Katabasis
Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.
Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek:
The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world.
That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….
Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion.
With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like.
But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
- Pages
- 559
- First published
- August 26, 2025
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
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Reviews
Finished March 8, 2026
Started December 27, 2025 · Finished December 28, 2025
Started December 21, 2025 · Finished December 21, 2025
Started October 30, 2025 · Finished January 24, 2026
“You thought people were giants, and they devastated you by being so human.” I absolutely adored this book, and found myself relating a lot to Alice. I felt the book had a great portrayal of power and corruption within the institution, while also highlighting the underlying issues of classism, sexism, and elitism overall. It is so easy to deify our professors while existing within that academic atmosphere. We live for their praise, we break at their criticisms. It isn’t until we’re out of that bubble that we see the world for what it truly is and everything else it has to offer. This is not to say that I don’t still very much respect my own professors, but I no longer hold them to the godlike status I know I once did. As a former English student, I thought the intermixing of the many cultures, texts, and mythologies used to shape Hell was so intriguing. And the way Alice’s thoughts unravel to match each court as we traverse them? Genius. For me, it was very reminiscent to William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence and of Experience,” showcased both within the environment and in the self. Or even Dante’s own descent into the Inferno: the way he pities the souls less the further he goes. I loved Alice and Peter, but something that really frustrated me about them was their inability to communicate with one another. Miscommunication is a trope that will forever irritate me. Still, I adored each of their characters and am satisfied with the way their story ended. Although my brain could not wrap around every (admittedly) thought-provoking theory, equation, and bit of logic discussed, this book was such a treat.
Finished September 25, 2025
I loved seeing Alice and Peter finally confronting truths and having those hard conversations. Their dynamic felt raw and messy and was exactly what I wanted from them. Elspeth deserves her own story tbh. In the gloom and despair of hell, her presence added levity and depth that was much appreciated. Oh, and I can't forget the cat, Archimedes! He absolutely needs to be in Elspeth's story. 😂 Overall, the story was emotional and haunting in all the right ways. Definitely recommend picking this up if you're a fan of dark academia!