A review by thatweirdbookgirlie
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Things I liked:

• Kuang is in her element, using her academic knowledge to discuss traveling through Hell. For some readers, I can see this being a lot, but for me I adored the heavy use of this academic background.
• Despite being heavy on academics, this was a fairly quick read. Kuang kept me engaged throughout the story to be able to read long chunks at a time. 
• The Magick system feels so unique. From logic puzzles, to imbued chalk, this felt original.
• Kuang looks at abuse of power in the academic world, which is such an important topic. And this means not only sexual abuse, but things like unpaid labor, stealing research, etc etc. 

Things I disliked:

• I didn't really see the
  love between Alice and Peter. They truly just seemed more like academic rivals, maybe friends.
  Maybe characters just needed to be fleshed out more for me to enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.