Katabasis

August 22, 2025 / August 22, 2025 by Star Cat Books | Leave a comment

Katabasis, by R. F. Kuang, is a story about two graduate students who use “Magick” to venture to the uniquely imagined depths of hell crafted by Kuang in order to rescue their doctoral thesis advisor who was mysteriously found not just dead, but torn to pieces atop a chalked alchemical circle the main charater had been working on as part of her thesis. Her nemesis in the Practical Magick department (which, by the way, is looked down on as child’s play by the Theoretical Magick department), a young man, catches her after the funeral working furiously on white boards with various equations and realizes what she’s doing. Really, what any doctoral candidate who’s worked her ass off to go through Yale, get into Oxford (as an American student), and has her thesis advisor die: she’s going to go to hell to get him back.

But it is so much more than this seemingly straightforward plot. It is intellectual and existential without being boring or pretentious. Dante, other belief systems of hell, and non-Euclidean geometry enter the game as they travel the levels of hell, sure their surly, acerbic professor would move through the circles to the center of hell as fast as he could. The characters are lovable, except when they’re not, and the plot is gripping, guaranteeing to leave you on the edge of your seat. Kuang has an amazing ability to create beautiful fantastical worlds while writing stories that leave you with new questions and ideas about the real world. Katabasis is no exception to this genius. 

Come to our adorable local bookstore in scenic Bradford, Vermont, located near Dartmouth College and get your copy. We will have the deluxe editions that will also be a first edition and first printing. It is available for pre-order on Bookshop.org now and will be in stores on August 26. You will also get to meet our resident bookstore cat, Wesley!