I had a hard time finishing Katabasis. This could be partly my fault, because I thought it would be similar to Susanne Collins’ sublime Piranesi. It isn’t, and if not for a long delay in Manchester Airport’s hellish Terminal Three, I might never have finished it.
In fact, if anything, the plot of Katabasis more closely resembles a children’s book by Philip Pullman called The Firework Maker’s Daughter, which follows two children who go on a quest through a magical, dangerous land in order to get something from Razvani the Fire Demon.
Katabasis is about two magic-studies students who journey through Hell to find their arrogant university lecturer/magician, whose death they may or may not be responsible for. The book has the tagline “To hell with love” because in a dramatic irony way, the reader knows the students love each other, but the students don’t.
A Brilliant Opening Hook
The opening hook is as good as they get, starting as it does with the immediate aftermath of the professor’s death. It’s visceral and eye-catching, and promises great things for the novel.
It’s not Location, Location, Location, it’s Character, Character, Character
Strangely for a book set in Hell, Katabasis becomes dull very quickly. Previously, I’ve read Babel by the same author, and also struggled with that, so it could be that her style is too literary for me. For example, the Escher-style artwork on the front cover hints at a repetitive loop the characters find themselves in. It’s clever, but the problem with anything of a repetitive nature is that it become tedious.
In all honesty, though, I don’t like the characters she creates. In Katabasis, I didn’t care about either of the two students. For me, character is key. If I don’t gel with the main ones in some way, I will always struggle with the book – or TV show, or film, for that matter.
Rating
At heart, Katabasis is a concept novel. The characters are really neither here nor there…in Limbo, rather than Hell. And in Katabasis, Hell is just miles and miles of endless walking, a river, a fortified town and, bizarrely, a university library.
It’s a shame because the author clearly did a lot of research into different beliefs about Hell, from Dante and Virgil to Chinese folklore.
To be honest, she could have saved herself the trouble and booked a flight leaving from Manchester Airport’s Terminal Three.
And for prospective readers of the book, save yourself the trouble and read The Firework Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman instead. It has much more likeable characters and several genuine laugh out loud moments.
Katabasis Rating: 2/5
The Firework Maker’s Daughter Rating: 5/5
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