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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU, WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!!!
nagyon fájdalmas ennek ilyen rossz értékelést adni mert imádom az írót meg sztory koncepcióját is, ha valaki egy héttel ezelőtt azt mondta volna hogy ez nem fog 5 csillagot kapni tőlem kinevettem volna and yet here we are…
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is simultaneously a love letter to studying and falling down research rabbit holes, and perhaps its complete opposite. There's something bittersweet about how Kuang represents academia here, this beautiful, brutal world of intellectual pursuit, and I absolutely adored that tension. I think this book will draw in anyone who gets genuinely excited about researching obscure theories and losing themselves in ideas that most people would find incomprehensible.
In some ways, Kuang is deliberately opening you up to fall down her own rabbit hole. I certainly did, and now have an entire list of theories about hell that I'm desperate to research. I loved the unflinching discussion of entering academia with no money, that particular desperation of someone who wants to succeed more than anything but is constantly reminded of how precarious their position really is. And there was Kuang's usual sharp wit throughout. If you're a UK reader, the Oxford Brookes joke absolutely got me.
The pacing worked brilliantly at the beginning, especially if you're approaching this as fantasy (though I'm not sure I'd define it that way). The knowledge dumping was surprisingly well handled and never felt overwhelming, despite the constant references to theories and scholars (are they all necessary? Probably not, but it's satisfying to cling to the ones you recognise). I particularly enjoyed the Socrates slander.
Honestly, I thought this was heading toward five-star territory. But somewhere around the halfway mark, I stopped getting those giddy feelings and everything felt a bit stagnant. It missed what Babel had: those relationships and character dynamics that kept your pulse racing. Alice and Peter had so much promise together, but we just didn't seem to get enough of that connection.
I'd recommend going into this reading it as a love story about academia itself, and considering whether Kuang is presenting this world as utopia or dystopia. Maybe it's both.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think my haste to devour this book was misguided. This is a story that requires patience and to be savoured, to appreciate the slow unravelling of its characters in their entirety. We are thrown straight into Hell without much preamble, but I did nevertheless find the first hundred page or so a little slow, and much of that may have been adjusting to my expectations for this book. But then I became more familiar with Alice and Peter. There is no doubt that this is a character-driven story and became infinitely more enjoyable once I slowed down, allowed myself to be taken on Alice's journey through Hell as she reclaimed her sense of self so deeply entangled with the cutthroat world of academia.
Alice, our hero. She is completely delusional, has a stiff upper lip mentality that made it hard to connect with her at the beginning, but her character arc was one of the highlights of Katabasis for me. We get to hear her innermost thoughts and slowly delve into her backstory throughout the journey, see her toxic relationship with her advisor, Professor Jacob Grimes. I loved this twisted dynamic. She worships him, craves his attention and adulation. As Elspeth (one of my favourite characters that we meet in Hell) says—'...he was the perfect incarnation of the system's nonsense.'
And what a system it is. Set in an alternate 1980s Cambridge, Kuang doesn't hold back with her criticisms of academic institutions and the setting works perfectly to amplify the very prevalent prejudices (particularly sexism). A lot of the usual anger from her criticisms of colonialism in Babel and The Poppy War felt missing in Katabasis, instead bleeding a bone-deep fatigue through every page.
This is obviously a very personal story for Kuang, which particularly shines through in the love she showed Peter and Alice. We only get one chapter of Peter's pov but it is a heartfelt one.
As for Hell itself, yes there were fascinating creatures of myth and legend and nonsensical landscapes that boggled the mind. Thought much of it did appear as an expanse of sand duns which became a bit repetitive after a while. I enjoyed all the characters we meet in Hell, providing humour and dread in equal measure. One scene I want to bring up is one involving Cerberus which was both funny and disturbing and dipped into the terrifying expanse of eternity, which I personally loved.
ᴘᴀɪɴ ɪꜱ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪꜰ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛɪɴɢ.
And I'd be remiss if I weren't to mention the magic in Katabasis. Based on paradoxes ('linguistic trickery, logical conundrums'), it's seamlessly woven into this alternate history. It's so unique and so well thought out.
ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ɪᴛ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄᴋ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴡɪꜱʜ, ᴀ ᴘʀᴀʏᴇʀ, ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴀɴᴄʜᴏʀɪɴɢ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. ꜱᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴʜᴏᴏᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ꜱᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴄᴏʜᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ꜱᴜʙᴊᴇᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ. ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʀᴀɢᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴘʟᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ.
I loved the extra information we got, the nods to various religious and literary depictions of Hell. I'm not a mathematician, nor a philosopher, but I didn't feel burdened or confused at any point; I think this is part of the reason this book should be savoured, to allow for diversions, to research every detail to fill in the gaps. Katabasis is so well researched and so rich in this detail that it deserves such attention. I can't wait to do a re-read one day, I think I'll enjoy it even more.
Alice, our hero. She is completely delusional, has a stiff upper lip mentality that made it hard to connect with her at the beginning, but her character arc was one of the highlights of Katabasis for me. We get to hear her innermost thoughts and slowly delve into her backstory throughout the journey, see her toxic relationship with her advisor, Professor Jacob Grimes. I loved this twisted dynamic. She worships him, craves his attention and adulation. As Elspeth (one of my favourite characters that we meet in Hell) says—'...he was the perfect incarnation of the system's nonsense.'
And what a system it is. Set in an alternate 1980s Cambridge, Kuang doesn't hold back with her criticisms of academic institutions and the setting works perfectly to amplify the very prevalent prejudices (particularly sexism). A lot of the usual anger from her criticisms of colonialism in Babel and The Poppy War felt missing in Katabasis, instead bleeding a bone-deep fatigue through every page.
This is obviously a very personal story for Kuang, which particularly shines through in the love she showed Peter and Alice. We only get one chapter of Peter's pov but it is a heartfelt one.
As for Hell itself, yes there were fascinating creatures of myth and legend and nonsensical landscapes that boggled the mind. Thought much of it did appear as an expanse of sand duns which became a bit repetitive after a while. I enjoyed all the characters we meet in Hell, providing humour and dread in equal measure. One scene I want to bring up is one involving Cerberus which was both funny and disturbing and dipped into the terrifying expanse of eternity, which I personally loved.
ᴘᴀɪɴ ɪꜱ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪꜰ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛɪɴɢ.
And I'd be remiss if I weren't to mention the magic in Katabasis. Based on paradoxes ('linguistic trickery, logical conundrums'), it's seamlessly woven into this alternate history. It's so unique and so well thought out.
ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ɪᴛ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄᴋ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴡɪꜱʜ, ᴀ ᴘʀᴀʏᴇʀ, ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴀɴᴄʜᴏʀɪɴɢ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. ꜱᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴʜᴏᴏᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ꜱᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴄᴏʜᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ꜱᴜʙᴊᴇᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ. ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʀᴀɢᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴘʟᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ.
I loved the extra information we got, the nods to various religious and literary depictions of Hell. I'm not a mathematician, nor a philosopher, but I didn't feel burdened or confused at any point; I think this is part of the reason this book should be savoured, to allow for diversions, to research every detail to fill in the gaps. Katabasis is so well researched and so rich in this detail that it deserves such attention. I can't wait to do a re-read one day, I think I'll enjoy it even more.
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-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
Great concept for a book, but somewhat lacking in execution. Alice and Peter, two magical Cambridge PHD students, decide to go to Hell (Dante and Greek version of it) to find their recently deceased professor to get a recommendation that will propel their career.
I think it's intentionally absurd that someone would choose to go to hell for a professor recommendation especially since the sacrifice required to make the journey is half your remaining life. The book is a metaphor and commentary on the life of academia, particularly PHD programs and the sacrifice students make. But much like RF Kuang's other work, the commentary is very surface level and gets its point across very quickly.
This would be fine, but unlike Yellowface which is a standard length novel, this clocks in at 540 pages or 18.5 hour audiobook. And my biggest problem with the book is it starts off great, but quickly gets dull with moments of interesting passages sprinkled throughout. The main problem of the book is the setting. Hell has never been so mundane. If you're expecting scary, and unsettling, or even otherwordly, you will get hardly any of that. Instead Alice and Peter stumble their way through the eight levels of hell reflecting on their lives and past decisions. The parts I actually enjoyed were the flashbacks. The Cambridge settings was far more compelling than Hell, and I don't think that was the author's intention.
The setting should have been far grander, but instead I felt nothing. This book might have been stronger if you just scrapped the hell part and focused on the conflict with professorial advisor at Cambridge and reduce the book length by 25%.
And the ending was completely predictable so lacked any emotional impact.
Despite the plot being mediocre, I did find myself interested in Alice's and Peter's life and the quality of the writing was generally good. This is why I'm giving this book 3 stars rather than 2. I overall enjoyed it for what it was, but the book could have been far more entertaining given its premise.
I think it's intentionally absurd that someone would choose to go to hell for a professor recommendation especially since the sacrifice required to make the journey is half your remaining life. The book is a metaphor and commentary on the life of academia, particularly PHD programs and the sacrifice students make. But much like RF Kuang's other work, the commentary is very surface level and gets its point across very quickly.
This would be fine, but unlike Yellowface which is a standard length novel, this clocks in at 540 pages or 18.5 hour audiobook. And my biggest problem with the book is it starts off great, but quickly gets dull with moments of interesting passages sprinkled throughout. The main problem of the book is the setting. Hell has never been so mundane. If you're expecting scary, and unsettling, or even otherwordly, you will get hardly any of that. Instead Alice and Peter stumble their way through the eight levels of hell reflecting on their lives and past decisions. The parts I actually enjoyed were the flashbacks. The Cambridge settings was far more compelling than Hell, and I don't think that was the author's intention.
The setting should have been far grander, but instead I felt nothing. This book might have been stronger if you just scrapped the hell part and focused on the conflict with professorial advisor at Cambridge and reduce the book length by 25%.
And the ending was completely predictable so lacked any emotional impact.
Despite the plot being mediocre, I did find myself interested in Alice's and Peter's life and the quality of the writing was generally good. This is why I'm giving this book 3 stars rather than 2. I overall enjoyed it for what it was, but the book could have been far more entertaining given its premise.
Big question! Spoiler: the ending. Please somebody explain:
How did she pull him back if supposedly those who die *in* hell don’t linger in hell or reincarnate? Aka his soul is forever gone? How is it possible to bring him back then, if the entire premise was that you need to find a soul of the being you draw the circle on in hell?
Other than that, the philosophy of it all didn’t make sense, Alice didn’t know what she actually feels and when she finally faces the truth it’s abrupt and sudden, and it was so so boring.
How did she pull him back if supposedly those who die *in* hell don’t linger in hell or reincarnate? Aka his soul is forever gone? How is it possible to bring him back then, if the entire premise was that you need to find a soul of the being you draw the circle on in hell?
Other than that, the philosophy of it all didn’t make sense, Alice didn’t know what she actually feels and when she finally faces the truth it’s abrupt and sudden, and it was so so boring.
R. F. Kuang once again writes a great dark academia that in my opinion is just the right amount of nerdy. I loved this story and the execution. The 0.25 stars missing are from the pacing between Peter's death and Elspeth returning as well as the cat scene. Otherwise very happy with the release and who knew she could give us a happy ending