These New Book Releases Should Be On Your 2025 Summer Reading List

Renowned for the monolithic occurrence of her books Yellowface and Babel, R.F. Kuang has been churning retired immoderate of this century’s astir notable works of fiction. Her latest, Katabasis, is acceptable to merchandise successful August and is simply a acheronian academia phantasy that takes readers connected a humorous descent into the realm of the dead. Two rival academics caput to the depths of hellhole successful bid to get the last recommendations needed to postgraduate from a freshly deceased professor. One of them is Alice Law, a pupil pursuing a grueling and, astatine times, unsafe acquisition of Magik astatine Cambridge. The personification of a type-A student, Alice is determined to go the champion pupil that the sadistic Professor Jacob Grimes could ever privation for. But erstwhile Professor Grimes is recovered with his corporeal assemblage splattered crossed his office’s interior, Alice knows she’ll request to caput down to hellhole and bring him back, oregon hazard her premier world lasting with Grimes. Except Peter Murdoch, her lone existent rival astatine the university, walks close into Law’s plan. And with Peter’s large nose, careless bully looks and effortless charm, she’s forced to resistance him down to hellhole with her. This anticipated communicative is simply a hilarious and succinct instrumentality connected all-consuming academia, sexism, powerfulness struggles, love, seduction, hubris and truthful overmuch more.

Price: $24.50 for pre-order