Had I read it in time, today’s #spellbooksaturday would have been on my best of 2025 list, as I absolutely loved…
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
[Content warning: suicide & suicidal ideation, self-harm, sexual assault & grooming, abuse of power, sexism & misogyny, disordered eating, animal cruelty/death, violence & gore, etc.]
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams…. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion. With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like. But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
[source: bookshop.org]
Given that long list of content warnings, one might think this wouldn’t be my cup of tea, but gosh, I loved Katabasis, I think it was absolutely brilliant. Kuang’s world-building is impressive, and though her magical system didn’t feel as fully developed as in Babel, it was the way in which her characters unfold that is truly remarkable. [SPOILERS AHEAD] As a survivor myself, I found the gradual revelation of the abusive relationship to be both well-handled and nuanced— Alice’s initial unwillingness to recognize the grooming and abuse for what it was, the desire to see it as having some greater purpose and not just being the fluke of orbiting a terrible man, felt all-too-familiar. Along with brilliantly laying bare the misogyny of academia, there was a lot to process with what this book brought up, but Kuang is a gifted writer, handling these heavy topics with sensitivity and wit.
Have you read Katabasis? What were your thoughts? Share in the comments!
I have a Bookshop.org list of #spellbooksaturday features for folks to peruse, but in the spirit of transparency as a Bookshop.org affiliate, I receive a small percentage of book sales purchased through my links. If you find that off-putting, feel free to shop directly through bookshop.org or your own local bookseller! My only goal here is to resist Amazon and the mega-rich.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS SPELLBOOK SATURDAY FEATURE? SHOP THE LIST ON BOOKSHOP.ORG, OR CHECK OUT SOME MORE READING RECOMMENDATIONS…
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