The Scarlet Alchemist
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
"A dark and glittering jewel of a book." —Judy I. Lin, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of A Magic Steeped in Poison
"Visceral to the core." —Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
New from the author of The Keeper of Night comes a YA fantasy duology set in an alternate Tang Dynasty China, where a poor biracial girl with the ability to raise the dead gets caught up in the dangerous political games of the royal family.
Zilan dreams of becoming a royal alchemist, of providing for her family by making alchemical gold and gems for the wealthy to eat in order to stay young forever. But for now, she’s trapped in her impoverished village in southern China, practicing an illegal form of alchemy to keep food on the table—resurrecting the dead, for a price.
When Zilan finally has the chance to complete her imperial exams, she ventures to the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country in tasks she’ll be lucky to survive, let alone pass. On top of that, her reputation for raising the dead has followed her to the capital, and the Crown Prince himself seeks out her help, suspecting a coming assassination attempt.
The more Zilan succeeds in her alchemy, the more she gets caught in the dangerous political games of the royal family. There are monsters lurking within the palace walls, and it’s only a matter of time before they—and secrets of Zilan’s past—catch up with her.
Don’t miss the Keeper of Night duology!
The Keeper of Night
The Empress of Time
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Though the practice is punishable by death, 17-year-old Fan Zilan supplements her family's meager income by resurrecting the dead through life alchemy. As a hùnxieˇ—a half Hàn Chinese, "half foreigner"—whose mother died and father disappeared, she lives with her sickly aunt and uncle as well as two cousins, Yufei and Wenshu, in the small southern town of Guangzhou. Bold Yufei and ever-cautious Wenshu are studying to take the civil service exams, which, if passed, will help them cultivate more comfortable lives; Zilan, meanwhile, is competing with other gifted youth to become a royal court alchemist, like the famed ones who developed a gold immortality elixir that halts aging once consumed. After passing the first exam, the three make their way to the city of Chang'an for the second, where Zilan finds herself embroiled in a royal conspiracy with an Empress who's determined to rid her court of any threats to her crown. In this deeply immersive historical fantasy, a grisly duology opener, Baker (The Empress of Time) expertly navigates the societal constraints and pains of marginalization via visceral prose. A developing romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince offers lighthearted joy amid the narrative's ruthless and gruesome happenings. A historical note concludes. Ages 14–up.
