Archive · 27 Jul 2025
R.F. Kuang's "Katabasis": Dark Academia's Descent into Hell
Imagine a book where the world of academia is actually hell!
In R.F. Kuang's upcoming novel, "Katabasis," two graduate students do something risky to get their professor back from the underworld.
This book is a fantasy story, but it's also a funny and critical look at the pressures of getting a PhD, like writing papers, dealing with mean professors, and trying to get published.
Kuang shows us a new version of hell with things like a boring library and a dormitory with endless parties, inspired by classics like Dante's "Inferno."
It is expected to come out in August of 2025 and challenges how we think about schools.
R.F. Kuang's novel "Katabasis" takes dark academia to a literal hell.
The story follows two PhD students who descend into hell to retrieve their advisor.
The novel satirizes academia, portraying hell as a university with various departments.
"Katabasis" draws on classical allusions and literary references like Dante and T.S. Eliot.
The novel is set to be released in August 2025 and explores themes of academic pressures and disillusionment.
- Who
- The novel's main characters are PhD students Alice Law and Peter Murdoch and Professor Jacob Grimes.
- What
- R.F. Kuang's novel "Katabasis" is a dark academia fantasy novel set in an alternate universe where magic exists and hell is a university.
- When
- The novel is set to be released in August 2025.
- Where
- The story begins at Cambridge University in an alternate universe.
- Why
- The novel satirizes academia, critiquing the pressures and absurdities of academic life through a fantastical lens.
Literary Criticism
Mixed Reviews
Book Quality
Literary Criticism
The book is a fresh take on hell.
Mixed Reviews
The stakes aren't high enough, it is not as good as other works of the author.
- Author
- R.F. Kuang
- Novel Title
- Katabasis
- Genre
- Dark Academia Fantasy
- Setting
- Alternate Universe Cambridge University
- Release Date
- August 2025