It has been a long time coming, but I finally finished the 1,040 page sensation that is Alchemised. I am not going to lie — this book was not on my radar until it came out and exploded on my social media pages. Seeing people breaking down worldbuilding terminology, sharing their reading updates and posting videos of them sobbing upon finishing it, I instantly knew this was something I had to get my hands on. It is safe to say I was not disappointed.
Alchemised is a dark fantasy by SenLinYu released this past September which follows Helena Marino, one of the last surviving members of the Resistance and a once-promising alchemist and healer for the Order of the Eternal Flame. The war is over and the Resistance lost, leaving the world of Paladia a war-torn shadow of what it used to be. All reminders of the Resistance have been defaced with necromancers parading their empty corpses for all to see. The Resistance is gone, all except for Helena who was mysteriously locked away and kept in stasis at the end of the war. No one remembers who put her there and neither does Helena. In fact, she cannot remember much of anything from the end of the war. The new rulers, an elite and corrupt class of necromancers and Undying, take an interest in Helena, wondering what could be hidden underneath the web of protection hiding her memories. She is taken to the crumbling gothic manor of her former classmate Kaine Ferron, now the infamous High Reeve, who is tasked with retrieving her memories no matter the toll. Resistance records deem her “just a healer,” but there must be more to Helena’s past. Could there still be hope for the Resistance?
This book was a lot, much of which I cannot put into words. SenLinYu’s writing is vivid and powerful, and in Alchemised it is like a double edged sword, crafting unsettling and gruesome depictions of war and stunningly heartwrenching tales of love, both of which make the novel the masterpiece that it is. Alchemised is a novel of contrasts, the beauty glows in readers’ chests only because there was such unrelenting darkness. That is not to say that beauty cannot exist without pain, only that to spin a tale so devastating and create what SenLinYu creates is no simple feat.
I absolutely adored Helena’s character; she is possibly one of the strongest characters I have encountered. Her trauma is something that never leaves, but she fights it tooth and nail, from mustering the courage to face dark corridors to tirelessly working to save lives with her vivimancy in the war despite the Order claiming it is a sign of a corrupted soul. As readers we experience the horror of working in a war hospital, what it is to see the skin torn from the bones of your best friends, the pain of brain fevers and what it feels to finally live after years of dying for the convenience of others. I also loved how there was no clear good and evil. There was the most obvious evil in necromancy and murder, but the Resistance is not all good either. They are religious fanatics who demand sacrifice without explanation and who write abuse as righteousness.
One of my problems with the novel however, was the length and pacing. At a whopping 1,040 pages, Alchemised is certainly a journey. SenLinYu uses abundant passive voice throughout the novel which slows the pacing and likely contributed to the page count. Despite the three part structure, each of which deserves significant length, I am not sure the novel needed to be as long as it is currently. Additionally, the worldbuilding was quite hard to follow and the only reason I was able to pick apart what was happening was because of others on social media breaking it down for me. Part of this works stylistically because we are lost and confused just like Helena, but I feel like a guide or a map could have been highly beneficial. My other small problem with world building was the use of complex terminology –– not always correctly. For example, “homunculus” in the novel is a human-shaped being created through alchemy, but if you have ever taken a psychology class you know that a homunculus is a funny-looking sensorimotor sensitivity map (you should look it up, it’s quite hilarious).
I feel I must also address the origin of Alchemised. The novel’s creation began as a work of Harry Potter fanfiction called Manacled. While there are many ethical quandaries surrounding its origin, I believe that, now that it exists in traditional publishing, it deserves an unbiased review without remarking on what it was before. As someone who did not read Manacled, I was lucky enough to experience Alchemised without prior expectations.
Overall, I highly recommend Alchemised to fans of fantasy, and those who like being emotionally destroyed. While I do not say this often, I implore readers to check the trigger warnings and take them to heart. This is not a primarily happy story –– it is dark, full of trauma and highlights some of the most depraved corners of humanity all with the backdrop of alchemy and necromancy. SenLinYu’s writing style pulls you into the world of Paladia and you may find yourself so sucked in that you begin to feel the pain and suffering Helena feels, which is not for the light of heart. Neither Helena nor Kaine are moral, both are corrupted and will do whatever it takes for the ends to justify the means. The story will break your heart and stitch it back together. I finished Alchemised almost two weeks ago and it has yet to leave my mind; I know its ending will haunt me for longer still.
Ayla Kruse Lawson is a junior in the College of Human Ecology. She can be reached at akruselawson@cornellsun.com.
