India, Oct. 17 -- Smart and ruthless, Alice Law is on the verge of defending her PhD dissertation on analytic magic and climbing to the top of academia's ivory tower. But before she can, she must do the impossible - retrieve her late advisor's soul from the underworld. Professor Jacob Grimes has died after a spell gone wrong, and Alice's only shot at a glowing recommendation, and a tenured job, lies in bringing him back. Her plans, however, take an unexpected turn when Grimes' other advisee, and Alice's academic rival, Peter Murdoch insists on joining her perilous descent. At 530 pages, Katabasis (Greek for journeying into hell) is RF Kuang's ambitious new novel after 2023's Yellowface. On the surface, it flirts with dark comedy, but Kuang's signature blend of intellect and moral complexity soon takes over. The magic here is rooted not in spells but in logic, paradox, and the perilous pursuit of brilliance. Set in 1980s Cambridge, rife with sexism and hostility towards the feminist thought, this story becomes a sharp critique of academia's crushing pressures and its obsession with achievement. Kuang's world is immersive and hyper-detailed, often to a fault. Both Alice and Peter are unlikeable, driven by ego and resentment, their rivalry masking pain, ambition, and something dangerously close to love. The dense philosophical tangents and exhaustive exposition occasionally slow the pace, but Kuang's razor-sharp prose keeps the reader engaged. Could Katabasis have used tighter editing? Certainly. But it remains a gripping, cerebral descent into obsession, revenge and the limits of reason, a journey through hell that feels uncomfortably, brilliantly human. Title: Katabasis Author: RF Kuang Publisher: HarperCollins Price: Rs.699...