Alchemised by SenLinYu — Genre’d Podcast Episode 09

About the episode:

This week on Genre’d, Elyse picked the book everyone on the internet is talking about — Alchemised by SenLinYu — a thousand-page dark fantasy epic of war, memory, and morally black love.

Come for the spoiler-free first ~30 minutes; stay for the glossary debates, existential dread, and sisterly chaos that inevitably follow when we read a book this long.

💥 Spoiler warning: First ~30 minutes are spoiler-free; full spoilers after ~30:00 (including late-book reveals and character deaths).

🚨 Content warnings: war violence, sexual violence, torture, memory loss, body horror

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What we cover in this episode:

Tropes & vibes: dark academia, trauma bond, morally black MMC, power imbalance, enemies → obsession

Characters to watch: Helena (the healer who breaks herself to save others), Kaine (obsession personified), Lila (warrior and reformer), Luc (golden boy with secrets)

Themes: memory, identity, the illusion of choice, and how women in fantasy are too often erased from the stories they shape

Pop-culture detours: Mistborn, Top Chef, Dancing with the Stars (yes, really)

Genre DNA: Manacled fanfic scaffolding, dense worldbuilding, and a romance that flirts with annihilation

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Why listen?

If you’ve ever wondered how far a fantasy can push you before you break (emotionally or mentally), this episode is your field test. We unpack Alchemised’s complicated magic system, its obsession-fueled romance, and the ethics of rewriting fanfiction into something new.

Expect strong opinions: one of us DNF-adjacent, one cautiously impressed, both united in believing this book needed either an editor or an exorcism.

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Mentions & shoutouts:

Author: SenLinYu (Manacled)

Comparisons: Mistborn, Apocalypse Now, The Atlas Six

Themes: power and control, war and memory, love as self-destruction, women’s erasure in hero narratives

Bonus tangent: Elyse’s Top Chef dissertation, Katy’s Dancing with the Stars lore, and the unhinged parallels between competition shows and trauma arcs

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Our ratings:

Elyse: ⭐⭐ — “Brilliant ideas, buried under 500 unnecessary pages. Beautifully written, but I needed a glossary and a nap.”

Katy: ⭐⭐⭐½ — “Dense, dark, and fascinating. Too long, too complicated, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

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🎧 Join the conversation:

Are you pro-Manacled or Alchemised? Would you survive this kind of magic system—or just forget who you are halfway through?

Tell us your thoughts, your favorite morally gray characters, and whether you’d have DNF’d at page 600.

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Fast facts: Alchemised by SenLinYu

Is it part of a series?

Standalone — though spiritually linked to Manacled (fanfic origins).

What tropes are in it?

Trauma bond, enemies → obsession, memory loss, war-time romance, morally black MMC, woman in STEM (alchemy edition).

Spice level (0–5 chilis)?

🌶️🌶️ (Emotional devastation > physical detail.)

If I loved it, what should I read next?

• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

• Rose in Chains by Julie Soto

• A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

Audiobook notes?

Lengthy but immersive; strong narration for dialogue-heavy sections, though dense worldbuilding may require rereads or a physical copy in tandem.

If you’re searching for an Alchemised review, spoiler-free summary, or in-depth podcast discussion, this episode breaks down the major themes, character arcs, worldbuilding, and emotional beats of SenLinYu’s viral dark fantasy novel. In the spoiler section, we unpack the twist reveals and dig into the morally black romance that made this story unforgettable.