Katabasis

Two fiercely competitive graduate students find themselves bound by an impossible mission after their revered professor meets a sudden end. Alice Law, a relentless scholar who sacrificed everything for her place in Cambridge’s elite magick program, refuses to let death derail her ambitions—not when her future hinges on his posthumous recommendation. Teaming up with her rival Peter Murdoch, she embarks on a perilous journey into the underworld, armed only with ancient myths, chalk for protective spells, and the weight of their shared academic trauma. Their descent follows the path of legendary figures like Orpheus and Dante, but Hell defies every textbook description they’ve studied.

What begins as a calculated rescue mission unravels into a confrontation with the very foundations of their beliefs. Magick, their lifelong compass, proves unreliable in a realm where logic bends and shadows whisper forgotten truths. As Alice and Peter navigate twisted landscapes shaped by human folly, they must confront the buried history that once united them—and the secrets that could destroy any chance of trust. The underworld tests not just their intellect but the fragile humanity they’ve buried beneath academic rigor.

Kuang masterfully weaves academia’s cutthroat hierarchies with the visceral terror of the unknown, creating a world where every corridor of Hell mirrors the soul-crushing pressures of scholarly pursuit. The novel dissects ambition, grief, and the cost of obsession through razor-sharp prose that feels both timeless and urgently modern. Readers will recognize the familiar ache of striving for validation in a system that demands everything, now amplified by supernatural stakes where failure means eternal consequence.

Beyond its dark academia veneer, the story explores how purpose is forged in the crucible of loss. Alice’s relentless drive clashes with Peter’s guarded pragmatism as they question whether saving their professor—or themselves—is worth the price of their sanity. Kuang populates Hell with hauntingly original visions that challenge literary tropes, transforming Dante’s inferno into a deeply personal labyrinth where every step forces reckonings with identity and self-worth.

This is a tale for anyone who’s ever questioned if their sacrifices mattered, wrapped in a narrative that balances philosophical depth with relentless momentum. It honors the traditions of myth while carving its own path through the shadows of the human condition, proving that the most terrifying journeys often begin not with a leap into darkness, but with a single, desperate choice to keep climbing.