R.F. Kuang's novel Yellowface was fantastic. It was engaging, smart, and tackled big issues like race, intellectual property, honesty, revenge and cultural appropriation all while offering a scathing look at publishing.
It is also a novel I talk about often and recommend all the time: One of the most important things, I believe, a book can achieve is to move into your brain and stay there.
Katabasis , Kuang's latest, is even better.
In this story, Alice Law studies at Cambridge under the tutelage of Professor Jacob Grimes, who is widely regarded as the greatest magician in the world. He's also a trailblazing scholar. Grimes is known for his harsh, abusive nature but Alice has happily put up with his antics, volatile personality, and even bullying because she knows that her consider