Rise of the Red Harbinger

by Khalid Uddin

Thousands of years ago, the realm of Ashur was drowned by Darian, Harbinger of the god Orijin, to save it from the evil Red Harbinger, Jahmash. But the prophecies say Jahmash will return—and only Darian’s chosen Descendants, those who bear a black line on their face, can save An untried lad from a hidden village. He must find the House of Darian to learn how to use his mysterious The last of a race of warriors slaughtered by Jahmash’s army. Will the other Descendants help him avenge his family and his race?Prince He spent years following his father, the king’s orders to kill all who bear the mark of Darian—even though he bears it himself. Can the other Descendants accept him? Or will they kill him?Time is running short for the Descendants. Hunted by the people they are supposed to protect, can they save Ashur from its greatest The Red Harbinger?

Genres: Fantasy

405 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2017

About the author

Khalid Uddin is a New Jersey based author and high school teacher. He enjoys partaking in local author events and appearances throughout New Jersey whenever he can, and loves to interact with readers to learn about their interests and tastes.
Khalid is also a husband to a wonderful wife, and father to two adorable girls who moonlight as demons. They’ve grown up knowing that their father is a writer and already try to emulate him with their own stories and “books”.
Aside from his family, Khalid is heavily into pop culture, including Star Wars, most fantasy series, all kinds of music (you should see his writing playlists), and most comic book related things. His creative spark started from the pages of Spider-Man and X-Men, and those roots still hold strong.
There is rarely a time, if ever, that Khalid will pass up on donuts and coffee, especially those that are locally made. He has been known to drive great distances for good donuts, so feel free to mention your favorite spots and he’ll be sure to try them. It is probably only a matter of time before an author signing/donut shop tour comes into existence.
Going forward, Khalid plans to start writing Book Three (this series is slated for four books) in the summer of 2022. There was a five-year gap between the first two books, and he hopes to shorten that for the next one. In the meantime, Khalid will be getting his podcast, “Mr. Write Now” up and running, which will focus on various aspects of writing, pop culture, branding, local & small businesses, and anything else that needs to be talked about. You can find him on most social media platforms: IG: @khalid.uddin.author; FB: Khalid Uddin - Author; Twitter: @kaluddin23, and his website is www.khaliduddin.com. He loves to hear from readers and fans, so feel free to reach out to him with your thoughts, reactions, questions, and predictions.

Reviews

[Emmanuel Ojeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rise of the Red Harbinger is a book I would highly recommend to anyone interested in fantasy. The way Mr. Uddin is able to invent this world and make it feel real, with each nation feeling distinct is astounding. The characters and conflicts bring real substance to this already amazing story. Each character feels distinct from one another, each with their own personalities, conflicts and motivations, it’s easy for the characters to leave a deep impression on you and it’s easy to see these characters as real people with their own lives. The incredible story telling left me so invested it felt as if I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. The emotions behind each event felt real and had me celebrating for the heroes and feeling anxious during the intense moments. The story is definitely worth picking up and reading, I can promise you won’t be disappointed by the incredible world of Ashur and its diverse cast of characters.

[Daniela Garcia Varel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good fantasy book. Lots of characters very good story overall.

[Joey McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

My largest regret is that I took too long to read it, to no fault of Khalid! Besides holidays, birthdays, work, and my other obligations, RotRH is the literary version of Campbell's Chunky Soup...don't let the 402 page paperback length fool ya, the novel reads like a full meal, with multiple courses, a buffet table of sides, and a layout of desserts. Just put it down, and Im holding my stomach like a glutton!

When it comes to narrative in Khalid's work, he's thankfully far from sitting at the kids table at the literary feast! There are a lot of moving pieces, which deserve a second look prior to a second novel coming out. What I'm really impressed with is his world initially feels familiar, then manages to open your eyes to the idea that there is much, much more to explore and discover here. As someone who has a huge pet peeve about novels providing me with a vast map, only for every single town, city, river, castle, mountain range, and village to be visited within a matter of days, this was a huge relief, and excites me to read more in the future! Smart stuff!

[Donald Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Novel! Look forward to reading more from this author. Very creative and fits my need for a good science fiction novel.

[Melina Lobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

We know all paths. Though. We have blessed you with free will,we have already foreseen the outcomes of all possible decisions. 🦄🦄🦄
Darian, Jahmash, Abram, Gideon and Lionel were five Harbingers appointed by Orijin to make the people devout once again. But after their mission was successful everything became chaotic with Jahmash betraying the others and was exiled and the realm of Ashur was drowned by Darian to protect it from him. But it is prophecised that Jahmash will be back and it is said that only Darian's descendants, those who bear the black line on their face will be able to save mankind from the Red Harbinger.
Because of his thirst for blood Jahmash is known as the Red Harbinger.
The Descendants are scattered and unfamiliar with what is their destiny. While some are trying to get revenge for Jahmash's slaughters, others are trying to eradicate the people that bear the same mark on their face as he does.
Will the Descendants be able to defeat Jahmash?
🦄🦄🦄
Rise of the Red Harbinger by Khalid Uddin is the first book in the Drowned Realm Series is the perfect book for a fantasy loving reader.
Although it is a really long read, if you are a fan of series like Harry Potter, you will absolutely love it. It's distinctive storyline compared to anything that is out there today makes it an absolute must read.
In the beginning I found it bit hard to grasp as there are a multitude of characters, but as you read on everything seems to fall into place.
THE PLOT TWISTS DROVE ME CRAZY.
Khalid is a true genius and master storyteller and if this becomes as big a series as HP or Hunger Games, I see great potential in this book (& the series) being made into movies and it deserves as much since it has everything: A great plot, intriguing characters, adventures galore, PLOT TWISTS and an extremely evil villain.

[Eric Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a book publisher, I have mixed feelings about "Rise of the Red Harbinger" by Khalid Uddin. While it took me a while to get into the story, once I did, I found it to be an engaging and thrilling fantasy adventure. The author's intricate world-building and large cast of characters add depth and complexity to the story, making it a unique and distinctive read that many epic fantasy readers will love.

The plot twists throughout the book kept me on the edge of my seat, and Uddin's writing style is both thrilling and thought-provoking. I appreciated the themes of political power, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and education that he seamlessly incorporated into the story. It added a layer of depth and made the story more relatable.

Although the book opens with an overwhelming amount of information, which may put some readers off, it is worth reading it as it all comes together in the end. The character's names may be hard to read, but it's worth it.

I would highly recommend "Rise of the Red Harbinger" to fans of epic fantasy adventures and intricate world-building. It is a unique and well-written book that is definitely worth a read.

I'm giving this book a 4-star rating. It loses star due to the hard-to-start feelings I got at the start of the story due to too much information at the start, and the hard-to-read names that threw me off a few times.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so this book.. it may make your emotions get on a roller coaster and make you love, hate, throw the book at some point, I can’t even explain it.
Khalid Uddin allowed me to make a trip all throughout Ashur with the clueless, with the strongest, and even a prince. He allowed me to see through the eyes of each character and feel what they are feeling with the way he wrote this book.
There is the perfect amount of friendship that will make your heart melt, a ridiculous amount of betrayal which will make your blood boil (hence the throwing the book comment), there is also perfect villains and even a shocker that will leave you questioning what will happen next and begging for the second book to come out quicker.

[David Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rise of The Red Harbinger was a great book in my opinion. The characters were great and well written and so was the plot of the story. One problem I found while reading was that it became difficult to realize what was happening at times because there were so many characters. After a little bit of reading I began to understand more of who was talking and what was going on because of the story aligning itself later on. This book in all honesty was great and I recommend it a lot for anyone who loves fantasies.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rise of the Red Harbinger (The Drowned Realm Book 1) is my first read from author Khalid Uddin. A good read, so many primary important characters that it sometimes was hard to wade through them all but by the end of 485 pages it all made sense, leaving the reader anxious to get to the next book!

[Tonio Favetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a description of a weird hat worn by a minor character. Anticipating the reader’s questions about why the character wears this hat and why the narrator takes the time to describe it, the wearer explains to his visitor, “Dear boy, you try leading around a Blind Man while also carrying his lunch and his books as well.” The reader learns that the hat is not just an exotic prop; its strange appearance is essential to its function and its function is essential to the culture of Ashur, the detailed world Uddin has built in Rise of the Red Harbinger. Uddin uses the physical and cultural landscape of Ashur to weave an intricate story with the sweep of an epic and the intimacy of a character piece. This is a thinking person’s sword and sorcery adventure in the tradition of George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss. Fans of the mature, darker Harry Potter installments will also find a home here. Sprinkled throughout, Uddin has planted fun, metafictional Easter eggs of pop culture and its fandoms. My personal favorite is when a character exclaims, “One does not simply walk into the Anonymi fortress.” Through multiple, third-person-limited narrators, the novel takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of Ashur that brims with regional accents and distinct, mouth-watering cuisines along with a range of religious beliefs and names of places and of people that are just familiar enough to be accessible, but exotic enough to let readers know they’re not in Kansas anymore. Each chapter begins with a poetic quote from the “Book of Origin,” Ashur’s holy scripture, that sets the thematic tone for the action that follows. But characters often take time out from dodging dangerous beasts and attacking each other with swords and magic to discuss Ashurian ideas about political power, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, even education. The effect is a funhouse mirror of a holiday table argument, except that Uddin is smarter and more entertaining than your drunk uncle.