Welcome to Geek Vibes Nation’s book round-up for September 2025! This month’s round-up sees R.F. Kuang take readers on a journey through hell, Andrew Joseph White’s horrific and heartbreaking adult debut, an absurd take on venture capitalists from Emily Jane, and a graphic memoir about the making of Star Wars from Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche. So, without further ado, let’s jump into some books!
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
R.F. Kuang takes readers on a dizzying descent into hell in Katabasis, a novel gargantuan in concept but somewhat uneven and middling in execution. When two phd students, Alice and Peter, journey to hell to bring their academic advisor back to life, they find themselves reckoning with exactly how far they are willing to go to get what they want—or what they think they want. You might think that an adventure through the various courts of Hell would make the basis for a gripping journey into the depths of human perseverance. Unfortunately, that’s just not what Katabasis delivers. What begins as a mixture of biting critique of the inefficiencies of academia mixed with an epic quest of biblical proportions quickly devolves into a very ho-hum, lackadaisical stroll mired by frequent detours into the esoterica of philosophical thought.
Katabasis ends up being one of those books that’s so obsessed with its ideas that it forgets to weave them together with compelling characters and a cohesive, gripping narrative. All of the pieces are here—you’ve got a well-built magic system, the bones of a very unique take on Hell, and even a pair of characters with the potential to draw you into their emotional journeys. It’s just that Kuang doesn’t really do anything with any of that. While Alice and Peter’s sojourn through Hell initially promises some very clever reimaginings of the traditional courts of Hell, Kuang quickly subverts those expectations by having her characters traipse around these obstacles all too easily. There are no stakes here, regardless of how often the prose insists there are. It’s all so easy that even Alice, herself, comments on it multiple times in a way that takes the wind right out of the book’s sails.
Now, that in and of itself isn’t necessarily a total dealbreaker. After all, quest narratives are often more about the characters’ emotional journeys than the quest itself. But Katabasis fumbles the ball there too, keeping its characters’ backstories shrouded in secrecy for over half the story and then never really delving into the emotional gravitas of those backstories once it starts exploring them. Alice and Peter frequently come across as cardboard cutouts; a pair of dolls that can be moved around a hellish dollhouse while an omniscient narrator goes on at length about philosophical paradoxes, theoretical mathematics, and the kinds of esoteric concepts usually saved for the throes of academic lectures. And these exposition dumps come fast and quick, completely halting the narrative every time it starts building some momentum. Though Kuang explores these concepts quite deftly, it’s all just so dense and difficult to parse; more of a dissertation than a piece of narrative prose.
It’s not that Katabasis is bad, per se. When it remembers to focus on the story it’s telling and the characters that populate that story, it’s frequently quite gripping. But it all too often gets distracted trying to explain all of these concepts that bear only a tertiary impact on the story at hand. It’s as though Kuang doesn’t trust her readers to just go with her wherever she takes the story and, instead, feels the need to hold their hand and feed them every morsel of information on whatever topic comes to mind. And that doesn’t make for a particularly engaging read. As such, Katabasis ends up being a collection of interesting ideas let down by a lack of stakes and characterization; epic in scale but tame in execution. (6/10, reviewed by Michael Cook)
Available August 26 from Harper Voyager in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of Katabasis was provided by the publisher.
You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White
Andrew Joseph White’s adult debut, You Weren’t Meant to Be Human, offers up a brutal, gory, and oftentimes foul exploration of the horrors of trauma, dysphoria, and unwanted pregnancy—all wrapped around the corpse of a creepy, crawly invasion in rural West Virginia. In the Hive, Crane finds the home he’s never had. Shunned by a society that sees an autistic trans man as one to be othered, Crane finally feels at peace in the life he’s built alongside the Hive—even if they’re a bunch of extraterrestrial bugs using their humans as pawns in some unknowable plan. But Crane’s life turns upside down the day he learns he’s pregnant, forced to carry the baby to term by the Hive for some horrific, unknown reason. And what follows is a descent into the kinds of body horror and trauma explorations that stick with you long after the novel’s final pages.
Put simply, You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is a brutal, horrific, and deeply upsetting read. Its horror burrows deep within your skin, nestling right up against your heart, and shocking you with every single turn of the page. It’s a cruel, foul read at times—intentionally so, though. White’s refusal to shy away from the horrors Crane faces draws you right into this unimaginable situation. It’s a brilliant, heartwrenching exploration of the ways gender dysphoria, misogyny, and societal callousness intersect. It’s a damning critique of the direction modern-day society is heading and a deeply personal tale of grappling with lost identity. You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is a horror in the truest sense of the word—disturbing, gory, terrifying, and utterly unsettling. But it’s also a really beautiful read, somehow managing to mix some hope alongside the despair.
You Weren’t Meant to Be Human certainly won’t be for everyone, and it comes with a whole host of content warnings. But it’s a remarkable read, through and through, and a perfect example of just how impactful horror can be as a genre. (9/10)
Available September 9 from Saga Press/Simon & Schuster in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of You Weren’t Meant to Be Human was provided by the publisher.
American Werewolves by Emily Jane
Emily Jane gives “The Wolf of Wall Street” an entirely new meaning in the rip-roaringly funny and horrific satire, American Werewolves. After her roommate turns up dead, mauled by some mysterious heretofore unknown creature, Natasha finds herself drawn into the world of venture capitalism. It’s a world filled with wolves of the highest caliber—as Barrington Equity’s newest partner, Shane LaSalle, can testify. But underneath this murky, immoral business lies a secret that traces its roots back into the earliest days of America. Werewolves have been roaming across America for centuries, and Natasha and Shane are right in their claws. With American Werewolves, Emily Jane is well on her way to carving out a very unique niche in the sci-fi/fantasy/horror world—lighthearted novels balancing excellent character work, genuine thriller and chills, and exceedingly clever and often absurd ideas.
On the one hand, American Werewolves offers up a biting satire on the rampant misogyny and predatory nature of modern-day venture capitalism. The business bros are exactly as despicable as you’d like them to be, and the added supernatural angle only adds to the very timely commentary. On the other hand, you’ve got this very classic werewolf tale, immensely gripping and spine-tinglingly horrific despite the moments of comedic brevity. It’s a combination that shouldn’t work on paper, but somehow leaps right off the page and burrows deep into your mind in the best of ways.
Loaded with Jane’s trademark absurdist humor and out-of-this-world ideas, American Werewolves jumps around from person to person (and back and forth through time) in ways that may seem random at first. But rest assured, as the novel progresses, Jane ties these disparate threads into an utterly satisfying tapestry. To say much more risks ruining some of the novel’s cleverer surprises, so just buckle in for an absolutely wild ride. It’s funny, it’s creepy, it’s gory as hell, and it’s an absolutely perfect read for the Halloween season. (9/10, Reviewed by Michael Cook)
Available September 16 from Hyperion Avenue in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of Americna Werewolves was provided by the publisher.
Lucas Wars by Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche
Explore the creation of the original Star Wars movie like never before in Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche’s Lucas Wars, a graphic novel all about George Lucas’ fight to get the first Star Wars movie off the ground and in front of audiences worldwide. Hopman follows Lucas’ story from his rebellious youth and early Hollywood successes and failures all the way through Star Wars’ bumpy and hellish production process. From fights with studio executives, the difficulties of creating all-new technology to meet the film’s special effects needs, and the complexities of assembling a cast befitting Lucas’s out-of-this-world idea, Lucas Wars breezily chronicles the ups and downs of what would ultimately become a landmark piece of Hollywood history. As Hopman explores, it took an army to create Star Wars, and Lucas Wars shines a light on the entire process.
Accompanied by Roche’s simplistic yet evocative illustrations, Lucas Wars is a behind-the-scenes book like few others. Though Hopman’s writing (through English translator Jeremy Melloul’s lens) feels a bit pedestrian and speeds past some of the finer details, Lucas Wars pulls few punches and holds little back as it examines Star Wars’ rocky road to life. Hardcore Star Wars aficionados will likely find little here they didn’t already know, but it’s hard to overlook the sheer novelty of diving into the behind-the-scenes of such a visual film in such a, well, visual way. Lucas Wars offers a breezy yet all-encompassing look at the making of Star Wars, just in time for its upcoming 50th anniversary, and it’s well worth a gander for cinephiles old and young alike. (8/10, reviewed by Michael Cook)
Available September 16 from 23rd St. Books/Macmillan in hardcover.
Note: A review copy of Lucas Wars was provided by the publisher.
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
