On today's Roundtable book club episode, we discuss the internationally bestselling fantasy debut Alchemised by SenLinYu, and how gothic fantasy is the perfect vehicle for exploring dark themes in nuanced way. We also discuss our favourite fantasy tropes (enemies to lovers, the chosen one and bonded creatures) and we debate whether morally grey characters can ever be fully redeemed.

Spoiler Alert! We discuss the ending of Alchemised in our After Dark section, from timecode 38.00 - 49.00.

Lit Witches is hosted by Adelaide Jensen, with guests Lily Crozier and Vishali Seshadri.

Produced by Liz Burnett. Video Production by Michael Windle, Isabella Francis and Kate Jacobs. Additional scripting and research by Shané Oosthuizen. Content co-ordination by Tiana Warner. Graphic design by Sally Dunkerley and Olivia Mead. Recording and theme song composition by Ben Cauduro. Powered by Penguin.

00:00 Introductions

03:23 SenLinYu's fan fiction to traditional publishing journey

06:30 The dark and confronting themes of the book

09:10 Tackling a 1000 page epic

10:35 The world-building of Alchemised and understanding the magic system

13:09 The exploration of trauma in the book

14:46 The binary of good and evil in wartimes

18:30 The class divide of Alchemised

21:19 The characters and reclaiming the chosen one through a feminist lens

25:36 The ethical dilemmas of the magic system

29:23 Helena as an unreliable narrator

31:08 Kaine as the ultimate morally grey male character

33:15 The tropes of Alchemised

38:12 AFTER DARK (SPOILERS FOR ALCHEMISED ENDING!)

42:05 The role of redemption and our favourite moments

48:58 The unconventional structure of the book

49:09 Final fantasy battle game and sign off