Alchemised by SenLinYu – Book Review

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Adult Dark Fantasy

Spice: Medium

Summary:

Helena, an alchemist and healer that was a member of the Resistance in the war for Paladia, is pulled out of a stasis tank with no memory of the months leading up to the end of the war, or her capture. Now in the grasp of the corrupt guilds and necromancers who won the war, Helena has been cut off from her alchemy and is considered a prisoner whose memories might be the key to hunting down the remaining members of the resistance.

When the vivimancers who can manipulate other’s bodies cannot break into Helena’s memories, she is moved out to the estate of the High Reeve, a brutal, powerful necromancer who also has the power of animancy to look into people’s minds. At his estate, Helena must find a way to protect her mind from his invasion, for both the Resistance and her life are on the line if he is able to see her memories. But the High Reeve is also keeping secrets. Will revealing Helena’s memories lead to the end of the Resistance, or the end of the necromancer’s control of Paladia?

Reaction:

I absolutely devoured Alchemised. It’s dark, devastating, and tortuous in the best way, exploring dark but relevant themes in a book about a woman struggling with the trauma of war. It kept me reading late into the night and eager to see what happened next. The world is complex and interesting and the commentary on today’s society is knife’s edge sharp, and I loved it.

Alchemised is the traditionally published version of the Fanfic sensation Manacled with all the references to the original inspirations changed. I did not read Manacled, so Alchemised was my first introduction to this story. I thought the structure of the book was clever and created so much to think about as new information was introduced in each Part that made me reevaluate things I thought I knew before. Similarly, the FMC also must grapple with her own changing understanding of who she is, creating so much of the uniquely devastating emotional impact of the book.

This book deals with dark, mature themes such as war, violence, rape, and corruption. Some of these themes hit hard for me as this book seems to become more relevant as the days pass. The brutality of war, corruption in government, and the use of religion as motivation in war all seem of critical relevance to our society today. I particularly connected with its commentary on the plight of women in restrictive, misogynistic societies which was demonstrated both in the prose and by what happened to each of the individual female characters.

While I thought the characters were perhaps the book’s weakest aspect, I did appreciate that this book used every female character to show all the different ways a woman can be betrayed by their society. Women on both sides of the war were underestimated, used, and in some way punished for their attempts to contribute to a society that doesn’t value them. No one displayed this more than Helena, who represents those unsung women that contribute all their energy, all themselves in war, even if they aren’t fighting on the front lines.

Overall, I thought the characters were consistent and straightforward, but none of them stood out as particularly interesting. Each character’s motivation was relatively clear-cut, even if they are morally gray. Helena, the FMC, was a little difficult to connect to at the beginning, since she seemed like a shell of a person, but as time went on, I found myself rooting for and feeling empathy for the erudite underdog. Kaine, the MMC, is an amalgamation of all the tropes popular in the romantasy space right now: broody, physical, and obsessive. The most interesting things about his character are his devastating backstory and his relationship with his chimera, Amaris.

What I did think was very interesting was the intricate magic system and the world, which had a fully integrated political and cultural history. The urban setting itself was perfect for the dark, gritty war, and the decaying estate perfect as the backdrop to Helena’s monotonous imprisonment. I thought the cultural and religious aspects of this world were the most well developed; the author seemed to achieve a cohesive culture without focusing on it because they integrated it in so well with the narrative. The magic system was really complex. There were so many kinds of magic users and magic terms that I sometimes got lost, but there were enough context clues to not impact my understanding of the story. I also enjoyed how integrated alchemy was with the other aspects of the world; it reinforced the cohesiveness of the world.

In my opinion, this isn’t really a romance. Instead, the FMC and MMC form a bond between two people desperate for someone else to hold onto in the face of overwhelming trauma. And they are both possessive enough to cling onto that relationship past the end of the trauma. So, while those who enjoy romances might like the back-and-forth jabs and power dynamics between them in this book, their relationship is not that of a typical romance where you see the two become a cohesive couple.

If I had any issues with this book, it is a bit long and sometimes repetitive, but there are so many details to pay attention to that it held my interest and the repetitive nature somehow added to the devastation of the book. There are so many twists and betrayals throughout that make you re-examine how you understand the narrative, I enjoyed reading it so much! While it’s not a perfectly written book, I’m going to be thinking about it for a long time because of the way it delivers so much social commentary in the form of a great fantasy story.

What I enjoyed:

·       Kaine’s relationship with his chimera, Amaris. In my opinion, it was his singular redeeming quality, and it was actually pretty cute.

·       There’s so many important details throughout parts 2 & 3 of the book that call back to things that happened or were said in part 1. I enjoyed recognizing these callbacks and taking in all the emotional baggage they brought with them.

·       Every single character in this book is morally gray with ulterior motives. It’s up to the reader to decide which are redeemable and which aren’t as each motivation could be seen from two points of view. This was most often pointed out by Kaine who seemed to be the most clear-eyed on the corruption of both sides of the war.

What I didn't enjoy:

·       Nothing!