Where to Read Manacled Now It's Off AO3: The Legal Options
There is no authorized way to read Manacled now. SenLinYu removed the fan fiction from AO3 on January 1, 2025, and every copy offered for sale is unauthorized. The legal way to read the story is Alchemised, the novel they rebuilt from it, published on September 23, 2025 in hardcover, ebook and audiobook, with editions in twenty languages.
Where to Read Manacled Today: The Short Answer
| What you want | The official option |
|---|---|
| Manacled itself | None. It left AO3 on January 1, 2025, and no copy is authorized for sale |
| The same story in English | Alchemised in hardcover, ebook or audiobook |
| A free taste first | The publisher’s free sample, plus the prologue and Chapter 1 that SenLinYu posted on their Substack |
| Another language | Translated editions in twenty languages, including Spanish from Montena |
| A collector’s edition | The Deluxe Three-Volume Slipcase Edition, due October 13, 2026 |
Is Manacled Still on AO3?
No. Manacled was posted on AO3 under the handle senlinyu between April 27, 2018 and August 19, 2019: 77 chapters and 370,515 words. It became the second-most-read work on the archive, with over 84,000 kudos by the time it came down.
On February 5, 2024, in the post announcing Alchemised, SenLinYu explained what would happen next:
“Manacled is not going anywhere at present. It will remain online throughout 2024, at which point it will, if you’ll pardon the pun, alchemise for 2025 and be removed from AO3.”
That is what happened. The fic was removed on January 1, 2025, and its old AO3 address no longer brings up the story.
Why Was Manacled Taken Down?
SenLinYu gave the reason in the same announcement: “a growing issue with illegal sales of Manacled, putting both me and the incredible community that shares fanfiction freely in legal jeopardy.” After “consulting with the OTW as well as other lawyers,” they concluded they had “limited options” to stop it.
Here is what was being sold without their permission:
- bound print copies of the fic, some priced at hundreds of dollars;
- merchandise such as T-shirts, tote bags and mugs;
- pirated ebook listings, which the author reportedly asked fans to report.
Reworking the story into an original novel and taking the fan fiction down was the response. The selling did not stop there, though. In September 2025, days before Alchemised came out, SenLinYu pointed to “an absolutely massive explosion in illegal sales and listings”.
Manacled and Alchemised Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| April 27, 2018 | The first six chapters of Manacled go up on AO3 |
| August 19, 2019 | The final chapter, Epilogue 3, is posted |
| Around Christmas 2022 | SenLinYu starts redrafting the story |
| February 5, 2024 | Alchemised is announced; Manacled will stay online through 2024 |
| January 1, 2025 | Manacled is removed from AO3 |
| May 22, 2025 | The Alchemised prologue is posted free |
| September 5, 2025 | Chapter 1 is posted free |
| September 23, 2025 | Alchemised is published in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada |
| September 30, 2025 | The Spanish edition is published in Spain |
| October 28, 2025 | The Spanish paperback is published in the US |
| October 13, 2026 | The deluxe three-volume edition is due |
Can You Still Read Manacled?
Not legally, unless you saved it yourself before it came down. In 2024 SenLinYu said readers “are welcome to keep” copies they had saved. They have also limited fanbinding to personal, non-commercial use.
Everything else is unauthorized: printed bindings, ebook listings, PDFs and reposts. There is no official Manacled book. The official version of this story is Alchemised, and our Manacled vs Alchemised guide explains what carried over and what changed.
How to Read Alchemised: Official Editions
Alchemised came out on September 23, 2025 from Del Rey in the US, Michael Joseph in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and Penguin Random House Canada. In English it is a single volume of 1,040 pages.
Every English hardcover, not just the first printing, has a gold-foil jacket with a full-color illustration on the reverse, designed endpapers, a gold-foil case stamp and one black-and-white interior illustration by Avendell, who illustrated Manacled. The cover art is by Eva Eller and the design by Regina Flath.
| Edition | List price at publication | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| US hardcover (Del Rey) | $35.00 | 978-0-593-97270-0 |
| US ebook (Del Rey) | Check current price | 978-0-593-97271-7 |
| UK hardback (Michael Joseph) | £25.00 | 9780241714331 |
| US audiobook (Random House Audio) | Check current price | 9798217159192 |
| UK audiobook (Penguin) | Check current price | 9781405972833 |
Matching the ISBN is the simplest way to be sure you are buying an official edition.
The Audiobook
Saskia Maarleveld reads the audiobook, which runs 36 hours 15 minutes. For a book this long, audio is a practical option; our guide to how long Manacled is has reading-time estimates.
Free Official Samples
You can read the opening before you spend anything:
- The publisher’s sample. Penguin Random House offers a free “Read Sample” for the book.
- The prologue. SenLinYu posted it free on their Substack on May 22, 2025.
- Chapter 1. Posted there on September 5, 2025.
If you would rather borrow than buy, ask your local library whether it stocks the print, ebook or audio edition.
Alchemised Translations, Including the Spanish Edition
The Spanish Edition From Montena
The Spanish translation comes from Montena, a Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial imprint.
- Title: Alchemised: No queda nadie a quien salvar (“There’s no one left to save”, a line from the jacket copy).
- Spain: hardcover, September 30, 2025, 1,056 pages, list price at publication €24.95, ISBN 978-84-10050-07-5.
- Translators: Patricia Mora and Ankara Cabeza Lázaro.
- United States: Montena paperback, October 28, 2025, 1,056 pages, ISBN 979-8-89098-486-9.
- Latin America: also sold in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay through Penguin Libros.
Other Languages
The other official translation publishers are:
| Language | Publisher |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian | Ciela |
| Croatian | Egmont |
| Czech and Slovak | Albatros |
| Dutch | Luitingh-Sijthoff |
| French | Hachette Livre |
| German | Ullstein |
| Greek | Psichogios |
| Hungarian | Anassa |
| Italian | Rizzoli |
| Lithuanian | Baltos Lankos |
| Polish | Filia |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Intrínseca |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | Planeta |
| Romanian | Bookzone |
| Swedish | Bookmark |
| Thai | Nanmeebooks |
| Turkish | Destek |
| Ukrainian | Vivat |
The Brazilian edition, for example, came out on September 26, 2025 at 960 pages, translated by Helen Pandolfi, Laura Pohl and Ulisses Teixeira. Release dates differ by country, so check with the publisher for your language.
The Deluxe Three-Volume Edition
The Deluxe Three-Volume Slipcase Edition is due on October 13, 2026 in the US and UK. It divides the novel into three hardcover volumes and adds:
- slipcase art by Wylie Beckert;
- foil stamps by Francesca Baerald and Alex Hovey;
- silver edges and ribbons;
- color endpaper maps of “The Known World” and “Paladia” by Francesca Baerald;
- 24 Avendell illustrations, 12 of them new.
The ISBNs are 9798217299362 (US) and 9780241848197 (UK). In the US it is reportedly priced at $99.99. The standard single-volume edition has the same story, so the deluxe set is for collectors, not a requirement.
Why Unofficial Copies Hurt the Author
It can be tempting to buy a bound Manacled or grab a free file of Alchemised. Here is why we would not:
- Illegal sales are why the free version is gone. SenLinYu took Manacled down because those sales put them and the fan fiction community in “legal jeopardy”. Buying a copy funds the exact problem that ended free access for everyone.
- The money goes to the seller. An unofficial seller is, by definition, not the author or their publishers, so none of what you pay reaches SenLinYu.
- Every sale tells sellers there is a market. That is how the listings keep coming back.
- It spills over onto other writers. In 2024 a wider fanbinding dispute in the Dramione fandom led other fic authors to delete their own works.
A quick way to tell what is official:
- If it says Manacled and costs money, it is unauthorized, whatever the cover looks like.
- Official Alchemised comes from Del Rey, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House Canada, Random House Audio, Penguin, or one of the translation publishers above. Check the ISBN.
- A free full-length Alchemised PDF or ebook is not official. The free official reading is the publisher’s sample plus the prologue and Chapter 1 that SenLinYu posted.
For more on the author and what else they have written, see our guide to SenLinYu’s books, and the Manacled book page gathers every guide in this series.
Before you buy the 1,040-page novel, read our Manacled trigger warnings, then start with the free prologue and Chapter 1. Those opening pages will tell you quickly whether the rebuilt world is for you.
Frequently asked questions
Are SenLinYu's other fan fictions still on AO3?
Their AO3 page shows no works to visitors who are not logged in. SenLinYu has limited their AO3 works to registered users, reportedly because of AI scrapers and J.K. Rowling's anti-trans activism.
Do I need to read Manacled before Alchemised?
No. In September 2025 SenLinYu told readers: 'Stop telling people that it's necessary to read Manacled before reading Alchemised.'
Is Alchemised suitable for teens?
No. Like Manacled, it is written for adults: the Spanish edition is labeled for adults and the Brazilian edition is rated 18+. SenLinYu publishes a list of content warnings for the novel.
Is Alchemised the same story as Manacled?
Largely. It keeps the core arc and the three-part structure, but it replaces the Harry Potter names, magic and setting with an original world, and several plot turns change.