Katabasis

Loved this book. It was dark, witty and thought-provoking. Alice was a memorable FMC, flawed and an unreliable narrator of her own story but I still was rooting for her to get past her own demons and realise what truly mattered in life. Peter and Elspeth were great supporting characters. Shocked when Peter died but so glad at the end when Alice used the exchange spell to bring him back and Grimes got what he deserved!

This book is a little hard to review because it had so many things going on at once. It is an academic fantasy in which mythology and classical literature are presented as fact. Magic exists and is manifested through the understanding and use of logic and understanding of mythology and literature. The main characters, Alice and Peter, must journey through Hell in an attempt to find their dead Professor, but on their journey, they end up learning a lot about themselves and each other including Alice's journey in accepting and coping with her own trauma. I really enjoyed the unique way in which Kuang chose to present this story, using understanding of science, mathematics, literature, mythology, and philosophy to make the characters world see so immersive.

4 stars A tale that explores the light and dark sides of academia and takes a journey into the depths of Hell, all while being a story of love at its core. The love of knowledge, love of the heart, and a desire for understanding the complexities of life and what comes after. For the majority, I found the writing to be quite lovely, flowing in a way that made this substantial tome seem not so sizable. At other times though it felt esoteric with its deeply academic focus on Paradoxes and Mathematics. I did enjoy the way that the author blended academics with fantasy. While one is so solidly based in facts and proofs, the other is steeped in mystery and magic. Katabasis is an amalgamation of dark academia, horror, historical fantasy, and a rivals-to-lovers romance. If you are looking for romance with bedroom scenes and spice, this is not that kind of book. The academic and fantasy elements are predominant, where the love story takes on more of a supporting role. I started off reading the digital ARC but I made the switch to audio once available. I really enjoyed the dual narration and felt that I was able to better connect with story. Many thanks to Edelweiss and Harper Voyager of HarperCollins for the digital Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and all the associated lore. The characters were interesting and I loved how their context was drop-fed to readers throughout. The plot didn’t feel too fast or slow - just right. I mostly adored it because I work within a university context and felt that Kuang perfectly summarised what that feels like and what impact that has on academic staff. A great read overall!