A Weekly Ritual for Book Lovers
Where Stories Become Puzzles
Every week, a new fantasy or sci-fi book is transformed into a handcrafted word search and crossword puzzle. Read, solve, discover.
A Weekly Ritual for Book Lovers
Every week, a new fantasy or sci-fi book is transformed into a handcrafted word search and crossword puzzle. Read, solve, discover.
Week 2 — Gothic Fantasy
by R.F. Kuang
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a descent — literally and metaphorically — into the underworld of grief, memory, and the price of knowledge. Following the massive success of Babel and Yellowface, Kuang delivers a haunting narrative that blends classical mythology with speculative fiction. The title itself refers to the ancient Greek concept of a journey to the underworld, and Kuang uses this framework to explore what it means to confront the dead, the past, and the parts of ourselves we've buried. The prose is razor-sharp, the world-building is layered with academic rigor, and the emotional core is devastating. This is Kuang at her most ambitious and personal.
This is an unofficial fan-created puzzle and review inspired by Katabasis by R. F. Kuang. Betty Ivy is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or publisher. This section may include affiliate links.
The Ritual
Each week, Betty reads a new fantasy or sci-fi book and extracts the characters, places, and lore that make the story unforgettable.
Those words become a handcrafted word search and crossword puzzle — a new way to revisit the world you just explored.
A short blog review accompanies each puzzle, plus a link to buy the book on Bookshop.org and support independent bookstores.
