What is Katabasis?

Katabasis—literally meaning “descent to the underworld”—is Kuang’s latest dark academia fantasy. It follows Alice Law and Peter Murdoch, two graduate students forced to venture into the underworld to rescue their deceased advisor’s soul after a magical experiment goes wrong. As they navigate Hell’s twisted landscapes, they confront their own fears, ambitions, and the toxic pressures of academia.

Plot Summary

Alice Law has sacrificed her pride, health, and sanity for academic success—only to lose her advisor to a magical accident. Alongside rival Peter Murdoch, she must draw a pentagram and descend into literal Hell to retrieve him. But nothing is as it seems: Hell operates on rules both scholarly and sinister, where survival demands wit, courage, and uncomfortable truths.

Major Themes

• Dark Academia: A love letter and critique of scholarly ambition.
• Friendship & Rivalry: The delicate balance between competition and camaraderie.
• Mental Health: Honest portrayals of anxiety, depression, and burnout.
• Mythic Inspiration: Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi.

Critical Reception

Kirkus Reviews calls it “a learned, literary manifesto on academia—and its darkness.” Library Journal praises it as a must-read for fans of Naomi Novik and Olivie Blake, noting its deep explorations of purpose, grief, and relationships. Early readers highlight its balance of emotional depth and fantastical world-building.

Why You Should Read Katabasis

If you’ve ever experienced the cut-throat nature of academic life, or been fascinated by the mix of magic and myth, Katabasis offers a narrative that’s both gripping and deeply relatable. It’s poetic yet raw, steeped in tradition yet defiantly modern—a reflection of R.F. Kuang’s mastery of character-driven storytelling.

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