Katabasis

Katabasis – R. F. Kuang
Standalone Novel
Genre: Dark Academia / Fantasy / Adventure
 
Tropes:
Descent into Hell / underworld journey
Academic rivalry turned uneasy alliance
High-stakes magical quest with personal consequences
 
Summary
In this dark academia fantasy, Alice Law has devoted her life to becoming one of the greatest minds in Magick, sacrificing pride, health, love, and sanity to work under the legendary Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge. But when Grimes dies in a magical accident—possibly Alice’s fault—she discovers that his soul is trapped in Hell. Determined to save him and secure her future, Alice embarks on a perilous journey to the underworld.
Her rival, Peter Murdoch, has independently come to the same conclusion, forcing the two former adversaries into an uneasy alliance. Armed only with tales of Orpheus and Dante, chalk for spellwork, and their burning ambition, Alice and Peter navigate Hell’s dangers to rescue Grimes. Along the way, they confront the limits of Magick, the weight of their pasts, and the thin line between ambition and destruction, in a story where redemption and rivalry intertwine with deadly consequences.