R. F. Kuang
Harper Collins
26 August 2025
560
Paperback
Fantasy
Bought Copy
Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.
Alice Law has only ever had one 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 same conclusion.
I loved Babel so much that I was excited to read Katabasis. On the whole, it didn't disappoint as I enjoyed the premise and the drama of the story. I had fun with all the linguistic and philosophical references and the inclusion of theories about Hell/the Underworld from different religions and works of fiction. Despite being a fairly long book, the pacing never felt too slow and the word count seemed reasonable. The relationship between Alice and Peter, too, was nicely portrayed. So, overall, I enjoyed it a lot and was happy to read on each evening. The only thing I would say is that Katabasis didn't have quite the same magic for me as Babel did, but that is personal preference for one story over the other and not any reflection on the author's skill between the two works. I would still definitely read more from R. F. Kuang in the future without any hesitation. I am giving this on 4.5 stars.
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