Alchemised by SenLinYu: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Alchemised by SenLinYu

Alchemised is one of those massive (1000+ pages) fantasy novels I loved to read back before social media killed my attention span. Nowadays, I tend to give these a pass, and I almost didn’t pick this one either. But I ended up buying a physical copy on a whim, and instead of letting it gather dust on my shelf, I started reading. And I’m glad I did, even if it took me two weeks to finish—and that’s without constantly skipping to check my socials. I try to keep this review spoiler free, but if you want to be certain, read my short review here. 

This is a secondary world fantasy, a world with three moons and people with resonance, an inner ability to transmute things like metal or fire, called alchemists. Resonance doesn’t appear evenly in the world and it’s concentrated in Paladia, where the Alchemy Tower gathers the most talented alchemists. Paladia is led by Holdfast family who claim a divine right to rule and have the ability to transmute gold.

Not all forms of resonance are allowed in the religion-led Paladia. Necromancy, the ability to animate the dead is forbidden, as is its more benign counterpart, vivimancy, the ability to heal. But a necromancer has risen who can create Undying, people who have an incredible ability to heal but who aren’t entirely alive.

A devastating civil war has been fought between the supporters of the rightful rule and the Necromancer with his supporters. The book begins a year and a half after the war has ended. The good guys have lost and the Necromancer is in charge. It’s a harsh rule with human experiments and violent punishments meted out by the High Reeve, the Necromancer’s closest man.

Helena Marino has been confided in a stasis pod of the Necromancer’s people since the war ended. She should’ve been sedated, but she’s been conscious the whole time. As a result, she’s lost much of her memory. When she’s finally released, much to the surprise of her captors who didn’t know she was there or who she is, she’s sent to the High Reeve so that he can unravel her memory in case she knows important Resistance secrets.

The first part of the book is about Helena’s captivity in the High Reeve’s manor. His name is Kaine Ferron and he used to be her classmate and rival at the Alchemy Tower, not that she—an outsider to his legacy family—really recognised the rivalry. All she remembers of him now is that he killed the previous leader and caused the war in the first place. She’s deadly afraid of him and for a reason. He’s an animancer who can invade her mind and extract her memories.

It’s not easy or safe captivity. Ferron’s attempts to break her mind cause her almost die several times, the medical leaders of the new regime want to experiment on her, and Ferron’s wife he neglects wants to kill her. And all the while she is a captive of her own mind, unable to remember what happened. Until she does.

The second part takes place in the past, starting five years after the war began. It’s already devastated Paladia, and while the leadership won’t recognise that they’re fighting a losing war, some people know more drastic measures are needed.

Helena has spent the war as a healer. It’s hard, unthankful work, because it requires vivimancy that she’s found the ability for, much to the horror of her friends, the current leader of the country and his paladins. She’s desperate for acceptance and so, when she’s asked to act as a liaison with an enemy who has agreed to spy on their side, she agrees. The spy turns out to be Ferron, already an Undying as a reward for killing the previous ruler, and high up in the Necromancer’s army.

For two years, to the inevitable end of the war, the two meet in secret, both using each other for information and being used by their own people in return. They don’t trust each other—Ferron doesn’t trust anyone—but eventually they realise that they only have one another to rely on. A friendship of sorts forms, a bit unhealthy and codependent, and then, inevitably, a love story. They make plans to disappear together, but he can’t really leave, as the Undying are bound to the Necromancer. And then the war ends, and Helena disappears.

Third part of the book returns to the present where Helena has to reconcile her memories of Kaine of the past and the High Reeve of the present, the love story with her trauma of the captivity. He wants to get her to safety; she won’t leave without him. There are no allies, only enemies on all sides, and a hunt for the last remaining Resistance fighter. And the noose is tightening.

This was an excellent novel: structure, pace, plot, the world, and characters were all perfect. Even though it’s long, there’s nothing unnecessary. The chapters are short and every scene has a meaning. It’s dark and atmospheric, the war with its horrors come close even though they’re mostly seen through the aftermath at the hospital—it’s like watching China Beach or M*A*S*H. Bad things happen to good people, and good people do really bad things. I’m not triggered by much as a reader, and nothing here caused me distress, but some readers might find the reality of war and characters that are both black and important difficult to handle. Pain and suffering, physical or mental, aren’t dwelled on, or described in nauseating detail in order to horrify or titillate the reader. They’re simply the realities of war.

The narrative is from Helena’s point of view in third person, which distances it a little—sometimes a good thing when she’s suffering from all sorts of trauma. She’s an unreliable narrator, especially at the beginning, so the second part is a discovery into her mind and memories. She does paint a good picture of Kaine, so we learn a lot about him and what drives him even though there is nothing from his point of view. The enemies-to-lovers storyline unfolds organically from the needs and deeds of the characters and not from an overwhelming attraction the characters can’t help feeling. I really rooted for them, even as I feared the inevitable, as this isn’t the kind of book where you take the happy ending for granted.

The only weak part is the third, though not by much. The enemy remains mostly hidden and is only seen by proxy, the tension comes from people and deeds the reader isn’t privy to, and Helena’s traumas reconcile with her memories fairly fast. The ending is unnecessarily long, and a bit too easy and convenient.

For such a dark book, this was a surprisingly pleasant read and difficult to put down. I loved the characters and the ending they earned for themselves. I’m glad I gave the book a chance. It’ll stay with me for a long time.

White Feathers, Crimson Leaves by Josh Reynolds: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

White Feathers, Crimson Leaves by Josh Reynolds

White Feathers, Crimson Leaves is set in Rokugan, East-Asia inspired Legend of the Five Rings game world. I enjoyed Reynolds’ previous tie-in series, Daidoji Shin mysteries, so I was eager to read his return to Rokugan. The book is horror instead of mystery, with different characters and setting, and while I miss Daidoji Shin and his investigations in the city of the Rich Frog, I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying this book.

Wardmaster Yogo Shuko is in her late thirties, a brusque and straightforward member of Scorpion clan who has spent all her life banishing ghosts and breaking curses. With her is her apprentice, Kuni Tansho, a witch hunter in her early twenties. She’s from the Crab clan and has a different approach to investigations than her teacher. The women don’t really get along, but they won’t let that stop them from doing their job.

They’ve come to the mountains of Unicorn clan, into a backwater village of Red Grove, where a curse has been killing the people of the lord who has recently taken over the village. For Shuko, it’s a straightforward case of break the curse and be on your way. Tansho wants to find out why the curse was cast in the first place and by whom. While they are fairly sure the oppressed villagers who somehow escape the curse are responsible, they also sympathise with them. But the truth turns out to be something completely different.

This was a fast-paced, no frills, mild horror mystery that relied heavily on Japanese folk horror stories and creatures. It focused tightly on the case at hand. We don’t really learn anything about the main characters, both with their point of view chapters, more than that they’re powerful practitioners, and their inner workings aren’t important for the story. Neither of them has the charm and wit of Daidoji Shin and his stalwart bodyguard Kasami, and it took me a while to warm up to them, but they got there in the end. The setting didn’t have the cultural richness of Rich Frog, and as such, the remote village could’ve belonged to any fantasy world. Clan politics and the cultures of Rokugan didn’t feature.

Nevertheless, I was invested in learning who was behind the curse, and how Shuko would break it. It had some hair-raising moments, but it wasn’t terribly scary and I wasn’t entirely emotionally invested in the characters and their fates. If I compare it to a similar Five Rings book, The Night Parade of 100 Demons by Marie Brennan, where a priest and aristocrat fight evil spirits in a mountain village, it falls a bit short. Like with Daidoji Shin mysteries, the ending isn’t so much about justice and bringing the guilty party to face the law as it is about comeuppance, but it’s satisfying. I don’t know if this is a stand-alone story or a start of a new series, but I’d read more.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C.M. Waggoner: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C. M. Waggoner

I’ve liked everything by C.M. Waggoner I’ve read. Her books are cozy, worlds are unique, inclusive, and interesting, and the plots are meaningful and not too easy. Cozy doesn’t mean no stakes or no bad things happening. Everything is simply presented in a low-tension way. This book was no exception.

Gretsella has been the witch of reasonable prices in the forest of Brigandale for decades, dealing in charms and curses—like coughing during classical music concerts—tending to her poisonous plants and attending her coven of equally qualified witches. One day, she finds a baby on her doorstep. She knows, as there are knights ruining her garden, that the boy is special. She takes him in anyway and names him Bradley. Her witch friends grant him good looks, charm, kindness and a mean right hook.

Bradley grows up to be exactly as wished, but he’s not terribly bright. Gretsella loves him anyway, not that she would be caught dead admitting it. But, as tends to happen, forest animals tell him he’s the rightful king, and against her wishes, he sets out to take the throne. He’s successful. Unfortunately, he’s not a very good king, mostly for being too kind. What is a witch/mother to do but to go to the king’s castle and set things right, the only way a witch does things—her way.

This was an absolutely charming book, well-written and witty. It’s low stakes, low tension, but not meaningless cozy fantasy, with great characters that have a good heart—even Gretsella. Waggoner’s characters are never twee, and despite the cozy genre, they’re not perfectly good with only good things happening to them. Between chapters there’s another story of another witch, and though the side-steps break the flow of the story constantly, they’re always short and necessary additions. The ending is happy and conclusive, with everyone getting what they want, even if it doesn’t happen exactly the way they imagined it would. It leaves the reader happy and satisfied with the time spent with the book. I’m looking forward to reading more books from Waggoner.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

I’ve seldom read Ilona Andrews, but the moment this book hit my radar, I wanted to read it. It’s in isekai genre, which has been popular in East-Asia for decades, but which has been making its way to western fantasy only in recent years.

In isekai, a person from our world is transported to a fantasy world, an alternate reality, game or, like here, into a world of a book the protagonist has been reading. They often bring something unique from the original world that gives them an edge in the new world. In this book, the protagonist has an encyclopaedic knowledge of her favourite book, knows exactly what’s going to happen, and sets out to change the future.

Maggie has woken up in a ditch in a strange medieval city without clothes and no idea how she’s ended up there. She’s had a couple of days to adjust when the book begins, so she’s already figured out the pertinent: she’s in the world of her favourite book she’s been reading obsessively for the past decade. She also knows what isekai is and understands that she’s been transported. She doesn’t remember dying, which is often a requirement in isekai, but she knows she’s her original self and hasn’t taken the body and life of an existing character in the book. It’s a cruel and violent world where her favourite characters are more likely to die than not, and she knows it’s headed to a violent and bloody upheaval.

She sets out to survive. She needs money and shelter, and she knows where to find both. The first requires a robbery which she has no compunctions committing. It leads to a stunning discovery: she can’t die, hence the series name, Maggie the Undying. Or rather, she dies and comes back to life a little later unharmed. The world doesn’t reset when that happens, like often in isekai, and she’s able to continue with what she’s gained.

Once she has her basic needs met, she starts making little changes in the lives of her favourite characters. Little changes lead to large ones and before she knows it, she’s leading a group of people determined to prevent the bad future from happening. She utilises the intimate knowledge she’s gained from the point of view characters, and trades in secrets to win people on her side. It isn’t smooth sailing, but with some sacrifices—usually her—they get to their goal. And then it turns out the goal isn’t what they thought, because there are only two books in the series with the third never published. Maggie doesn’t know how the story ends.

This was a great book. It’s told solely from Maggie’s first-person point of view and utilises the tropes of isekai well. She knows what’s at stake, knows the players, and is aware that with every change she makes, the future changes beyond her knowledge of it. She gathers a found family around her, mostly by being nice and helping them, which in the book’s cruel world is unheard of. Her allies are capable and loyal, the mysteries are suitably complicated but not impossible, the twists are good, and bad guys are perfectly evil. The love interest is straight from a fantasy. The narrative flows well, the pacing is good, and the plot keeps in its grip. The ending is the worst kind of cliffhanger, and I hope this series won’t have the fate of Maggie’s favourite book.

My only gripe is that since Maggie knows she’s in a book, she narrates what she’s supposed to feel—fear, love, lust—instead of feeling it. It distances the reader from the emotions, making it difficult to enter into her sentiments. The romance especially suffers from this. The reader knows why Maggie thinks she should find him attractive—although she wasn’t attracted to him in the book—but we’re never shown the attraction and love she feels. There’s no quickening of her pulse, no flushes of heat, or sweating of her palms when he’s around or kissing her, only analysing narrative. So, while I root for the pair, I think I might be fine if they never ended up together. But this isn’t a romance first and foremost, so I can live with that.

These Shattered Spires by Cassidy Ellis Salter: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

These Shattered Spires by Cassidy Ellis Salter

These Shattered Spires is the author’s debut novel and it’s wonderfully well-formed and mature for one. It’s not an easy read and it doesn’t aim to be one. It’s also not YA, despite the publisher advertising it as such. The main characters may be in their late teens, but the themes aren’t YA and the characters don’t behave or think of themselves as people on the cusp of adulthood. They’re survivors who know they’ll die at any moment. The atmosphere reminds me of Gormenghast, and the world that of Gideon the Ninth.

It’s seldom that a book stands so firmly on its unique world, but here it’s almost its own character. Fourspires Castle is the whole world to its residents. It has always existed at the brink of destruction by a daily apocalypse that has to be stopped with spells every morning by the four head arcanists that inhabit its four towers: black, red, green and grey, corresponding with the magic they wield: bone, blood, botany, and stone. Even with this ceaseless spellcasting, the castle slowly sinks and rots, disappearing piece by piece, diminishing the world. The rot and decay of the castle is described vividly, down to smells and tastes.

The fifth castle at the centre is occupied by the Thaumaturge, the most powerful of the arcanists. He’s centuries old, and his position is coveted by all the arcanists. Then the unthinkable happens and he’s assassinated, which triggers a battle for succession among the arcanists, the Slaughter. It’s a race to the top of the fifth tower, and as the name suggests, deadly, especially so for the familiars of the arcanists.

The familiars are humans trained to wrest, to pull arcania to power the arcanists spells. It’s incredibly painful for them and wears them out bodily. They’re treated badly (they’re not allowed to speak, they’re barely fed, and sleep on floors and filth) and used until they die, usually very young.

The main point of view characters are familiars of different disciplines. Tarenteeno (Taro) is the familiar of the bone arcanist; Nixeen (Nixie), the familiar of the botany arcanist; Elliot, the familiar of a lesser blood arcanist, and Alis/Alix, a disgraced stone familiar. Taro and Nixie have been plotting an escape, but the death of the Thaumaturge ruins their plans. The familiars are instantly marked as participants of the Slaughter and to escape is to die. To participate is to die too, because the new Thaumaturge will instantly kill all familiars but their own.

However, Taro and Nixie learn that the permanent apocalypse of their world isn’t the natural state of things and that there might be a way to stop it and flee. They can’t do it alone though, so they talk the other two into taking part. It’s not an easy alliance or an easy task to pull off, but neither is the Slaughter.

The relationships of the four are complicated. They’ve all trained at the same time in the Pit, the academy for familiars. Taro and Nixie used to date, and Taro still thinks they’re romantically involved. Nixie hates her guts for a betrayal, but is using Taro to escape. Alis used to be Nixie’s best friend before Taro showed up, so she hates Taro, but she also hates Nixie for leaving her. But she loves her too. Elliot is the odd man out, but seems to be coveted and hated in equal measures by the others for his looks.

The characters aren’t nice or easy to root for. They’re selfish and brought down by their harsh life. Elliot is suffering from a curse that makes him especially irritable, Alis is having a gender crisis, Nixie is filled with hate, and Taro isn’t entirely sane. They ally and betray each other, sometimes within the same chapter, and none of them is very likeable. But little by little, reader becomes attached to them, which isn’t wise when people casually and constantly die.

This isn’t an easy book to read. There is pain and suffering inflicted on the main characters, blood and gore, broken body parts and death. It’s not a splatter though, the narrative doesn’t dwell on the gory details, or even a grimdark as such. Suffering is a natural part of the characters’ lives and the narrative treats it so naturally that the reader doesn’t even blink an eye when a character cuts into their own flesh to power a spell. Nonetheless, it does make this a heavy read, and I had to pace myself a lot.

But there is also an undercurrent of hope for something better, an escape that is worth all the pain. This current carried the story against all odds and the harsh reality. Sometimes it paid off, sometimes it plunged the characters even deeper.

A countdown to the Slaughter at the beginning of every chapter keeps the tension rising as the four try to break the curse. And then it begins—and turns out to be something completely different from what everyone believed, as is the end of the curse. For a first book in a trilogy, the ending is fairly conclusive. It sets the stage for the next book, but the story can be left here as well. I’d read more though.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.