robots destroying slums and a looming pandemic threatening the city, Ashiva and Riz-Ali must set aside their differences to combat the oppressive system and protect their beloved communities from annihilation.
