#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past. This stunning hardcover edition features a deluxe jacket with gold foil on the front and a full-color illustration on the reverse, gorgeous designed endpapers, a gold foil case stamp, and, from acclaimed artist Avendell, a black-and-white interior illustration. A SHE READS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “ What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.” Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed. In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive. According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit? To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost. “A sweeping tale set in an uncharted dark fantasy world. It encompasses the realities of war and a romance that fights for survival.” — People “SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy. . . . The superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.” — Kirkus Reviews “In this high fantasy with very dark themes, SenLinYu weaves a tale of political intrigue with centuries of depth and nuance. Many readers will be . . . drawn into the complex morality of two broken people finding love during a war.” — Booklist “SenLinYu has created a vivid new universe. Alchemised made me remember what makes reading good fantasy so enjoyable.” — The Atlantic “A book that digs its teeth in like a starving wolf. It unsettles, it gnaws, and yet by the final page, I wanted to thank it for what it put me through. . . . In a genre often dominated by safe formulas, SenLinYu’s debut is a reminder that speculative fiction still has teeth and knows how to bite.” — Grimdark Magazine SenLinYu grew up in the Pacific Northwest and studied classical liberal arts and culture. They started writing in the Notes app of their phone during their baby’s nap time. Their collected online works have garnered more than twenty million individual downloads and have been translated into twenty-three languages. They live in Portland, Oregon, with their family. Alchemised is their first novel. Chapter 1 When light came, it nearly split Helena’s brain open. There was screaming. “F***! How’s this one awake?” A voice broke through the sensory agony. Light was stabbing her. A spike driven through her eyes, burrowing into her skull. Gods, her eyes. She writhed. The brightness blurred, careening. The burn of fluid rushed down her throat. A roar in her ears. Slick fingers dug into her arms, against bone, dragging her up. Air hit her lungs, sending them seizing as the fluid came back up. “F*** this stasis gel. Can’t get a decent grip. Make her shut up! She’s about to drown herself.” Her head slammed into something as she was dropped. Rough stone tore her hands. She scrabbled blindly, trying to push herself up. Her eyes squeezed shut, but the light was still a knife in her skull. A hard object was ripped off the back of her neck, and something warm and wet ran across her skin. “How the f*** is she awake? Someone must’ve f***ed the dosage on this one. Don’t let her crawl off.” Her arms were gripped again, and she was heaved up from the ground. She tore herself free, forcing her eyes open. All she could make out was blinding white. She lunged ­towards it. “You f***ing bitch, you cut me!” Pain exploded across the back of her head. • There was still light when she regained consciousness. It came slowly, as though she were underwater, swimming ­towards a surface that rippled just beyond reach, consciousness seeping back in. Her eyes were closed; the light was just beyond them. She could feel the pain of it already. She was lying on something hard. A cold table, its metal inert beneath her fingers. She could dimly make out voices, muffled but close. “Well?” A woman’s voice. “Any others?” “N