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Katabasis

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What to expect

Prepare for one hell of a journey…

'A big, bold fantasy romp' GUARDIAN

'R.F. Kuang is making magic' ELLE

'[A] truly original and spellbinding hero's-journey story' VOGUE

'I devoured it' RED

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick.

But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and – inconveniently – in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him.

But Hell is not as the philosophers claim, its rules are upside-down, and if she’s going to get out of there alive, she and Peter will have to work together.

That’s if they can agree on anything.

Will they triumph, or kill each other trying?

2025’s most unexpected love story is going to be hell in the new No.1 Sunday Times bestselling novel by R.F. Kuang.

'Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach' THE HERALD

‘Mind-bending fantasy’ GRAZIA

Critics Review

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‘It’s Dante’s Inferno meets The Secret History and it’s at the top of our read-next pile’ Elle

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'A novel to savour … I envy those who get to read it for the first time' Rebecca Ross

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'A witty, gory, harrowing ride' Leigh Bardugo

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'A formidable, timeless work, destined to be a modern classic' Olivie Blake

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‘A sprawling, erudite tale of magic … teeming with intelligence, ideas and humour’ Marie Claire

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'The unrolling of a daring concept' Daily Mail

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'An arresting and deeply affecting novel' SFX

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'A rich novel of romance, history and magic’ iPaper

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'An immersive, worldbuilding adventure … I devoured it' Red

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'Profound … Linger[s] on the mind' New Statesmen

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'Bitingly funny dark academia' Arts Hub

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n KATABASIS IS A RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB SUMMER SELECTION, ELLE'S BOOK OF THE MONTH, AND INCLUDED IN THE GUARDIAN'S ROUND-UP OF MOST ANTICIPATED 2025 FICTION.n

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n BABEL WAS A BRITISH BOOK OF THE YEAR, BLACKWELL’S BOOK OF THE YEAR, A WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR FINALIST AND THE DAILY MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2022n

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User Reviews

Book 3.5
Narration 5.0
2.0
5.0
I really tried to like it because the set up is so clever and original but I guess I am not the target group. It seems to be written for a much younger, US based audience. I just felt I was being spoon fed things that I would have preferred to work out myself, got bored of the many clichés, and I had no patience for the main characters constant overthinking and overcomplicating their lives.

But like I said, I am just the wrong demographic. And I genuinely hope lots of others enjoy the book because the premise is brilliant.
fluentindothraki 14/09/2025
5.0
5.0
zaharya 14/09/2025

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