# BSG #112: Hell is Kelli / Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-squad-goals-7882/bsg-112-hell-is-kelli-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-squad-goals-7882/bsg-112-hell-is-kelli-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang.md
Podcast: [Book Squad Goals](https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-squad-goals-7882)
Published: 2025-10-29T03:46:15+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/bsg-112-hell-is-kelli-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang--68322677
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68322677/katabasis_new_leveled.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/book-squad-goals-7882/episodes/bsg-112-hell-is-kelli-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang
Duration seconds: 5352

## Resource

You know what they say: Hell is going to grad school. Or that’s what R. F. Kuang says, and we here at Book Squad Goals tend to agree with her assessment. This week, the squad dives into Kuang’s latest, Katabasis, discussing everything from the state of Booktok and the publishing landscape to whether or not an erection qualifies a book for Romantasy status. Feel free to weigh in by sending an email to thesquad@booksquadgoals.com. You can also check out our blog for at least one NEW POST (gasp) at booksquadgoals.com/blog . Stay tuned for our next episode on 11/11 where we’ll be revisiting the film Midsommar along with Tatiana Schlote-Bonne, author of The Mean Ones. You should also read along for our next bookpisode on Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang, where we’ll be joined by Sam, owner/founder of Seattle Book Club, on 11/25. Finally, please consider subscribing to our Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/booksquadgoals , for just $3 a month! Please!!!! TOC: 0:30– Welcome! And icebreaker 14:05–Magic as metaphor 18:20–Is this book too academic? 35:04–Alice and women in academia 1:00:00–Pacing and what could go 1:16:19–Anything else? Ratings? 1:20:02–What’s on the blog? What’s up next?

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## Transcript

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