Katabasis

Prepare for one hell of a journey ... From the author of Babel and The Poppy War Trilogy comes Katabasis, the no. 1 Sunday Times bestselling novel. - 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? 'Katabasis is a formidable, timeless work, destined to be a modern classic.' - Olivie Blake. 'Katabasis is more than a novel to savor. This book is an experience. I envy those who get to read it for the first time.' - Rebecca Ross. 'A witty, gory, harrowing ride.' - Leigh Bardugo. 'Mind-bending fantasy.' ? Grazia. 'Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach.' - The Herald.

Prepare for one hell of a journey… 'R.F. Kuang is making magic' ELLE 'A big, bold fantasy romp' GUARDIAN '[A] truly original and spellbinding hero's-journey story' VOGUE ' I devoured it' RED One of the BBC's 25 best books of 2025 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

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 One of the BBC's 25 best books of 2025 2025’s most unexpected love story is going to be hell in the new No.1 Sunday Times bestselling novel by R.F. Kuang. 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? ' Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach' THE HERALD ‘Mind-bending fantasy’ GRAZIA

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 One of the BBC's 25 best books of 2025 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

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 One of the BBC's 25 best books of 2025 2025’s most unexpected love story is going to be hell in the new No.1 Sunday Times bestselling novel by R.F. Kuang. 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? ' Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach' THE HERALD ‘Mind-bending fantasy’ GRAZIA

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 One of the BBC's 25 best books of 2025 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

Dante's Inferno meets Susanna Clarke's Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor's soul--perhaps at the cost of their own. Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek: The story of a hero's descent to the underworld Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she's going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams.... Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion. With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don't even like. But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn't always the answer, and there's something in Alice and Peter's past that could forge them into the perfect allies...or lead to their doom.

Dante's Inferno meets Susanna Clarke's Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor's soul--perhaps at the cost of their own. Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek: The story of a hero's descent to the underworld Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she's going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams.... Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion. With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don't even like. But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn't always the answer, and there's something in Alice and Peter's past that could forge them into the perfect allies...or lead to their doom.