---
product_id: 671507303
title: "Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Fantastical Descent into Hell, Rivalry, and Redemption in the Pursuit of Academic Glory from Author of Yellowface―R. F. Kuang"
price: "€ 51.62"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.fi/products/671507303-katabasis-deluxe-limited-edition-a-fantastical-descent-into-hell-rivalry
store_origin: FI
region: Finland
---

# Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Fantastical Descent into Hell, Rivalry, and Redemption in the Pursuit of Academic Glory from Author of Yellowface―R. F. Kuang

**Price:** € 51.62
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Fantastical Descent into Hell, Rivalry, and Redemption in the Pursuit of Academic Glory from Author of Yellowface―R. F. Kuang
- **How much does it cost?** € 51.62 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.fi](https://www.desertcart.fi/products/671507303-katabasis-deluxe-limited-edition-a-fantastical-descent-into-hell-rivalry)

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## Description

Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Fantastical Descent into Hell, Rivalry, and Redemption in the Pursuit of Academic Glory from Author of Yellowface―R. F. Kuang [Kuang, R. F.] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Fantastical Descent into Hell, Rivalry, and Redemption in the Pursuit of Academic Glory from Author of Yellowface―R. F. Kuang

Review: Entertaining! - **4.5 stars** beautiful sprayed edge I was going back and forth between a 4 and a 4.5 star for this book but I enjoyed so much of Alice’s journey within herself and I liked the combination of academia, fantasy, horror even, and romance. I wasn’t expecting the humor but I loved that. Did I have to read it little by little because there was a lot to process? Was some of the info-dumping a little clinical? Yes, but I felt like my brain got a workout – but in a good way. Because once upon a time when I was in college I did love learning about Dante, philosophy, and logic…but come on, it’s been so long I’ve been in school! 😅 I’ve been reading a lot to escape and not think so that this book forced me to think – I actually totally appreciate it! I was highly entertained by this book! I still need to read Babel, but I look forward to reading more books from R.F. Kuang.
Review: A fun bit of dark academia for grown-ups - The title, Katabasis, means a hero’s journey through hell, and that’s exactly what Cambridge graduate students Alice and Peter must do to retrieve their graduate advisor, who has died in an untimely accident which they each believe they are responsible for. Each of the main characters must also contend with their own painful past and face up to their complex feelings for each other along the way. This is a thoughtful fantasy journey heavily influenced by Dante’s Inferno, exploring philosophical paradoxes and the importance of questioning what we think we know, about ourselves and others. R.F. Kuang, author of Yellowface, shows her versatility here, but readers of both books will note a similarity between the take-down of the publishing industry in Yellowface with the strong criticism of the grueling experience of graduate students in high-pressure academic settings in this book. A bit slow-moving at times, it’s still a fun bit of dark academia for grown-ups.

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![Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Fantastical Descent into Hell, Rivalry, and Redemption in the Pursuit of Academic Glory from Author of Yellowface―R. F. Kuang - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81gE0YIdcdL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Entertaining!
*by Y***T on January 27, 2026*

**4.5 stars** beautiful sprayed edge I was going back and forth between a 4 and a 4.5 star for this book but I enjoyed so much of Alice’s journey within herself and I liked the combination of academia, fantasy, horror even, and romance. I wasn’t expecting the humor but I loved that. Did I have to read it little by little because there was a lot to process? Was some of the info-dumping a little clinical? Yes, but I felt like my brain got a workout – but in a good way. Because once upon a time when I was in college I did love learning about Dante, philosophy, and logic…but come on, it’s been so long I’ve been in school! 😅 I’ve been reading a lot to escape and not think so that this book forced me to think – I actually totally appreciate it! I was highly entertained by this book! I still need to read Babel, but I look forward to reading more books from R.F. Kuang.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fun bit of dark academia for grown-ups
*by H***N on October 20, 2025*

The title, Katabasis, means a hero’s journey through hell, and that’s exactly what Cambridge graduate students Alice and Peter must do to retrieve their graduate advisor, who has died in an untimely accident which they each believe they are responsible for. Each of the main characters must also contend with their own painful past and face up to their complex feelings for each other along the way. This is a thoughtful fantasy journey heavily influenced by Dante’s Inferno, exploring philosophical paradoxes and the importance of questioning what we think we know, about ourselves and others. R.F. Kuang, author of Yellowface, shows her versatility here, but readers of both books will note a similarity between the take-down of the publishing industry in Yellowface with the strong criticism of the grueling experience of graduate students in high-pressure academic settings in this book. A bit slow-moving at times, it’s still a fun bit of dark academia for grown-ups.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It’s sharp. It’s unsettling. And it’s absolutely brilliant!
*by T***E on October 23, 2025*

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, R.F. Kuang’s writing is on another level. Her prose is sharp and deliberate, elegant yet merciless. You can feel the precision in every sentence. Katabasis follows two Cambridge students, Alice and Peter, who descend into hell to rescue the soul of their late professor, a man so respected that his approval could secure their futures. It’s a premise that feels bizarre, brilliant, and disturbingly believable. What makes this story so haunting isn’t just the descent into the underworld, but the descent into obsession. Kuang explores intelligence as a form of currency, something to flaunt, to measure worth, to climb a hierarchy. Alice and Peter’s entire identity revolves around being the smartest person in the room. Reading this, I couldn’t help but think about how often we turn books and intellect into performance. About how some people read to seem “interesting” instead of reading to be changed. In Katabasis, that’s exactly what intelligence becomes, a mask, a competition, a form of worship. Hell, in Kuang’s hands, isn’t fire and brimstone its academic prestige. In this world hell is a university that shifts and reshapes itself, mirroring the ambition and vanity of its inhabitants. It’s deliciously ironic, terrifyingly real, and one of the most striking depictions of intellectual corruption I’ve ever read. Professor Grimes, their mentor, is everything wrong with that world: brilliant, cruel, manipulative, and worshipped because of it. Kuang captures the toxicity of academic reverence so well it’s almost uncomfortable to read. For someone who loves Dante and Botticelli, I was obsessed with how Kuang reimagines classical descent. Katabasis feels like a modern Inferno, only this time the flames are made of ambition, envy, and ego.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Novel
- The Devils (Devils, 1)
- The Strength of the Few (2) (Hierarchy)

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*Product available on Desertcart Finland*
*Store origin: FI*
*Last updated: 2026-03-03*