Kuang's "Katabasis" ambitiously merges dark academia with a literal descent into Hell as rival magicians Alice Law and Peter Murdoch reluctantly join forces to rescue their deceased professor from the underworld. While the novel offers an intriguing blend of magical theory and classical mythology, the pacing occasionally falters and some of the hell-realm challenges feel more conceptually interesting than emotionally resonant. The strength lies in the complicated history between Alice and Peter, whose academic rivalry masks deeper connections that unfold throughout their dangerous journey, though their character development sometimes takes a backseat to the elaborate worldbuilding.

R.F. Kuang does it again!! This book is similar in tone and vibe as Babel. It is a pretty heavy and dense book, so pick it up when you are ready to take on a challenge.

blown away with RF Kuang’s mind and her storytelling!! I simply do not have enough words or the best words to express how thoughtful and intricate this book was. I knew there was a suggested reading/text references many other readers suggest, but aside from a few google searches, I was able to grasp the majority of the story and thoroughly enjoy it!!

I honestly had no expectations for this journey to hell but I had not expected some of the twists and turns that kuang had up her sleeve. Kuang utilized many myths and stories of hell and combines it into one version of hell that I can definitely understand. I strongly believe that there is no single version of hell that is IT, but definitely all the cultures and religions leading to the same place and deities. This was one of my favorite aspects of the book. While the stories varied they all led to the same place and there was not a lot of bias on Kuang’s end. Alice on the other hand chose what she knew, as all people would do in her position.

I definitely feel like a reread or multiple is necessary to fully grasp all the concepts placed in this one singular story. I cannot wait for a physical copy to be in my hands!!!

Thank you SO MUCH HarperVoyager/HarperCollins team for this ARC!!!

Katabasis is my new favorite R.F. Kuang book (although The Burning God is a close second), and this sure was a story hit close to home.

Katabasis is a philosophical dark academia fantasy book that is part love story, part critique of the hellscape that is academia, and part literary and mythological odyssey. Not only does it feature an intricate magic system based on logic and analytical reasoning that complements the themes of the story perfectly, but it also showcases Kuang’s strongest character work yet. Both Alice Law and Peter Murdoch came to life so vibrantly off the page, and I absolutely loved witnessing their journeys of self-discovery and connection.

I thought the way that academia was explored and critiqued in the context of this narrative was brilliant, and I particularly appreciated the wide range of myths and literary texts Katabasis drew from. The underworld in this story blends elements from both the West and the East (with a unique twist), featuring familiar figures from Greek, Chinese, Indian, and Egyptian mythology, among others, that were so exciting to come across in the story.

At its heart, this is a book about the joy of being alive - a reminder that there’s beauty in the smallest moments, and a quiet magic in simply existing. What makes a life worth living? That’s a question Alice and Peter grapple with as they travel through the depths of hell — and the reader is right there with them, every step of the way.

In short, if you like the following, you may also like Katabasis:

🖋️ Character-driven stories
📝 Intricate magic systems
🖋️ Literary & mythological references
📝 Philosophical discussions
🖋️ Critical analysis of academia

Thank you Harper Voyager for the ARC of this book - can't wait for more people to read it!

Still in shock I have an ARC of this, thank you so much NetGalley! I enjoyed this, this is a very dense gem of a book and the only thing stopping me from giving it a five star rating was the ending, it felt a bit tacked on and not as wrapped up as I wanted it to be after such an odyssey through Hell.

Katabasis: a thrilling descent into the underworld

R.F. Kuang has once again taken an incredibly interesting premise and brought it to life with a care and understanding of the source material that will have readers picking up Dante’s Inferno and Euripides just for fun.

Alice Law and Peter Murdoch, two graduate students the University of Cambridge, embark on a perilous journey through the 8 courts of hell to rescue their professor after a tragic accident. We jump right into their descent and are immediately captivated by the atmosphere. As we travel with Alice and Peter through pride, desire, greed, wrath, and tyranny, and the infamous City of Dis we are faced with a story full of existential quesitons and the decisions that ultimately shape our lives and ourselves.

"At least, she thought this was love -- this gradual unfolding of another soul, charting one's course into tprivledged inner territory, making discoveries of which you felt you were the first"

The characters were so unique, complicated, and delightful to get to know. It took me longer than normal to read this book because I genuinely didn't want the journey to end.

5 stars and thank you R.F. Kuang yet again for writing a masterpiece.

R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis is a brilliantly layered descent—into Hell, into academic obsession, and into the increasingly blurred lines between ambition and morality. Following two rival graduate students, Alice and Peter, as they journey into the underworld to rescue their professor’s soul, this novel is a masterclass in literary homage, dark academia, and psychological unraveling.

Kuang’s writing is incredible—sharp, haunting, and richly intertextual. From nods to Dante’s Inferno to echoes of Alice in Wonderland, the narrative is packed with allusions that deepen the experience for lovers of classical literature. Katabasis embodies both myth and madness as the protagonists tumble into a literal and metaphorical underworld. The journey reads as both an epic and a cautionary tale about the academic grind, the ethical compromises we make, and the seductive pull of genius at all costs.

One of the most compelling aspects is how immersive the spiral feels. As Alice loses her grip, so do we—it pulls you in, it's unsettling, and it's brutally honest about the toll of relentless pursuit. The atmosphere is dense with dread, wonder, and intellectual fervor.

Though some passages felt slightly drawn out, the overall pacing supports the story’s thematic weight. However, a content warning page would be a welcome addition, as the book contains intense themes, including animal cruelty, suicidal ideation, and various aspects of abuse.

Katabasis is a must-read for fans of fantasy, dark academia, and anyone who enjoys fiction steeped in literary tradition and philosophical depth. It’s a dark, dazzling descent you won’t forget. I will absolutely be buying a physical copy and can't wait for release day!

This book was perfect. I loved every bit of it. Beautiful writing, great pacing, a unique storyline, and so many Dante references. I don’t want to spoil too much since it’s not out yet, but the idea of hell as a painfully relatable, academia-laced setting was incredibly well done. I’ll definitely be rereading this one.

Kuang creates the most complex, detailed worlds and I am totally here for it every single time. This one will need no help rocketing straight onto the best seller list.

𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕤𝕟𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕕.

If Katabasis has no fans, I have passed away and am tolling away on my extensive transcript in Hell. Like every time I finish reading a book by my favorite author, I’m going to need minimally 5-7 business days to process my emotions. There is nothing I love more than morally grey characters, and Alice… 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆…the over-achieving, depressive, the ends justify the means, wait no, the means justify the ends, kind of person that you are spoke to me on (unfortunately????) a visceral level. If you have ever wondered “what is the point of it all?” I’m not sure you’ll find the answers here, but you’ll at least find solace in the companionship and in the journey. Even if the journey is just an Escher trap. Wait, now we’re getting big sads again.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏-𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒕-𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅.

Like all of Rebecca's books, this one is dark. We're dealing with dark themes of depression, suicide, abuse, chronic illness. We're journeying to find the meaning of life when we don't have much of a desire to do anything but let inertia carry us forward. I loved how these themes were wrapped in dark humor and the absurd. I laughed a lot throughout Katabasis. AND we have the quite the little love story too. This was perfection. I've got at least 50 passages underlined, and I know I will be rereading this for years to come. Don't listen to the people who say you need to read 50 books (like Dante, etc.) before you read this. You don't. You will have a great time regardless of if you prep for the rest of your life for this book or you go in blind.

“𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕙𝕠𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤,” 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕.
“𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕠𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕪?”
“𝕋𝕠 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕧𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞,” 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕣𝕖. “𝕋𝕠 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝕋𝕠 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕩𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙.”

Another homerun by Kuang. I think my favorite aspect of her work is she always gives you exactly the premise she promised but so much more. This is a story about a journey to Hell to fix your gravest wrong, but also a story about how we're already in the bad place of our own self infliction. This is also a love story, for life, truth, beauty and the unexpected. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC. Kuang is among the greatest minds of our time.

This was my most anticipated read of the year and fell pretty flat. By the time I reached the 70-75% mark i was pretty much over it, which was so disappointing since I loved the beginning. I felt like the romance was completely unfounded and relied on a few flashbacks to make us believe these characters have chemistry. I felt pretty much no connection to Peter aside from the one flashback from him.

Based on the many reviews from other readers suggesting up to 15 classics we should read to prepare for Katabasis, I feel pretty underwhelmed with what we received. In my opinion Babel and Ninth House are the much better siblings of this book. I’ll be rereading in August and hopefully my review will change for the better.

“I feel sometimes it is so difficult to be conscious”.

Thank you to Harper Voyager for the opportunity to review an early copy of Katabasis!

This is R.F. Kuang’s literary exploration into a book like The Hobbit, both in the quest narrative aspect and in its accessibility to a wide audience. Finishing this book left me with a sense of a lot of complexity to unravel, but little narrative companionship.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Another deeply researched and reference-filled journey to hell. I really enjoyed may of Alice's POV around her memories of Peter, her ambition, the joy and obession of learning, the deep ambivalence of the relationship with one's academic advisor, especially one as terrible and powerful as Grimes. I really enjoyed meeting the various characters in hell. There were plenty of academic, mathematical, philosphical, etc. references that went over my head I'm sure. Not one of my favorite of Kuang's books, but a remarkable book that I think many will enjoy.

An intriguing look into hell, what makes hell what it is, and what sacrifices one makes throughout their journey in hell. Katabasis is a story of two scholars who journey to the depths of hell together.
The way this book is written, full of logic and wit and humor while still being informative. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it a million times again, Rebecca Kuang is one of the smartest minds of our generation and I will forever look at her books as a source of inspiration for me. I hope she never loses excitement for writing and always gives us more books.
I learned so much while reading, both about the study of logic, and how hell is depicted in many different ways. It’s just fascinating and I’ll probably reread upon release to see if there’s anything that I missed the first time. This feels like one of those books where the more times you reread, the more you learn.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an eARC of this book.

amazing i love this fantasy take and how it traveled to another land. it was cute to see the banter and how they rely on one another

Like me, Alice Law is full of flaws. We are completely different people, and also one and the same. She's complicated, emotional, logical, ambitious. There were times I screamed and yelled at her for the decisions she made, but then she'd FEEL and I knew I was right there with her. Alice Law journeys into Hell as a last resort only to realize that's not how life works; there are always opportunities and choices. The journey she takes in this book is wild, tragic, and desperate.

The only other book l've read of Kuang is Babel, and this is a different kind of ride. I loved Katabasis for the journey, for the metamorphosis, for the wonderful, rich characters, and for the ending I didn't think we'd get (because I don't know if we deserved it) but hoped we would.

It's said that in reading stories we gain greater empathy; that even though it's a fictional world, we can expand our own array of emotions. This book, with all its logic and references, is a book to make you feel - and not judge.

My rating is anywhere between 4 and 5 stars. That ending automatically bumps it up to 5. (ARC provided by NetGalley)

It feels strange to call a book about hell a "fun romp," but this tongue-in-cheek adventure perfectly balances biting commentary on the exploitative nature of the PhD student/advisor relationships and philosophical reflection on relationships and mortality, as Alice Law and her frenemy Peter Murdoch voyage to the depths of hell to rescue their demanding and aloof Magick professor. Fans of Yellowface and Babel will find much to enjoy in Katabasis, which has elements of dark academia and complex interpersonal dynamics, as well as a healthy dose of scholarly meditation about death, love, and our obligations to each other.

This book was incredible for me, someone that doesn't know much about philosophy but loves going down wikipedia rabbit holes.

R.F. Kuang provides a philosophical romp through hell, as two postdoc students dive down into Hades to retrieve the soul of their professor. Kuang partners with some of the greats of literature - Dante, Milton, among others to give her own take on hell. The story begins promptly, with very little exposition, and ends just as quickly, but that gives all the more space for Kuang's vision of what hell might be like.

The intelligence of Kuang is on full display as she parses out complex philosophical and logical concepts while also ensuring they are accessible to the ignorant reader, while communicating in a light, matter-of-fact prose. But don't let that fool you. The story here is intense and graphic at times with borderline horror-like imagery. The climax brings a satisfactory end that resolves believably. The book overall reflects on the question, "What is hell to you?" Kuang provides the answer to that question for herself, but the reader will need to come to grips with their own interpretation of that inquiry.