A review by cc_shelflove
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

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

2.0

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

Where to begin? At times I was confused what type of book I was reading: an academic paper, literary fiction, a dark fairytale, a Stephen King-esque horror novel—bone creatures, anyone? Unfortunately, it was often like Michael Scott’s Tube City: chaos and nonsense. Yes, I loved the magic system of the pentagrams and thought it was a cool study for Alice to undertake. To be candid, the ending was pretty solid, but it took wayyyyyyy too much time and effort to get there. I truly suffered through pages of dialogue that meant nothing, and I met a bunch of characters who literally did not matter at all. Kuang had me on an adventure and then she lost me. This could have been edited down to 350 pages IMO. The payoff was simply not worth it.

“Those who had nothing substantial to brag about bragged the loudest. Stay silent and ignore the chattering crowd—this was proof you had something real to be proud of.”
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