You might know that Alchemised is an adaptation of SenLinYu’s Manacled, which is a (just as lengthy!) fan fiction read that combined themes from Harry Potter and The Handmaid’s Tale. However, you definitely *don’t* need to have read Manacled in the past to enjoy Alchemised (in fact, it was removed from Archive of Our Own prior to the publication date, and any versions of Manacled available for sale are being sold illegally). Though if you have, you’re sure to enjoy all of the parallels in scenes and dialogue throughout Alchemised.
Alchemised is set in a dark fantasy world named Paladia, and follows a similar story arc to Manacled, beginning with main female character, Helena, being removed from a state of stasis and finding that over a year’s worth of her memories are missing or altered. Prior to her capture, Helena worked as an alchemical healer with the Resistance—a group involved in a brutal war against necromancers, and was captured as a prisoner when the Resistance failed. Now, in order to recover her memories, Helena is sent to one of the most powerful (and most dangerous) necromancers, the High Reeve, in an attempt to have him recover her memories for the High Necromancer, who believes she’s concealing secrets of the Resistance that could still be used against him.
The story is told in three equally devastating parts (remember this is a dark fantasy world, and you should definitely check the author’s trigger warnings before picking it up), and includes themes of war, alchemical magic, religion and the fight of light against dark (and how blurry those lines can really be) throughout. Despite the fact that I convinced myself I would be able to binge all 1,000+ pages in the two days I took off (I most certainly didn’t), this is a book that you should plan to take your time with, as all of the details really do matter. Not to mention, with such heavy themes, you might want to take breaks every few chapters like I did to read something light and fun that will offer a bit of comedic relief (if you need a recommendation, anything by Meghan Quinn is sure to do the trick).