Alchemised
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4.4 • 53 Ratings
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
Brought to you by Penguin.
***The record-breaking debut and instant Sunday Times Bestseller***
In a world ruled by necromancers, a woman with missing memories threatens the dark order that keeps her captive - and the man sent to break her. Gothic in tone, epic in scope - this debut is destined to become a modern classic.
Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner – of war and of her own fractured mind. The Resistance is crushed, her allies dead, her abilities suppressed.
The world she knew is gone.
Paladia’s corrupt guild families and their necromancer overlords, aided by vile undead creatures now rule - and hold Helena captive.
Resistance records claim she was a healer of little importance. Yet, Helena’s inexplicable memory loss makes her enemies wonder: Is she truly insignificant, or do her missing memories conceal the Resistance’s final secret?
To uncover the truth, Helena is delivered into the hands of the High Reeve – Paladia’s most feared and merciless necromancer.
Trapped on his crumbling estate, she must fight to protect what remains of herself and unearth the secrets buried in her mind, her prison, and her captor . . . whatever the cost.
‘A work of quite staggering ambition. Detailed world-building, intricate plot, Gothic claustrophobia, wraps the readers in its dark embrace’ Daily Mail
‘A superb dark fantasy novel set in a war torn world of black magic and alchemy’ Sun
© Forest Rain Inc 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
It takes a special kind of audiobook to keep readers locked in for over 36 hours—and Alchemised is one. US author SenLinYu began her career writing fan fiction, now she’s delivered a debut novel that’s a masterclass in atmospheric world-building and nuanced characterisation. A dystopian fantasy, it’s set in the kingdom of Paladia in the aftermath of a brutal war that’s been won by a corrupt cohort of necromancers. Protagonist Helena, an alchemist and a member of the resistance, wakes up with no memory to find herself a prisoner of that war. She’s now faced with uncovering her past in order to face the future, while navigating what becomes a complicated relationship with her captor Ferron. This is definitely fantasy for grown-ups—it’s brutal and bleak at times—but you’ll put your life on pause for this listening marathon.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic 👍
Excellent read, great listen, very well executed narration.
The story pulls you in after 10 minutes of reading. Good for men and women to enjoy. Not intimidating at all to grasp in terms of lore and fantasy world physics. I also think this would be an excellent gift to the other half.
I’m Confused
So I don’t want to sit here and say it was awful, because it wasn’t, but it wasn’t good either. The plot was good, I liked it, but it was slow and it was a bit boring. Trigger warning: there is SA in the first part, and the male lead is the person who does it which I find very hard to come back from later on in the book. It felt like the author had a vision and a plan for the story but just wasn’t sure how to execute it? Some people may absolutely love this but for me, it was a flop. I found the characters all unlikeable in their own ways, and I was disappointed in the female lead. I love a dark romance, but this wasn’t a romance. It was a toxic and abusive relationship with little to no redeeming qualities and I just couldn’t get on board with it. The ending is also rushed and uninteresting. I went in with high expectations and perhaps that was my mistake. I was listening to this as well as reading book 3 in the Throne of Glass series which by comparison is incredible.
Really?!?!
As a reader of true dark bleak fantasy - Joe Abercrombie - I made the mistake of believing the publisher “blurb”.
If you are a fan of Twiglight I can imagine this may appeal. If you want some believable characters and a storyline with something that is remotely credible then avoid this book. I rarely give bad reviews but I felt I had to in this case. More a fault of the publishers than the author who has, frankly, been misrepresented. 36 hours of my long life that I will never get back. Be warned !!!!!