Katabasis by R.F. Kuang: Review & Analysis

A hellish journey in more ways than one

Intro & Spoiler-Free Thoughts

A few weeks ago, I wrote about celebrity culture and particularly how it has shaped cultural perceptions of R.F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War trilogy, Babel, Yellowface and the newly released Katabasis. I concluded that industry practices were mostly to blame for a lot of the negativity toward Kuang and her work, and that it is important for us to build our own lives, communities and opinions if we’re going to stay sane in this chaotic world.

I think it’s important to restate that as a preface today, because upon finally reading the book it turns out I have very mixed feelings about Katabasis. In particular, half of this book seems like it was written by the Kuang I’ve come to know and love over the course of her other novels, while the remainder may as well have been written by someone else entirely.

It’s not a matter of a certain POV or timeline or choice as is the case with many books I become so divided on; it simply reads to me like Kuang lost her driving spark of interest at a (very specific) point and from then on wrapped things up as rote and straightforwardly as possible.

That’s not to say the first half wasn't enjoyable: Kuang is in her element with a fresh magic system and mysteries piled atop even darker mysteries. I think if you’ve liked her other books, you’ll like it. Just don’t go in expecting too much of the third act, and hopefully you won’t be disappointed.

My experience of the novel may also have been influenced by hearing Kuang speak about it beforehand, in a conversation that spoiled me on a couple of significant moments which might otherwise have aided in my enjoyment of the text. So consider reading it before proceeding into spoiler territory with me.

Cover of Katabasis, art by Patrick Arrasmith

Summary & Spoilery Thoughts

Katabasis follows Alice Law and Peter Murdoch as they travel to Hell in search of their recently deceased professor and academic advisor, Jacob Grimes. The mere act of crossing the border between life and death costs them each half of their remaining lifespans, so they both must surely love the guy... right?

Not so much, as it turns out. Both Alice and Peter secretly have reason to utterly despise their professor, both blame themselves for his death and both are here with ulterior motives. Peter's is at least noble, if idiotic: reach the mythical Lord Yama and trade his own soul for that of Grimes, out of love for Alice. Alice's is simply to bring Grimes back in a malformed semblance of life and torture him for as long as she can manage.

They travel through Hell, spending some time debating about the physics of the plane and encountering the shades of souls making their own journeys through the afterlife. Kuang put a lot of thought into the first sections of Hell and it shows – especially when you compare it to the latter half, where the remaining Courts are simply deserts that Alice quickly meanders through on her way to follow the plot.

Alice and Peter meet Elspeth, a former student of Grimes who has managed to eke out a long-term existence here in Hell. From her they learn about the Kripkes, infamous magicians who have similarly come to live in Hell but who do so by becoming predators, in contrast to Elspeth's clever survival techniques. The protagonists then betray Elspeth for no particular reason, end up stranded in a bad spot, and confess their stories to one another.

And this is where the book loses me. Up until now, Alice and Peter's interactions had been dripping with tension and mistrust. Both characters had secrets, Grimes had his own mysterious aura, Hell itself was uncompromising and brutal. But all of that tonal work is suddenly burned away, like fog before the dawning sun, by having the characters exposit at each other for a few chapters.

To be clear, I do empathize with both characters' stories. The book makes you think Grimes is going to be abusive in every way except that one to Alice, right up until he is abusive in that way as well, and it's awful. I was sadly spoiled on Peter having a disability, which led me to expect something fairly different from Crohn's, but obviously doesn't detract from his experiences (and those of Kuang's husband, on whom this was based).

Technically the plot continues, I suppose. Alice and Peter get trapped again, this time he sacrifices himself for her at the very last second despite having hours or days to come up with the simple solution he ends up using. Alice travels to the City of Dis, then cleverly defeats the Kripkes using her torture spell and the River Lethe to great effect. Suddenly Elspeth reappears and gives Alice the incredibly powerful MacGuffin for no reason, which lets Alice go to Lord Yama, get Peter & her lifespan back, talk to Grimes' pathetic spirit and then bounce on outta there.

Admittedly, the section in Dis was a nice (if brief and tangential) return to form for the book. Alice encounters a group of shades who are philosophically against reincarnation, and have instead committed themselves to vegetative states until the end of time. The whole city is also built on an economy of thesis-writing, which nonetheless seems just as doomed as the writing attempts being made in the first Court.

Elspeth (before her random deus ex machina at the end) is another highlight, alongside the cat Archimedes who apparently finds his way in and out of Hell at his own whim. Likewise, the magic of paradoxes was a very fun idea – though I rarely found their use intuitive or believable, beyond having the effect needed for the plot at any given moment. The Lethe was also simply excellent, and I enjoyed the twist of Alice's tattoo interacting with it.

On the other hand, it just sucks to see zero queer representation or cultural commentary (beyond academia) in this book. It reminds me a smidge of The Atlas Six, which might be the most excoriating thing I've ever said on this blog. Despite all the philosophical discussion within, Katabasis doesn't really even offer a helpful moral beyond the love and romance of it all. Alice's victory over the Kripkes feels somewhat earned, but her and Peter's love somehow ensuring their survival is laughable – as is Elspeth giving them the MacGuffin after they betrayed her, quite frankly.

Alice and Peter, art for Fairyloot by polarts_, picture from metamorphobooks

Academic Hell

In the interview I saw her give (you can listen to it here), R.F. Kuang illuminated a lot of the background behind Katabasis' creation. She's currently pursuing her PhD alongside her husband, and is therefore bringing her own experiences in academia to the book. Her husband suffered severe health problems during a semester, which led to a long time which felt like literal hell to them both. She loves him, and this is partially a romance book dedicated to him and their relationship.

What comes through strongest in the text, in my opinion, is her observations into the lives of postgraduate and particularly PhD students. In the interview, she describes a social understanding that students should be ascended beyond their bodily functions: that it is seen as virtuous to have missed a night of sleep or a day of meals in wholehearted dedication to one's studies. She portrays this beautifully in Alice and Peter, who are fraying at the seams long before they literally throw half their lifespans away.

Kuang also describes this as being mostly performative, despite the perception. Grad students are only human, and that kind of behaviour will burn you out nearly instantly. She even says that many of the most successful grad students she's seen maintain physical hobbies like running or climbing, alternating their time between mind and body. And damn, I wish Alice and Peter had been able to reach this conclusion in the book.

Instead, their enlightenment mostly pertains to their relationship with Professor Grimes; starting off worshiping him despite his gross misconduct and ultimately realizing he too was merely human (if not worse, an even bleaker Gilderoy Lockhart). Kuang does also talk about the real world parallels, both in terms of academic celebrity and the danger of speaking out when your own name could come away even more tarnished.

But given how absurdly much it took Alice and Peter to lose their rose-coloured glasses for Grimes, I have little confidence that they won't simply fall for the next authority figure who comes their way.

Katabasis Illumicrate cover, art by Mary Metzger

Conclusion

Going into Katabasis, I was sure that Kuang's dedication to structure, logic and mystery would blow me away – even if she also wanted to throw a little romance into the middle of it. Surprised as that version of me would be to hear this, Hell Bent remains my favorite students-go-on-a-rescue-mission-to-hell book.

As I wrote earlier, my honest best guess is that between her studies, publishing contract, other projects and commitments, Kuang either lost a degree of interest or was highly rushed toward the end of writing this book. It's entirely possible that writing a more satisfying ending (from where she was) would have taken at least a thousand pages and someone begged her to keep it down to 560. Unbelievable as it is to me, maybe this even was her vision from the beginning.

I gave this book 3/5 stars in my initial review, and at most I'm willing to bump it up to 3.5/5 today – the City of Dis and Kripke confrontation parts having made a better lasting impression on me that I had expected. If the good was more intermixed with the bad, I'd probably be quite a bit higher on it, but I just can't get around how much wonderful setup was thrown away by bland payoffs.

If you want to read Kuang, start elsewhere. If you want to read Katabasis, I hope you have a better experience than I did! If you've read it and loved it, please enlighten me so I can share in your joy!

Thanks for reading and until next time <3