R. F. Kuang's Fantasy Novel “Katabáze” Reviewed

R. F. Kuang’s latest novel Katabáze continues her dark‑academia fantasy series, sending two Cambridge doctoral students, Alice and Peter, on a perilous journey into a version of hell. The narrative blends magical practice with formal logic, mathematics, and linguistic theory, using paradoxes as spell components. Alice, an assistant to the charismatic yet arrogant Professor Grimes, feels responsible for his death in a botched ritual and decides to venture into the infernal realm to seek his guidance.

The book follows Kuang’s earlier works Babylon and The Poppy War, shifting from colonial‑thematic critique to an academically‑set quest. Reviewers note the novel’s heavy intellectual exposition, frequent references to Dante, Greek myth, Buddhist texts, and its mix of fantasy with scholarly satire. While praised for originality, some criticize its rapid writing and limited emotional space.