Katabasis

Katabasis by R.L. Kuang, 560 pages

After Alice Law accidentally causes the death of Professor Grimes, her academic advisor at Cambridge, she figures that the only way she'll get the recommendations and accolades she was hoping for (he's a REALLY BIG NAME in the field) is to retrieve him from Hell. Which is something that isn't beyond the realm of possibility when you're a student of magic like Alice is. Except right as she plans to step through the pentagram into Hell, Peter Murdoch, her biggest competition for Grimes' recommendations, hops in to join in the quest. Soon, the unlikely pair is struggling through the Fields of Asphodel and the eight courts of hell in search for their advisor.

Kuang has an incredible ability to write fantastical academia that really rings true, and Katabasis is no exception — the ever-increasing stress, the nonstop work on hard-to-explain theses, the poor diet that does nothing but keep the stomach from grumbling too much, the self-important and misogynistic behavior of tenured professors — it's all there, only this time with magic. While the travels through Hell are intriguing (especially because it appears to Alice and Peter as a college campus), the story sometimes gets bogged down with discussions of theory, logic, and paradoxes, which made my brain hurt. Still, for fans of Kuang's previous works, it's definitely worth a read.

The Stardust Grail

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei, 311 pages

Now a graduate student, Maya Hoshimoto was once a successful cat burglar, stealing all manner of artifacts from both public and private collections. Now, she's trying her best to buckle down and finish her thesis, though the arrival of a long-lost book at the university library — one that may hold the key to finding a possibly mythical "stardust grail," capable of helping the Frenro alien race save itself from extinction — forces Maya to dust off those old skills as she attempts one final heist to help a friend.

This fast-moving heist novel has shades of Indiana Jones in space, though instead of stealing things for a museum, Maya's stealing them from a museum. I like the transportation and the aliens, and the Encyclopedium (a massive museum/library/archive thing) seems simultaneously like the most intriguing and scary place in the universe. Yeah, I had trouble buying the idea that Earth would be almost unchanged however many years in the future, and the plot got a little crazy toward the end, but that shouldn't stop you from reading this super fun book.

Transcendent Kingdom

 

Transcendent Kingdom / Yaa Gyasi, read by Bhani Turpin, 261 pgs.

Gifti is finishing her Ph.D. She is also dealing with her mom who is suffering from depression. But really she is dealing with a whole lot more.  The daughter of Guyanian immigrants, her family has struggled, her dad abandoned them and returned to Guyana, her brother died an addict who overdoses.  She is struggling with her past but the future is bright, her research is going well. She will graduate soon.

Bhani Turpin is at her best here.  Accents, multiple voices, and drama are all beautifully done.  I loved this immigrant story and could not stop listening.

Bunny

Bunny / Mona Awad, read by Sophie Amoss, 305 pgs.

A sublime story about a writing cohort at a fictional college.  Samantha doesn't fit in with her group, the titular bunnies.  They are all on the "same page," dressing alike and speaking alike.  They are from rich families and have great educations.  Samantha is a real outsider but is a little pleased in her second year, to get an invitation from the group.  Next thing, she is one of the gang.  They are dressing her and doing her hair.  She hardly recognizes herself. Her friend Ava accuses her of being in a cult.  Of course there is more to it.  No plot spoilers here.  I'll be honest, I probably only understood about half of this but I liked it.  Narrator Amoss does a great job of differentiating characters.