地獄修業旅行

入此門者，必當放棄一切希望。欲出此門，務先通過無情試煉。在地獄的深處和人間的學術殿堂，這兩句話同樣適用……《巴別塔學院》奇幻敘事＋《黃色臉孔》犀利諷刺臺灣譯本與美國原書同步出版§全球最大閱讀社群Goodreads網站22萬位讀者加入書單待閱§2025年美國奇幻文學類最高期待度新書「魔法是最神祕、最反覆無常的學科，因其強大威力而受人欽佩，因其空泛無謂而引來嘲笑，其宗旨簡而言之就是以謊言說服他人相信你所杜撰的世界才是真的。只要織出正確的謊言之網，就可以巧妙地重新詮釋自然法則，即便所有證據都顯示事實恰恰相反……所有熟練的魔法師都是如此。」魔法是研究世上萬物運行法則的艱深學門，也是大學內深受重視且充滿菁英色彩的科系。博士生愛麗絲在劍橋大學的分析魔法學研究所勤奮地修課、寫論文、做助教，沒有休閒興趣、不知假期為何物，終於苦盡甘來快要熬到畢業。然而，她的指導老師、德高望重的格萊姆斯教授偏偏在此時因為魔法實驗中的失誤而慘死，肉體四分五裂，靈魂則落入地獄。眼見自己的學術生涯恐怕就要無疾而終，愛麗絲決定不擇手段把教授帶回人世，好主持她的論文口試、替她寫完求職推薦信。同一個研究所內的天才型學生彼得也積極想要出一份力拯救教授，卻不是出於師生之情，也不是因為和愛麗絲一樣擔心自己的前途，只是想透過找到來回地獄的路徑與方法，挑戰自己魔法知識的極限。愛麗絲不情願地讓彼得加入這趟旅程，他們必須在分為八殿、各自收容不同種類罪人的地獄中通過層層考驗，才能找到教授的靈魂、請求冥王准許他回到人間；若不能在十四天內歸來，他們自己也將永遠受困地獄。不論挑戰多大、風險多高，愛麗絲都相信這是維繫魔法學者職涯、應用畢生所學的唯一出路，所以絕對值得不計代價踏上。然而，地獄深處時而熟悉、時而扭曲的異變景象，不僅逐漸動搖他們的初衷，也衝擊他們對魔法、世界與自我的理解……

Dante’sInfernomeetsSusanna Clarke’sPiranesiin this all-new dark academia fantasyfrom R. F. Kuang, the #1New York Timesbestselling author ofBabel and Yellowface,in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek:The story of a hero’s descent to the underworldAlice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world.That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….Nor will the fact that her ri