I would like to read Katabasis by R.F. Kuang but bad critics are putting me off. I love dark academia, mythology and I am no stranger to dense book.
I have read and loved The Secret History by Donna Tart and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. On the basis of that information, am I likely to enjoy Katabasis?
by Pumpkin_698
5 Comments
Not sure about katabasis but I just enjoyed babel if that’s at all helpful
I think the real question is, have you read and liked any other RF Kuang books? Otherwise, it’s hard to say if you’ll like it. It tends to be the author’s writing style and character development (or lack thereof) that people find controversial.
The Secret History is brilliant. Katabasis is fine (better than Babel imo), it’s a quick read, it’s interesting enough, but don’t go into it expecting something Donna Tartt-esque
Ive put off RF Kuang books for a long time because reddit was super negative about her. Then I read Yellowface cause it was $2, turns out i really like her writing and picked up the rest of her books. I’m like 10% into Katabasis and like it so far.
I really disliked Babel but very much enjoyed Katabasis. If you like mythology and have experience in higher ed, you will get a kick out of it. In many ways I think it was meant to be a very tongue in cheek satire of grad school. It’s not dense at all.