"Christ," said Peter. "Hell is a campus."

I'm a fan of RFK, and especially loved her Yellowface, but this book - which I'd been looking forward to immensely - is actually just a postgraduate student's doctoral crisis. I was so disappointed.

Nearly all PhD candidates get to this point at some stage: mental exhaustion, questioning the system ('there was the question of whether all this was character-building asceticism or simply the demands of poverty, since none of the graduate students made close to a living wage. But nobody liked to talk about that'), dealing with issues of power hierarchies in the academe, possibly struggling with an exploitative supervisor, and finding the very demands and pressures of research and writing can kill the passion that started you on this journey in the first place. As a result, I felt that this book was more a rant from the heart of a PhD student in crisis than a thought-through piece of fiction.

I liked that the Underworld here is multicultural and doesn't just follow the western katabasis tradition (Homer, Virgil, Dante etc.) but Alice (definitely an Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass allusion) and Peter are both bland in terms of character and the timid enemies-to-lovers trope falls flat. Similarly, their journey from a magical Cambridge through the underworld feels incredibly low stake: they meet the inhabitants of hell, are lectured at and then move on - Alice keeps asking herself why it's all so easy and I, as a disappointed reader, was asking exactly the same thing.

Way too much of this narrative is show offy info dumps of philosophers and the history of ideas, or backstories to Peter and Alice - none of which constructs a compelling story. There are some brief flashes of the imagination we expect from RFK such as the first circle of pride being an academic library (ha!) but there's not nearly enough of this. Sadly, this book commits the cardinal sin of boring this reader silly. And by the time we get to the end, we're told none of it matters anyway:

"The academy didn't matter. Perhaps they could revise their dissertation topics in time and change their committees and scrape their way into a job, or perhaps they couldn't, but none of it mattered because the future still lay before them, delightfully open."

The story of a young Cambridge scholar, who decides to go to Hell on a mission to save her thesis supervisor. Naturally, the protagonist's journey mirrors much of the literary works written about Hell, and, as such, reflects the huge amount of research that went into this book. In addition, the book is, once again (similar to Babel), an exploration of academia and its vagaries, and the psychology of those that succumb to and thrive within it. At the same time, it's also a romantic story, exploring the importance of self-discovery for love to take root.

I really wanted to like this book. I read everything else by the author and remain a huge fan. Some of her books are truly exceptional (especially Babel). In this case, I really struggled to even give it three stars (the score is more like 2.5, rounded up). I liked the premise, to some extent, and the worldbuilding was superb. The latter is truly breathtaking in its complexity - the author did an excellent job in constructing a universe with a strong internal core of magic (or Magick, in this universe's language), philosophy, and logic, all of which interconnect credibly. This was the highlight of the reading experience.

Unfortunately, I disliked most of the rest. First, the characters were somehow hollow, and very much unlike the author's previous creations. The ones in this book lacked something to make me care about them. This isn't even about the anti-hero part - it's more that I just felt they were echoes of something, vs the something itself. Perhaps the author's energy wasn't really in them. Second, I struggled with the plot - much of it was predictable, and there was nothing there to make me really care about what was happening. Peppering it with scenes from the protagonists' past, and diversions to explain more of the philosophy underpinning the book's reality, somehow didn't help. There simply was a lack of tension or drama to make me root for someone or something. The depiction of Hell was also lacklustre - I kept comparing what I read here to even Pullman, who created such vivid imagery, that I still can't shake it off. Third, I felt like there was a lot of anger in the writing (about something - I'm not sure what, but it probably has to do with academia), but it didn't really find its way fully into the work itself. It's like the author really wanted to scream and shout about some injustices, but, instead, created a rather soul-less narrative that describes this anger, rather than helps the reader feel it. Finally, and perhaps worst of all, the book felt like over-reach. The various dimensions didn't seem to fuse well enough together - the romance, the philosophy of Hell and damnation, the vitriol against academia, and the psychology of over-achieving students who are victimised by said academia.

All in all, I think true fans of the author will want to read it for completeness. Others - not so much. I would definitely not start with the author from this book. I'm not even sure who will enjoy it - perhaps more brainy readers who are passionate about the philosophy of Hell and the writings that humanity generated about it.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a book that you need to read slowly.

R.F. Kuang has written a book about finding yourself, about what it’s like to put someone on a pedestal, what it’s like to have your sense of self warped, but also what it’s like to love to think and stretch your mind beyond yourself.

As someone who loves schools of thought and academia, Kuang writes a novel that reminds you to remember how vast our world is but in the grand scheme of things (which in this case is Hell), none of that matters. This book is about remembering what the whole point of life is. And therefore remembering there is no point. This book is a paradox!

I loved it so much and I’m so grateful I was able to read it early, thank you so much to Harper Voyager for sending me this copy it was a pleasure to read!

Katabasis feels like a refinement of Kuang’s academia style established with Babel a few years ago. If you enjoyed Babel then I’d recommend this book wholeheartedly! If you weren’t so keen, then I suspect this won’t be the book to win you round.

For fans of magical academia, there is plenty to get your teeth into in Katabasis. Following two overworked star pupils from Cambridge University on a trip to revive their brilliant but tyrannical supervisor, academia dominates every element of the story. The whole expedition is built around research Alice and Peter have done, down to proposed maps of Hell’s circles with varying levels of academic scrutiny. It goes so far as to use logic puzzles and paradoxes as weapons to fend off foes, which started to feel a little contrived and convenient personally. I actually see a lot of parallels with The Secret History in many parts to the story (aside from the trip to Hell, that is).

Kuang has a very assured and unusual take on what Hell could be like in Katabasis, that is unconventional but works in the context of the story. Rather than your stereotypical fire and demons, Hell is a reflection of its inhabitants, and will look slightly different depending on your personality and desires, and the time period in which you’re born. In fact, Hell is discussed in such an academic and measured way that it starts to feel realistic in places! I do admit the setting of Hell let me down a little bit, as I feel the element of danger was dampened; the descriptions of characters feeling fear and dread just wasn’t matched by the descriptions of their surroundings for me.

I went back and forth on the romance elements to the story; without spoiling anything, by the end of the book I’d say it's a strong relationship arc, but I didn’t like the way it was executed. Key information determining the character motivations and actions is withheld early on in the story for the purpose of having plot twist reveals later on in the story. I feel this really impacts the start of the book, with Alice and Peter’s rivalry feeling artificially created without any context. It requires a leap of faith to trust the author that friction between characters will eventually be explained, and although it ultimately was, I wasn’t sure from the beginning that would be the case.

Kuang truly is a remarkably brilliant writer. From the opening page, I was hooked. The way she plays with words and phrases, allowing them to hold so much power and intellect, will always be mesmerising for me.

Katabasis is a descent into hell, with deep philosophical musings, a thorough criticism towards academia, and one hell of a heartbreaking love story.

Journeying through hell with Alice and Peter felt like a catastrophic vacation with those two friends who keep denying how they feel about each other. There was so much to unpack and take away from each page, as we dive deeper into what has led them both to hell, and its a journey on so many different levels.

Is it too soon to read it again?