Katabasis: Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, a standalone fantasy novel. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this book and if you should read it too!

Katabasis Summary

Alice Law is a postgraduate student at Cambridge who is practicing magick. She has decided that she will go to hell to bring back her advisor, professor Jacob Grimes. Her reason being that an only Grimes can help Alice get any job she would want and because Alice is responsible for the death of Grimes.

To go to hell, Alice needs to open a gateway to hell but at the last second, Peter Murdoch, her colleague and rival who is considered a genius, joins her. They both find themselves in hell as they try to get along in order to bring back an advisor that they don’t care much for.

But the journey in hell is a difficult one and they have no idea where Grimes could be. Alice and Peter’s relationship is complicated and have to rely on each other if they plan to make it out alive from hell. An encounter with skeletal dogs reminds them the dangers in hell and that there is someone in hell that is after them.

Can Alice and Peter work together to find Jacob and bring him back? Their relationship is on rocky ground and as they both open up to each other, the learn exactly why they both are in hell and what they will do to for their love of magick.

Commentary

Katabasis was released on August 26, 2025 and is the 6th novel by the popular author. Kuang was writing this novel while also working on her doctoral agree at Yale. This is a novel about academia and includes a lot of philosophy.

Kuang has that that the novel was a cute silly adventure novel calling academia hell but as she found herself writing it, she realized how true that statement was.

I really enjoyed this novel a lot and devoured this novel in two days. Kuang’s storytelling and magic building is unique and you can tell that she put a lot of research into it. Alice Law is a protagonist that is going to anger many fans and you see that in the novel as other characters can’t stand her.

Like all of Kuang’s novels, there is a lot of social commentary and Kuang brings the dark side of academia to the front. Unlike Yellowface, her previous novel, the discussion around this novel wasn’t around the themes of the novel. Many fans and critics found the novel to be pretentious.

I can see why some readers feel like that but I think that Kuang has become too big and is being discussed more. When I walked into a Barnes & Noble a couple of days ago, there was a pile of Katabasis at the entrance, making it the first book you see.

When you push a book to the forefront, there will be many people that will read it who otherwise wouldn’t pick it up. I have been a fan of Kuang for a few years and sought out this novel on my own accord. That may be why I loved this novel a lot and didn’t find it pretentious at all.

Another point to consider is that the novel is about academia and very few people will pursue a PhD or a doctorate. That means few people will even be able to relate to the commentary of the novel and with Kuang who herself was pursuing her doctorate while writing this novel.

Conclusion

There are all sorts of different fantasy novels and that is what makes me love this genre so much. Kuang has created her own lane and uses research to create magic systems that rely on historical texts to create her fictional world.

No matter what you like, what you can’t deny is that Kuang is a gifted and talented writer that shines bright in this novel. I enjoyed every second of this book and still find myself thinking about it days later.

It isn’t often that I will read a novel as soon as it is released. But when a novel like this comes along from one of my favorite authors, that will be the only thing I can think about. I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves academia and also enjoyed Babel. Happy reading!

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