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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This was certainly an interesting read. The theories of hell were unique and I definitely learned a lot about mathematics and logic puzzles. The setting is easily the star of this novel.
This work started with a bang, but then moved into a crawl. Things picked back up around the last third and stayed interesting until the end. My main problem was with the characters. I enjoy an unlikable character, but I found Alice and Peter to be so uninteresting until deep into the novel. Hard to stay invested when the characters themselves are insipid.
Overall I did really enjoy the world R F Kuang created and was back engaged by the end of this book. I’d recommend it to fantasy fans - particularly those interested in logic/philosophy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for access to this eARC. All opinions are my own.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
The book itself is great. The pacing is my biggest issue: things that feel like they should be lingered on aren’t. I’m hoping that I can give this another crack at some point because I genuinely loved what I’d read up until I stopped.
I don’t have words, at the moment, to describe how wondrous this book is.
In case you’re late to the party R. F. mf Kuang is a fucking genius. she plottin and trottin and world building like it’s nobody’s business. and the amount of research she conveys with seamless non overwhelming references … chefs kiss.
thy characters: Alice law. Peter Murdoch. Elspith. GRADUS.
oh how we get the pleasure of Alice’s devils advocacy for majority of the book to then find a sliver of a meaning to atone for herself. how she unintentionally incites change and then balks at the why but walks away with only a feeling of understanding and not a reason and that’s enough! how her and Peter go from strictly last names to delicate firsts. the underlying usage of if you truly love something you must let it go for if it’s truly loves you back it will return.
also the way kuang only writes gradus in for a short time but the IMPACT of his character, my heart.
tears so many tears. I cannot wait to journey through hell again
more to come when I’m done sifting through my feelings
thy characters: Alice law. Peter Murdoch. Elspith. GRADUS.
oh how we get the pleasure of Alice’s devils advocacy for majority of the book to then find a sliver of a meaning to atone for herself. how she unintentionally incites change and then balks at the why but walks away with only a feeling of understanding and not a reason and that’s enough! how her and Peter go from strictly last names to delicate firsts. the underlying usage of if you truly love something you must let it go for if it’s truly loves you back it will return.
also the way kuang only writes gradus in for a short time but the IMPACT of his character, my heart.
tears so many tears. I cannot wait to journey through hell again
more to come when I’m done sifting through my feelings
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As someone who has liked, but not loved, some of Kuang’s other works, I went into this knowing there was a chance it would let me down.
However, I think Katabasis blew my expectations out of the water. As someone involved in academia, I thought this was such an innovative way to describe Hell.
I get why this might not be for everyone and why it hasn’t lived up to everyone’s expectations. For me, I loved how Kuang shaped her version of Hell. I loved Peter and Alice, and I thought the character work was top notch. As always, Kuang’s writing was great.
The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because I would have liked a little more thorough explanation of Hell at some points; some of the Courts (or “Circles” if you want to look at it through a Dante lens) weren’t differentiated enough and started to blur together.
If you are looking for a book with insane and intense Hell descriptions, Katabasis isn’t probably for you. However, if you want a book with in-depth character studies that slowly get revealed because of a journey through Hell, then pick up Katabasis as soon as possible.
Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
However, I think Katabasis blew my expectations out of the water. As someone involved in academia, I thought this was such an innovative way to describe Hell.
I get why this might not be for everyone and why it hasn’t lived up to everyone’s expectations. For me, I loved how Kuang shaped her version of Hell. I loved Peter and Alice, and I thought the character work was top notch. As always, Kuang’s writing was great.
The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because I would have liked a little more thorough explanation of Hell at some points; some of the Courts (or “Circles” if you want to look at it through a Dante lens) weren’t differentiated enough and started to blur together.
If you are looking for a book with insane and intense Hell descriptions, Katabasis isn’t probably for you. However, if you want a book with in-depth character studies that slowly get revealed because of a journey through Hell, then pick up Katabasis as soon as possible.
Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
R.F. Kuang is an insanely smart individual. For the first half of the book I felt like I was just inundated with so much information that sometimes I felt like my eyes were glazing over. While interesting I really wanted more story and not so much academia. But there is so much academia in this book. Babel I ate up. I loved it. I really enjoyed Katabasis. But it took me a while to really start enjoying myself. And I am not going to lie it took me about half way through the book to get to that point.
If you have seen any of the interviews done with her you will know she took some math classes with I believe her editors, or someone she works with, husband for parts of this book. And while I did extremely well in my time in high school and college with math those were the particular parts I personally did not enjoy. While interesting I just wanted to get through to them.
The characters…at first I fund every single one insufferable. I did not like anyone. Peter and Alice are basically academic rivals. When their professor who is also their mentor dies they both go to hell to retrieve him. That is the premise of this book But I found the points of the book that really shined for me is when I got more back ground information on the characters themselves individually and how they fit together int he past before they got to the point to their decent.
All in all I am still rating it high because the last half clutched it more for me. I am a rereader…will I reread this? Only if I have the audiobook more than likely to help me get through that first half. I am also interested to see if the narrator(s), I haven’t really looked it up, bring anything extra to the book with their performance.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you have seen any of the interviews done with her you will know she took some math classes with I believe her editors, or someone she works with, husband for parts of this book. And while I did extremely well in my time in high school and college with math those were the particular parts I personally did not enjoy. While interesting I just wanted to get through to them.
The characters…at first I fund every single one insufferable. I did not like anyone. Peter and Alice are basically academic rivals. When their professor who is also their mentor dies they both go to hell to retrieve him. That is the premise of this book But I found the points of the book that really shined for me is when I got more back ground information on the characters themselves individually and how they fit together int he past before they got to the point to their decent.
All in all I am still rating it high because the last half clutched it more for me. I am a rereader…will I reread this? Only if I have the audiobook more than likely to help me get through that first half. I am also interested to see if the narrator(s), I haven’t really looked it up, bring anything extra to the book with their performance.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.