hank you Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Listen folks.... Kuang is not one of my favorite authors without reason okay??? I have been anticipating this book since I heard about it, and heck man it does not disappoint. The deep commentary on the nuances of humanity and (to no one's surprise) academia really made Alice and Peter interesting characters.

I can 1000% sense the influences of Lewis Carroll, which was fun to pick up on. The sense of dark whimsy is PRESENT in this book.

The half star knocked off only because man oh man there was a lot of actual MATH and LOGICAL THEORY that went over my head and hurt my brain. Kuang, I know you are smarter than me but the math felt like a personal attack.

I adored the Poppy War trilogy and also really enjoyed Babel, but R.F. Kuang’s latest book Katabasis did not work for me.

It follows two postgrads in magick at Cambridge who journey through the layers of Hell to rescue their advisor and bring him back to earth. The world-building suggests that Hell is a twisted mirror of a college campus that begins with Pride as a campus library and then devolves into a more desolate wasteland.

I found this to be limiting—does Hell appear this way for the millions of people who die without a college education? Kuang is an academic writing about academics, so I see her vision, but it became grating over time to have such a narrow portrayal. The constant references to scholars, both real (Dante, Lacan, Proust) and imagined creates a one-dimensional world catering primarily to Dark Academia Girlies, and despite some references to Chinese mythology, feels very limiting.

My other frustration with the novel was the constant interruptions of the plot for long flashbacks that felt like afterthoughts rather than part of a cohesive narrative. I don’t think this structure is inherently flawed, but I found it unconvincing in this particular story. Kuang’s novels are sometimes quite heavy-handed in their themes (something I don’t always mind, personally), so this plot/character structure seemed to be an attempt at telling a more morally complex and thorny narrative — which unfortunately didn’t work for me. Without explaining too much about a central relationship in this novel told entirely through these clunky flashbacks, I was reminded of Kate Elizabeth Russell’s wonderfully nuanced and heartbreaking My Dark Vanessa…in a way that made me appreciate that novel more than this one.

In the end, I was left unsatisfied with the characters’ trajectory and their relationships. I was disappointed, especially because I think Kuang is a talented and creative writer. I have a feeling I will be in the minority on Katabasis, and I hope other readers will find it much more enjoyable than I did.

1.5/5: A convoluted love/hate letter to academia that did not resonate with me (and I’m an academic!). Fans of The Secret History or Babel—or big Dante lovers—may adore this, but despite my enjoyment of those books, I didn’t connect with Katabasis.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 ⭐️

So excited that I received an advanced copy of Katabasis!!! Rebecca is one of the best to ever do it. Katabasis was such an introspective / philosophical read & really one that I was not expecting. It was adventurous, but not. Dark, but humorous. Emotional, but cold. It really felt like a classic academia read with a tiny bit of fantasy. (not strong fantasy though)

There are some powerful passages in this, especially on women in academia, chronic illness, mental health, and more. Kuang is a fascinating and witty storyteller and her writing is magic. The main things I didn’t love were that I didn’t feel an emotional connection or care for the characters; they felt very surface level to me and I felt that it made me get bored in some parts. I wanted a little more thrill and depth like we see in Babel and the Poppy War. Also, I struggled to keep up in certain areas — this happened to me in Babel, but it made me more engaged. In Katabasis, I didn’t enjoy the challenge as much and thought it disconnected me. With that being said, I was on the edge of my seat in some parts & it was reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Definitely recommend!!!!!!! Perfect book for autumn.

Thank you to HarperVoyager for the advanced copy.

I must preface this and saw I have YET to read a novel by R.F.Kuang that I didn’t LOVE!

One thing everyone MUST prepare themselves for when going into a book like this. Our dear author here is educated!! She does not have to “dumb things down” to be easily digestible. One of the most enjoyable parts of this book was feeling as though the main characters were that much smarter than me and I was just along for their terrifying ride.

Also, the whole story? Traumatized. Gorgeous. No notes. I loved this book. Watching Alice and Peter’s rivalry develop into something akin to a wholesome(?) admission of feelings was incredible.

If you love fantasy, dark academia, unique novels about Hell and its domains, etc, then do yourself a favor and pick this book up when it comes out in August.

“You could do anything if you were delusional”

I am so thankful I got to read this arc! Kuang is a pro at making me feel strong, raw emotion.

I really enjoyed the depth of Alice’s character and her realizations, it is always refreshing to see a character actually change and evolve throughout a novel.

And while being lyrical and beautiful, the novel is also funny

“Go on,” said Lord Yama. “Be careful you do not look back.” “Really?” asked Alice. “I’m only joking,” said Lord Yama. “Look however much you want. Go on.”

This is definitely a top read of 2025 for me and I will be recommending it heavily, especially to the many grad students in my life.

R.F. Kuang returns to a world of magic in elite academic circles... but it's a completely different world than she created so masterfully in Babel. This time, main character Alice explores hell, in order to find the professor she feels she has killed. She ends up with a completely different understanding of herself, her magic, her academic career, and the role of the patriarchy in all of it.

Dark academia fantasy novel, Katabasis, was a beautiful story that I was sad to finish. Dark elements mixed with incredible fantasy and morally grey characters made for a phenomenal book.

Thank you Danielle Bartlett with William Morrow Books and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy of this E-Book. Kuang is one of my all time favorite authors and I was so excited to get into her return to Dark Academia Fantasy. I am forever amazed at Kuang's ability to master her craft across genres and Katabasis is no exception. This book was a dark and twisted journey crafted for fans of ancient mythology and academic analysis of morality. If The Secret History and The House of Hades had a baby, it would be this book. Not only was the plot thrilling and inquisitive, but it was presented through beautiful prose. Kuang is truly a genius is more ways than one and Katabasis is just another showcase of her immense talent.

4 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing this digital ARC for an honest review.


I am having a very difficult time deciding what to rate this book. I had extremely high expectations going into this because R.F. Kuang is one of my favorite authors and I’ve never given one of her books less than 5 stars. I also think this book will be subject to more harsh criticism than others simply because it was written by R.F. Kuang.

This book started off really strong. It does not take a long time for the story to get going, we are thrown right into it in chapter one. The magic system was very interesting, but not really a core part of what’s going on (other than the obvious fact that they are going to Hell haha).

There is both more and less romance in here than I was expecting (I swear it’ll make sense when you read it). That being said, Alice’s relationships/connections/interactions in Katabasis don’t feel nearly as developed as in her other books (I’m talking even side character to side character in her other books feel more fleshed out/have more chemistry).

I had issues with the pacing of this book and felt like it could’ve been 100-200 pages shorter while still having the same impact. There is a specific plot line that is really interesting and adds more depth and complexity to Alice and the story. However, that storyline is swept aside and barely seems relevant by the end of the book (except, of course, for when it comes in handy for our characters). There is an event that happens that should be emotional and impactful and I barely had any reaction to it (probably due to the lack of impact it seemed to have on our characters).

Thinking of different stages of my life, Alice was uncomfortably relatable (Rebecca did you peek in my head? 👀), so it kind of pains me to see the reviews that say she is insufferable 😅. Her personal journey is the core of the story and was definitely my favorite part.

All that being said, I enjoyed the book overall. Even if it wasn’t the reading experience I expected.


Random things:
- You do not need to read all those “prep books” people have made lists for. It wouldn’t hurt, but R.F. Kuang pretty much explains all of the references anyway or you can gather the meaning easily from context clues.
- If I HAD TO compare this to any of her books I’d say it’s most similar to Babel, but at the same time it also doesn’t feel like any of her other books. But if you didn’t like the writing in Babel (the academic-ness of it), you will DEFINITELY not like this one.
- Although this wasn’t the 5 star read I was hoping for, I’ve still been thinking about it every day since I finished it last week, so that says something too.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this early. There were many layers to this novel and fans of dark academia should enjoy the vibes. There's not much of a romance between the two leads by typical romance standards, but it's more focused on the fantasy/philosophical themes.

Thank you for the chance to read. I really liked this one. It was different, but incredibly enjoyable. I can't wait to share.

Two academics go to hell to rescue their professor, and boy is the emphasis on *academics*. Katabasis is essentially just about academia and the pretentiousness of academia while also being pretentious itself, but because it takes place around the 80s (don't hold me to an exact timeframe), it's also about the very blatant sexism in academia during that time period.

I am personally not interested in reading about academia in and of itself, and particularly all the quotes and references that seem to go hand in hand with it (c.f. Pamela Dean's Tam Lin), and so this wasn't really working for me. I liked Babel because while it was about academia, it was more specifically about linguistics and translation (my background), and more generally about imperialism and colonialism. With Katabasis, you're missing the framing and broader story to make it interesting - I was hoping the journey into hell would do that, but it ends up instead being the framing to talk about academia.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for providing me with this ARC.

Let’s get straight to the point: a lot of people are calling Katabasis pretentious. I’m not bothered by that. Dark academia, by its nature, tends to be pretentious. It’s about intellectual obsession, philosophical musings, and the darker side of academia. If you’re into that, you’ll probably appreciate what Kuang is doing here.

If you enjoyed Ninth House or Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, you’ll likely find a lot to like in Katabasis. The academic atmosphere, morally ambiguous characters, and deep dive into knowledge as both a tool and a trap are all here. Kuang’s writing is rich with philosophy and mythology, and while it can get dense, it’s all intentional. It’s about challenging the reader to think rather than handing them easy answers.

The characters in this book are not here to be loved. They’re flawed, obsessive, and often hard to relate to. But that’s part of what makes the story interesting: these characters are consumed by their intellectual pursuits in a way that leads them down destructive paths. It’s not a tale of redemption, but a reflection of the costs of their obsessions.

This is a beautiful story and a lovely journey.. the concept is clearly deeply impacted by the author’s own experiences in academia, but then it takes on such bigger questions and propositions. I loved the characters so much, they were fully formed and had unintended miscommunications with unintended consequences as we all do. While the protagonists may not have necessarily achieved what they came for, they got so much more in the end.

This felt like an easier-to-connect-with Piranesi.

I always enjoy reading books by R.F. Kuang and Katabasis was no exception. It delivered the same sharp insight and layered storytelling that I’ve come to expect from her. The concept is bold and strange in the best way, blending myth with academic satire in a story that somehow manages to be funny, devastating, and deeply human all at once.

The characters felt raw and real, especially Alice, whose emotional descent mirrored the literal journey through the underworld in a way that stuck with me. Kuang has a knack for asking difficult questions and letting her characters wrestle with them without easy answers, which makes her work consistently thought provoking.

My only hesitation was that a few sections dragged a bit, especially in the middle, but even then the writing kept me engaged. Overall, this was another compelling read from an author who never shies away from pushing boundaries.

Rebecca Kuang is a legend for a reason. Her ability to weave history and fantasy together is out of this world. Incredible.

This was one of my most anticipated releases this year, and wow I cannot wait to read it again when it is released in August! As someone who works in academia, hell being university themed felt so right! There were a lot of things that I really loved about this book. I frequently found myself reading and thinking 'I'll stop after this chapter' until I finished the chapter and I would think 'okay just one more chapter.' I enjoyed the way that the story unraveled and getting to know the two main characters bit by bit. Although I think most readers will enjoy the way that the story ended, I think for me the only thing that could have made this go from four to five stars would have been for the story to not wrap up so perfectly. I would've liked to see an ending that was maybe a bit more bittersweet in a way, but after everything that the characters have been through, I think most readers will be glad for them to get the ending they had. Overall I very much enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to a lot of readers when it comes out later this year!

A witty, gory, and harrowing critique of academia's power structures. Kuang crafts a unique story rich with allusion and illusion. A must-read for fans of dark academia.

My first R.F. Kuang read and it met my high expectations!! Classic lit mixed with horror and dark elements is right up my alley!!

Expect a therapy bill in the mail Becky because what the fuck.

Before anyone asks, no you do not need to read the literature that inspired/built the foundation for Katabasis as I went in blind.

The last thing I was expecting from this book is the amount of tears I shed because of this book. I thoroughly missed R.F. Kuang's writing and this is what I needed. Following Peter and Alice's journey was a rollercoaster of emotions. I caught myself laughing at the humor and most of all feeling so much empathy for both Peter and Alice. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of Hell which got me thinking about what Hell is whether it is the same for everyone or it is tailored for that specific person as most of the accounts of Hell are theoretical. One thing about R.F. Kuang is that she's going to criticize the academic institution and the impact it has toward the student pysche especially Alice. I related to Alice's journey from being an obsessive academic doing everything and anything to be perfect to realizing there is more to life than just the books. I also enjoyed the side characters as they not only helped with the story but helped with Alice's journey into not only realizing what is going on but also out the pieces together on who is really the good guy here. Something that I caught myself really enjoying are the villains of the story. With that said, Professor Grimes if I catch you, it is on site and hands will be thrown. One of the unexpected layers/somewhat expected layer explore is the way women are treated in academic spaces along with how women treat other woman in academic spaces. As for the love story, I really enjoyed it! The banter/dialogue was so good I was giggling and kicking my feet. I truly do believe that at this time Peter and Alice are enjoying their time together on step at a time and they are happy studying together.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC I am truly grateful.