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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Thanks to HarperVoyager for letting me read and review this book early. All thoughts are my own!!
I think this shouldn’t have been my introduction to R.F. Kuang’s writing because I don’t particularly enjoy this writing style. I knew going into this that it was going to be pretty academically heavy, so I was prepared for that. And that’s not even my issue with her writing style. I didn’t mind the info-dumping aspect of this book.
What bothered me was how we’d finally start getting some plot, just to immediately cut to more information dumping. I’d finally get reoriented into the story, and it would go right back to explaining theory or paradox. I liked getting that information, but I would’ve preferred to get it from the characters and not this removed narrator.
There was also an extreme amount of past world building, where we got a lot of exposition about the characters’ past to build up their dynamics and characters, but it was taking me out of the story so hard that I could not convince myself to care. We get little to no information about Peter until like 60%, where we get literally every fact about him ever all at once. The amount of times we cut back to a past event or interaction when we could’ve been building current plot of them in hell was TOO MANY TIMES.
I’ve also seen a lot of promotion for the romance plot line in this book, and it’s basically non-existent. I barely believed these characters loved each other because we spend so much of the book talking in circles about all of these theories and paradoxes and what not, that I forgot we were supposed to care about their dynamic at all.
I’m still interesting in reading more from this author, but this book was a miss for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the third book by R. F. Kaung that I have read, previously having read Bable and Yellowface, and just as with the first two this book is extremely different from her other works. Yet as a reader I am beginning to find through lines in her writing. Kaung writes characters who feel deeply complex and human, Kaung’s characters are not instantly likeable, but they are interesting and feel fully dimensional, and incredibly difficult line to toe in fiction. While the subjects of each of these books is vastly different I also get the sense that Kaung uses writing to tease out her own ideas and understandings around a subject, in some ways the reader and her characters are simply along for the ride.
Throughout reading Katabasis I couldn’t help but feel that this might be by far her most autobiographical work to date, there’s an article in the New Yorker about her that essentially confirms this, but I waited to read it until I’d finished the book. And I say this even knowing that The Poppy Wars contains a lot of personal family history.
I found this book slightly more difficult to get into initially than her other books that I have read, but by the end, certainly by the final quarter I found myself unable to put it down. I think this book really takes off, after we get through the first couple courts of Hell and then patterns begin to break down. As someone who works in academia, and has two advanced degrees myself this book at times felt searingly close to home and it is no surprise to me that someone who has been in these academic environments and is currently completing a Ph.D. from a very prestigious institution would write this way about academia. At points Katabasis reads like an author’s attempts to work through their own academic trauma, and the fact that most of the book takes place literally in Hell could feel slightly heavy handed in less self-aware hands.
This book seems to simultaneously grapple with big questions about the universe and what it means to live a “good life,” and what kinds of sacrifices are “worth it” in the pursuit of academic and intellectual excellence, while also attempting to answer far more personal questions about what education, intellect, and ambition are worth within the context of post secondary education and what achievement means on a personal level if one needs it to believe themselves happy.
I have a feeling this work is going to be more difficult for readers to connect with than her previous works, especially for those who may not have experience in higher education, but I still found it to be a deeply rewarding and satisfying read and would absolutely recommend it to readers.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝘆 𝗥𝗙 𝗞𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄
Every time I pick up a book by RF Kuang, I feel like she is welcoming me back with a warm embrace.
Katabasis is a greek word that means ‘descent.’ It’s usually used in reference to a hero’s journey into the underworld. In this case, RF Kuang used the word and title literally and metaphorically. We follow Alice Law & Peter Murdoch, academic rivals as they journey through hell on a mission to find the soul of their advisor, Professor Grimes. While the two are on this path to find their mentor, they are also on a psychologically path to explore and process their loss, grief, and identity.
This book is everything I want in a dark academia fantasy. A plot that is focus on the complexed characters’ thirst for knowledge that can be their own downfall. A romance subplot that didn’t take over plot. The commentary on how the academic institution can be its own hell. The need for academic validation and avoiding challenging the elitist and sexist faculty members to the point of overworking, prioritizing the intellect over your body, and even the delusion of searching for your professor’s soul for further validation. Resulting too, in your own psychological hell with crippling mental health issues, stress, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts.
I did prep for this read by reading:
-cliff notes on Dante’s Inferno
-Piranesi by Susanna Clark
Do you need to prep for katabasis? No, you don’t.
Do you want a richer reading experience? Then brush up on Dante’s Inferno and consider reading Piranesi for the similar mental experience.
Katabasis was such a mental stimulating read that had me immersed in the descent into the underworld while making sense of my own internal world.
Thank you @harpervoyagerus for the eARC. I truly enjoyed the read and I cannot wait to meet queen Rebecca soon!
Every time I pick up a book by RF Kuang, I feel like she is welcoming me back with a warm embrace.
Katabasis is a greek word that means ‘descent.’ It’s usually used in reference to a hero’s journey into the underworld. In this case, RF Kuang used the word and title literally and metaphorically. We follow Alice Law & Peter Murdoch, academic rivals as they journey through hell on a mission to find the soul of their advisor, Professor Grimes. While the two are on this path to find their mentor, they are also on a psychologically path to explore and process their loss, grief, and identity.
This book is everything I want in a dark academia fantasy. A plot that is focus on the complexed characters’ thirst for knowledge that can be their own downfall. A romance subplot that didn’t take over plot. The commentary on how the academic institution can be its own hell. The need for academic validation and avoiding challenging the elitist and sexist faculty members to the point of overworking, prioritizing the intellect over your body, and even the delusion of searching for your professor’s soul for further validation. Resulting too, in your own psychological hell with crippling mental health issues, stress, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts.
I did prep for this read by reading:
-cliff notes on Dante’s Inferno
-Piranesi by Susanna Clark
Do you need to prep for katabasis? No, you don’t.
Do you want a richer reading experience? Then brush up on Dante’s Inferno and consider reading Piranesi for the similar mental experience.
Katabasis was such a mental stimulating read that had me immersed in the descent into the underworld while making sense of my own internal world.
Thank you @harpervoyagerus for the eARC. I truly enjoyed the read and I cannot wait to meet queen Rebecca soon!