Apparently R.F. Kuang explained the origins of her latest novel Katabasis on noting that "academia is hell" and extending this to what if academia was hell. In this sense it is a development of what has come to be known as "Dark Academia", a subset of fantasy novels that deal in horrors, violence and threat in universities. The dark side of academia.
Katabasis begins like many a fantasy novel. The hero, Alice Law, is studying magic under Doctor Jacob Grimes. Grimes is a magical genius. But also a control freak, self obsessed, egotistical monster and a bully. He steals ideas, makes promises that never come to fruition and has a reputation as a someone who is impossible to work for. He is also a serial sexual assaulter, and a key plot point is that Alice has been his victim.
Grimes' two star students, Alice and Peter Murdoch have a difficult relationship with their tutor. Alice is desperate for acknowledgement and praise, Peter is wounded by how he has been betrayed by Grimes. Their own friendship has fallen about as a result of misunderstandings, and lack of communication. Both of them seek revenge and in doing so Grimes is killed in a magical accident while trying to test an idea he has stolen from Peter.
Feeling guilty, but not trusting each other, Alice and Peter head to Hell, to the realm of the dead, to try and rescue Grimes. If nothing else they both need to graduate.
The bulk of the book is set in Hell, with Alice and Peter trying to track down Grimes' shade and return him. They proceed through the various levels that have previously been documented by earlier visitors like Dante, debating philosophical questions as they proceed. Hell is academia. It's outer layers are mirrors of undergraduate life and its inner realms are reflections of the hell of trying to publish, gain recognition and stay ahead.
Katabasis is a strange fantasy. It has been described as a love story. But in many ways it is more a story of revenge. It is also a critical, if somewhat oblique, comment on academia in general, and Oxbridge in particular. Grimes' is the worst you can imagine in an academic, and Alice's tragic experiences with him, and the failures of those around him, are portrayed well. As is the final reckoning.
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