11-13-2025, 11:10 AM
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
First off, this was a slog for me. Maybe I'm not smart enough to get all of Kuang's allusions to Cambridge and PHds and all the different works that describe hell. I keep falling for the premises of her books but forgetting they don't pay off. I read the first book in the Poppy War and wasn't thrilled. I read Babel having forgotten about Poppy War and here we are again with Katabasis. I read a bit and then I realized I'd Kuanged again. I have to pay more attention.
Two PhD students in the magic program at Cambridge accidentally (or maybe not) kill their gifted and hated mentor. But they need him to sign off on their papers for their PhDs so they decide to go to hell to get him back. Naturally the two students hate each other (or do they?) but agree to work together as they go through the nine levels. There is lots of allusions to Dante and his journey. They talk about many different versions of hell around the world. It's a lot of the two of them walking and hating each other and bumping into the different denizens of hell.
First off, this was a slog for me. Maybe I'm not smart enough to get all of Kuang's allusions to Cambridge and PHds and all the different works that describe hell. I keep falling for the premises of her books but forgetting they don't pay off. I read the first book in the Poppy War and wasn't thrilled. I read Babel having forgotten about Poppy War and here we are again with Katabasis. I read a bit and then I realized I'd Kuanged again. I have to pay more attention.
Two PhD students in the magic program at Cambridge accidentally (or maybe not) kill their gifted and hated mentor. But they need him to sign off on their papers for their PhDs so they decide to go to hell to get him back. Naturally the two students hate each other (or do they?) but agree to work together as they go through the nine levels. There is lots of allusions to Dante and his journey. They talk about many different versions of hell around the world. It's a lot of the two of them walking and hating each other and bumping into the different denizens of hell.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm