Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Two academic rivals from Cambridge must travel to hell to rescue the soul of their advisor. Getting there was easy. Surviving it - and each other - is another thing entirely.

2025's most unexpected love story is going to be hell in the new novel by Sunday Times Number One Bestseller R.F. Kuang. Coming August 2025.

Rebecca F. Kuang is a Marshall Scholar, Chinese-English translator, and the Astounding Award-winning and the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award nominated author of the Poppy War trilogy and the forthcoming Babel. Her work has won the Crawford Award and the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford; she is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale.

BABEL WAS A BRITISH BOOK OF THE YEAR, BLACKWELL'S BOOK OF THE YEAR, A WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR FINALIST AND THE DAILY MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2022

Praise for Babel:

'Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out' Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of THE EMPIRE OF GOLD

'A masterpiece that resonates with power and knowledge. BABEL is a stark picture of the cruelty of empire, a distillation of dark academia, and a riveting blend of fantasy and historical fiction - a monumental achievement' Samantha Shannon, bestselling author of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

'A masterpiece. Through a meticulously researched and a wholly impressive deep dive into linguistics and the politics of language and translation, Kuang weaves a story that is part love-hate letter to academia, part scathing indictment of the colonial enterprise, and all fiery revolution' Rebecca Roanhorse, bestselling author of BLACK SUN

'Kuang has outdone herself. BABEL is brilliant, vicious, sensitive, epic, and intimate; it's both a love letter and a declaration of war. It's a perfect book' Alix E. Harrow, bestselling author of A THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY

'A book that confirms Kuang as a major talent' SFX

'Brainy, brilliant, and fuelled by righteous anger, Babel is a towering tour-de-force of fantasy' DAILY MAIL

'BABEL has earned tremendous praise and deserves all of it... inventive and engaging, passionate and precise' NEW YORK TIMES