Expected publication date: October 3rd, 2023
Read: August 11th
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
This is my favorite book I've read so far this month. Which is kind of a surprise, considering I hated Keeper of Night, Kylie Lee Baker's debut.
But sometimes people improve! This book, to me, is a massive improvement compared to Keeper of Night. It has quite a few of the same elements - a deeply flawed protagonist who yearns to belong, a focus on an unjust and merciless world, and more than a sprinkle of blood and gore. But here, it really, really worked for me. Maybe it helps that before this I read four really mediocre books, but I enjoyed The Scarlet Alchemist immensely.
The easiest way for me to describe this book is to say that it's A Deadly Education meets Fullmetal Alchemist, with the added note that Kylie Lee Baker was apparently inspired to write it after reading The Poppy War. It's visceral and bloody, but there's also a duck named Durian. It's the story of a girl who wants to burn the world down, but it's also the story of a girl who wants to be wanted.
The Scarlet Alchemist is about Zilan, a self-taught alchemist in an alternate Tang China who dreams of becoming a royal alchemist. Her cousins, Wenshu and Yufei, are her closest companions and her accomplices in her secret and illegal side hustle where she raises the dead. The three of them have been saving and studying for years so that they can one day go to the capital and get work as government officials (or as a royal alchemist, in Zilan's case). Zilan has to fight against classism and prejudice at every step of the way, but she fights tooth and nail to get a position as a royal alchemist.
Meanwhile, gentle prince Li Hong is fending off assassination attempts at every turn, and begs Zilan to resurrect him, if he ends up dead.
I liked this book so much. I don't know where to start. I loved how angry and lonely and determined Zilan was at every step of her journey. I loved how, despite how dark this story is, ultimately Zilan is determined to do whatever she can to make things better and make things right. I think that kept me invested when things could have gotten too grim to bear. There’s a lot of thematic emphasis on how it should be the responsibility of those who have power to change unfair circumstances and improve society. Zilan is constantly frustrated when powerful people are telling her that they can't change or improve the injustices she sees and lives with every day. She's not content to not try. I really liked that about her.
The magic in this book was also really cool. Alchemy uses different kinds of stones to cause various transformations. It felt well-developed and there were some really good set-ups and pay-offs with how Zilan uses alchemy that had me really really excited.
Overall, this is definitely a tense and high-stakes book with a lot of blood and corpses, but also a lot of fire and heart. I really liked it, and I'm looking forward to the next installment. I hope Inkyard Press closing won't impact the publication of the next book too badly.
Content warnings borrowed from Storygraph below cut:
Graphic: Death, violence, blood, murder
Moderate: Sexism, death of parent, fire/fire injury (burning at the stake), gore, sexual harassment (forced public undressing down to underwear), self harm (cutting of palm for magic ritual), bullying, classism, animal death (Durian the duck survives but do not get attached to any other animals in this book), kidnapping (attempted), racism
Minor: Child death, cursing, vomit
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