Katabasis is the latest iteration of a long literary tradition of descents to Hell, taking its place along Dante’s Inferno, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Aeneid, and countless others. The list, although not exhaustive, lends itself a reverence to the act of descending. Kuang honors the classic motif while giving it a fresh spin, crafting a delightful addition to a proud legacy. Her expertly articulated worldbuilding melds with a command of language and logic that carefully treads the barrier between traditional fantasy and the academic novel. The novel’s protagonists, Alice and Peter, are PhD candidates at Cambridge studying analytical magic. When their advisor suddenly dies with no replacement forthcoming, there’s only one logical option: going into Hell to retrieve his immortal soul. As they traverse the depths, the core question of the novel slowly emerges, how much are you willing to sacrifice to fulfill your darkest ambitions? Fervent readers of Kuang’s work will not be disappointed by her latest tour de force, and first-timers will be delighted by the care put in every word of the novel.
Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, (List Price: $32, Harper Voyager, 9780063446243, August 2025)
Reviewed by Sydney Mason, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina