From here she could see a whole teeming mass…running about the city like ants, all dedicated to the same pointless task. She stepped back. It felt good to escape above, free of the noise… “It’s lovely here,” she said.”
Go now. Find your peace… Let your mind wander. Skim like a dragonfly over the pool of your consciousness and let go… you can quiet your mind.
— R.F. Kuang, Katabasis: A Novel (William Morrow, August 26, 2025)
Notes:
- Caution: By no means are these two passages from this book representative of the story line.
- Philosophy, literary references, Greek mythology, magic, descent into the underworld – – “Katabasis” is a dark academia fantasy, not in my top 10 genres, but I loved this book.
- R.F. Kuang is 29 years old! Georgetown (BA), Cambridge (Masters in Philosophy), Oxford (MSC) and Yale. Brilliant and can write.
- Amazon Best Books of of September. NY Times 5 New Books We Love This Week.
- Reviews:
- NY Times: In ‘Katabasis,’ R.F. Kuang Takes Readers to Hell.
- The Guardian: “Katabasis — a descent into the hellscape of academia.“