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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I need a lifetime to process this. I obviously love Rebecca's writing style, even though I don’t understand most of it!
adventurous
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
First off, I wouldn't call this a romance book, although the romantic relationship is fronted a lot more than anything else Kuang has written, and it's integral to the ending.
I wanted more of the flashbacks. I wanted more growing hatred and spite prior to Grimes’ death. The entire journey through hell felt very linear — one thing happened, and then the next, and oh no they're trapped, and then another thing happened. I wanted twisting and gorey and surreal rather than a modernization of the inferno. I wanted Annihilation-esque distortion.
I personally do love Alice’s character — Kuang is so good at writing feral women who have never done anything halfway ever and will lay down their soul and sanity for nothing less than acclaim and recognition. Alice’s debilitating fear of failure is what kept me going through this book that felt merely procedural at times.
I liked the ending, but I needed more than just those last 100 pages — Babel also suffers from this, I feel, and it almost comes off as low-stakes until the peak of the action(Alice’s meeting with Yama).
Elspeth was another standout to me, even if she is used as a mere foil to Alice — depression to her mania, the saying “fuck it” and letting go to Alice's “I will burn hell to the ground to graduate”.
i really did enjoy the philosophy-based magic system and all the references to classical philosophy and mythology. Even if it feels like an infodump at times. Even if Kuang comes off as pretentious and just flexing her Ivy-league wings -- that's part of why I like her writing: it engages with those concepts that have stuck in my head since intro to ancient philosophy, that when you finally understand them you have that “oh YEAH” moment. And I liked seeing those integrated into an adventurous story. It will resonate with those who have ever felt themselves pulled into the obsession of academia, unable to stop lest they lose their train of thought that might be The Idea.
it was a mix of hits and misses for me, but I did enjoy the majority of the time I spent reading it.
I wanted more of the flashbacks. I wanted more growing hatred and spite prior to Grimes’ death. The entire journey through hell felt very linear — one thing happened, and then the next, and oh no they're trapped, and then another thing happened. I wanted twisting and gorey and surreal rather than a modernization of the inferno. I wanted Annihilation-esque distortion.
I personally do love Alice’s character — Kuang is so good at writing feral women who have never done anything halfway ever and will lay down their soul and sanity for nothing less than acclaim and recognition. Alice’s debilitating fear of failure is what kept me going through this book that felt merely procedural at times.
I liked the ending, but I needed more than just those last 100 pages — Babel also suffers from this, I feel, and it almost comes off as low-stakes until the peak of the action
Elspeth was another standout to me, even if she is used as a mere foil to Alice — depression to her mania, the saying “fuck it” and letting go to Alice's “I will burn hell to the ground to graduate”.
i really did enjoy the philosophy-based magic system and all the references to classical philosophy and mythology. Even if it feels like an infodump at times. Even if Kuang comes off as pretentious and just flexing her Ivy-league wings -- that's part of why I like her writing: it engages with those concepts that have stuck in my head since intro to ancient philosophy, that when you finally understand them you have that “oh YEAH” moment. And I liked seeing those integrated into an adventurous story. It will resonate with those who have ever felt themselves pulled into the obsession of academia, unable to stop lest they lose their train of thought that might be The Idea.
it was a mix of hits and misses for me, but I did enjoy the majority of the time I spent reading it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
almost didn’t pass the Bechtel test, but like that’s the point isn’t it?
Hands down my favorite Kuang so far. It’s absolutely brutal and grisly and visceral in the way Kuang always is — but underneath it all, there is this decadent life force that feels very distinct from her other works.
Alice & Peter are so believable, even in the moments when they’re clearly being caricatures of academics & the way I was constantly teetering between rolling my eyes at them and crying for them gave me a fabulous headache.
I’m always emotionally miserable when reading anything by Kuang (which is undeniably part of her appeal) & while that didn’t change with Katabasis, this was a type of misery that I would happily go through again.
Hands down my favorite Kuang so far. It’s absolutely brutal and grisly and visceral in the way Kuang always is — but underneath it all, there is this decadent life force that feels very distinct from her other works.
Alice & Peter are so believable, even in the moments when they’re clearly being caricatures of academics & the way I was constantly teetering between rolling my eyes at them and crying for them gave me a fabulous headache.
I’m always emotionally miserable when reading anything by Kuang (which is undeniably part of her appeal) & while that didn’t change with Katabasis, this was a type of misery that I would happily go through again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Every time I clock in to read an R.F. Kuang novel I have the same thought: Maybe I should return to get my doctorate. As I’m reading, however, I’m all at once reminded of the Horrors that exist within academia. Then I read a little more and think: Maybe I should go back! Repeat until I’ve finished the book. Katabasis is such a fascinating read, not just for its contents but for R.F. Kuang’s unerring ability to blend fiction and her obvious meticulous research of the concepts she includes in her books. The way her mind works is just incredible. She always circumvents the narrative you expect from reading the synopsis of her books. I found Alice to be a fascinating narrator, and I kept thinking about what a room with Alice, Robin, June, and Rin would look like. I absolutely would watch from a very far distance. This book was beautiful, harrowing, heart-wrenching, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time to come. Shout out to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC!