Tag: hero's journey

Review: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Anna and Alexis3 Comments
Katabasis rests on a table next to an iced chai latte and a half-eaten cardamom bun

Alexis: Happy September🍂 It’s the perfect time of year for dark academia! 

Katabasis: The Greek word for the journey into the underworld. 

Katabasis is R.F. Kuang’s newest novel. It follows two rival magick academics from Cambridge, Alice and Peter, who venture into Hell to save their academic advisor, Professor Grimes—after all, his accidental death may have been Alice’s fault. 

The Writing

If you’ve read Kuang’s books before, I would describe the tone of this one as a mix between Babel and Yellowface. It’s academic, yes, but it’s also funny. While I read Katabasis, I was often struck by how often I was laughing. Her actual writing is witty and smart yet—you guessed it—full of humor.

The References

I sped through this book. It was exactly what I was in the mood to read. I appreciated Kuang’s intense take and criticism of academia. And, listen, I have a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing, and, once upon a time, I took Latin for 3 years and learned a lot about Roman and Greek mythology. So you can be sure that I was nerding out over all of the literature and mythology references.

I will say, though, I feel like they make total sense in this book. The way Kuang delves into literature, mythology, and even magick theory echoes the way that Alice and Peter think and solve problems. And, without giving too much away, since Hell mimics Cambridge, it perfectly fits into both the above and below worlds. 

The Characters

As for the main characters, I thought Alice and Peter were both well-rounded. Did I root for them to find Grimes and get the hell out of, well, Hell? Yes. Did I find their flaws frustrating at times? Yes. Did I understand them, though? Also yes. They’re the perfect academics to venture into Hell, and when we finally get their backstories halfway through, they feel earned, and they really worked well for their character arcs.

The Romance

While I think the marketing of this book sometimes focused too much on the romance, I can honestly say that the romance is a subplot of a subplot, so if you’re more of a dark academia person vs. a romance person, you’ll still enjoy the story. However, if you’re more of a romantasy reader, you’ll still appreciate the rivals to lovers trope. 

The Story

While I wouldn’t call Babel a fantasy book, but more a historical alternate history with fantastical elements, I appreciated that Katabasis was both a dark academia and a fantasy book. The magick system uses chalk and pentagrams, and I found it fascinating as a whole. I love a good classic hero’s journey, and I was interested in all of the side characters and side quests we met along the way.

Oh, and also, there’s a cat named Archimedes. 

VERDICT: đŸ”„đŸ”„đŸ”„đŸ”„đŸ”„/5 

Review: The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

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Alexis holds a paperback copy of The Bone Maker in front of the beach: sand and a wave crashing on shore.

Alexis:

Despite copious amounts of rain, our beach trip ended up being a successful reading trip! While The Bone Maker isn’t the usual kind of beach read, I’m always in the mood for a spooky read.

The Bone Maker follows Kreya, a hermit living in a tower with no one for company but her constructs, little creatures and dolls she created from pieces of bone. Oh, and her dead husband, Jentt, who she raises from the dead as often as she can.

Twenty-five years ago, Kreya and her group of heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. The heroes reunite to help Kreya on her journey.

The story is primarily told from Kreya’s POV, though we dive into each of the character’s heads at one point or another. I thought the world was super interesting. There are bone makers, who created constructs from bones; bone wizards, who create talismans with powers (think playing an action card in a card game); and bone readers, who predict the future by reading bones. The characters’ successful backstory was great fuel for the plot, and I almost wish I could read a prologue book!

While I liked the plot, I really enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters. This book has the perfect balance of darkness (lots of bones, dead people, war, and death) and lightness (witty dialogue, funny characters). I love when I can find an adult fantasy that also has humor and great dialogue. But what kept this book from being 5 stars is that I wanted to get to know the characters even more! That, and the plot didn’t feel as urgent as it probably should have. 

If you’re looking for a fun book with necromancy, defeating evil, and a journey with loveable characters, then I think you’ll enjoy this.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5