Alchemised

Finished March 23

Alchemised by Sen Lin Yu

This long novel is fantasy set in a country in another world. It has a lot of elements of horror and some romance, but not done in a typical way. The main character is Helena Marina, and she came to Paladia as a teenager on a scholarship to a special alchemy school. Her father accompanied her, and although he is a skilled surgeon in his own country, he wasn't allowed to practice in Paladia. Helena trained as a healer, and the civil war in the country started around the time she finished school, but she decided to stay and help the government that was in place when she came. They have a philosophy and folklore of the leading family, the Holdfasts, being granted their leadership and abilities by the gods. But she has grown to learn that not all of these stories are based in fact. 

The rebellion came from the guild families, some of whom came to the school, but who were always made to feel lesser. They were led by someone who came from elsewhere, a shadowy figure who has the ability to grand everlasting life, including quick self-healing. Only those who have taken up this promise know the true cost.

The story begins after the war, where Helena is now a prisoner-of-war, about whom the authorities are very curious. She has had something done to her mind to reorganize her memories and they wonder what she is hiding. She doesn't know herself what was done to her, and she has no memories of much of the war. She is given to the High Reeve, who is expected to break the barriers created in her mind and find out any hidden information. His house is in the countryside, a gated estate, and the only ones there besides him and his wife, who resents Helena, are dead servants who have been reanimated by the Reeve. She is also watched all the time. The High Reeve is an accomplished alchemist and necromancer with an affinity for several metals. His home has iron embedded in it that he can use when needed. 

Part of this story is what really happened in the war, and we learn all the events and relationships, the loss that Helena can't remember. She has many secrets, and so does the High Reeve, and some of those secrets are shared.

This is a horrific war, where the rebels reanimate the people they kill and use them as soldiers. They are cruel and don't really care about anyone but themselves. During the war, they did experiments on those they captured, and created monstrous animals that lived in pain and because of their pain lashed out at all those they encountered. 

There is also a plan to use the women alchemists and necromancers from the defeated side as breeders with the winning men to create more skilled necromancers. 

This is a disturbing read, and I think it could have used some more editing to shorten it a bit, but it is also a book that draws you in, needing to know what happens to these characters.