For Rebecca F. Kuang, who has had six bestsellers before the age of 30, an eternal afterlife of leisure scares her more than the idea of going to hell.
“As a child, I was told when you die you go to heaven and heaven is where you eat cake all day and just get to hang out with your friends," said the 29-year-old Chinese American novelist, who was raised Christian, and publishes as R.F. Kuang. "And this really, really disturbed me because I think the monotony of that eternal existence was really frightening. It seems like there could be no stakes, nothing would be precious because there would be no conception of time.”
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Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Ruminating on what happens after you die inspired Kuang's newest book, “Katabasis.” After the brilliant satire of publishing and social media in 2023's “Yellowface,” Kuang returns to the fantasy genre.
Not unlike 2022's “Babel,” “Katabasis,” out Tuesday, is a dark yet playful takeoff on academia — a setting the current Yale University graduate student knows well. It's been the talk of BookTok and on publications' most-anticipated book lists, and there are already plans to turn it into an Amazon series led by "The Walking Dead” showrunner Angela Kang. Kuang will serve as a producer.
Kuang, though, tries not to let pressure and high expectations get to her.
“I think I always get a little bit nervous before a book comes out, but I think it’s just not good to dwell on that because it’s not productive at all,” said Kuang, who already had several chapters of “Katabasis” written by the time “Yellowface” came out.
The story's protagonist, Cambridge analytic magick doctoral student Alice, is obsessed with getting that holiest of academic grails: a recommendation letter from the department chair. After he unexpectedly dies, Alice decides to use a pentagram to enter purgatory and track him down. Only a handful of scholars have survived the journey. Classmate and frenemy Peter invites himself along.
Like the nine circles of hell from “Dante's Inferno,” readers get swept up in the “Eight Courts of Hell.” As the architect of hell, Kuang lays the landscape out in great detail, from vast dunes to skeletal animals made only of bones held together with chalk.
Kuang researched different beliefs about the underworld and wrote “Katabasis” all while continuing pursuit of her doctorate in East Asian languages and literature at Yale. She spoke with The Associated Press recently about the “magick" of designing her own version of hell and the Trump administration's targeting of universities, among other topics. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
KUANG: For sure, I — we had a lot of fun. I was bouncing ideas off my husband because he’s in academia as well. We were thinking about, “Oh, what are all the little annoying things that people do that couldn’t be properly called malicious but I think deserves a little bit of punishment in hell?”
KUANG: I just think the ’80s are very culturally fun for me. I’m a ’90s kid, so I just miss that. But I am also interested in the Reagan and Thatcher era. So I think the ’70s and ’80s are this period of backlash and the rise of neoliberalism and privatization against the sort of cultural advances that had been made during the ’60s. So in the ’60s, you have the civil rights era and then the ’70s and ’80s, you have the rolling back of a lot of those egalitarian movements.
I wanted my characters to be working in a space where it feels like there's this widespread denial about the existence of structural oppression — and they are really raised by this mentality that if things go wrong for them then it’s entirely their fault and they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, which is devastating because then they don’t have avenues for solidarity.
KUANG: Yes, but I finished I finished revisions before the election. So, I think even in November, we had no idea what kind of attacks on higher education were going to come on in the following fall. So I wasn’t writing about this political moment, but it does seem like we’re right back in the '80s.
KUANG: All I can do is just keep doing my work. Because I think the final victory would just be to roll over and play dead and let the administration stop us from pursuing the lines of research that we’ve been pursuing all along. And they can make it as difficult as they can, but we shouldn’t preemptively just put our pens down and walk away.
KUANG: The last time I was on TikTok was two years ago, and it was fun but it’s a massive distraction. I believe pretty firmly that TikTok should be a space for readers. It’s actually this wonderful thing that, like especially younger readers, can get so enthusiastic about books and share their opinions and recommend things like that. That’s really, really cool, especially at a time where things like reading is kind of under attack especially with book bans and all that.
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Author R.F. Kuang poses for a portrait near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Danish official said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with President Donald Trump after holding highly anticipated White House talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The two sides, however, agreed to create a working group to discuss ways to work through differences as Trump continues to call for a U.S. takeover of the semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after joining Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, for the talks. He added that it remains "clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.”
Trump is trying to make the case that NATO should help the U.S. acquire the world's largest island and says anything less than it being under American control is unacceptable.
Denmark, meanwhile, announced plans to boost the country's military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic as Trump tries to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover of the vast territory by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.
The president, who did not take part in Wednesday’s meeting, told reporters he remained committed to acquiring the territory.
“We need Greenland for national security,” Trump said. “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”
Trump named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as a special envoy to Greenland last month. Landry did not attend Wednesday's meeting, but was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday and Friday for meetings that include the topic of Greenland, his spokesperson said.
Landry, following Trump's latest comments, posted on X that Trump was “absolutely right” about acquiring Greenland and the territory "is a critical component of our nation’s national security portfolio.”
Before the meeting, Trump took to social media to make the case that “NATO should be leading the way" for the U.S. to acquire the territory. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has sought to keep an arms-length away from the dispute between the most important power and the other members of the 32-country alliance unnerved by the aggressive tack Trump has taken toward Denmark.
Both Løkke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt offered measured hope that the talks were beginning a conversation that would lead to Trump dropping his demand and create a path for tighter cooperation with the U.S.
"We have shown where our limits are and from there, I think that it will be very good to look forward,” Motzfeldt said.
In Copenhagen, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies," a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”
Several of the country's allies, including Germany, France, Norway and Sweden, announced they were arriving in Greenland along with Danish personnel to take part in joint exercises or map out further military cooperation in the Arctic.
NATO is also looking at how members can collectively bolster the alliance's presence in the Arctic, said a NATO official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Greenland is strategically important because, as climate change causes the ice to melt, it opens up the possibility of shorter trade routes to Asia. That also could make it easier to extract and transport untapped deposits of critical minerals which are needed for computers and phones.
Trump says Greenland is also “vital” to the United States' Golden Dome missile defense program. He also has said Russia and China pose a threat in the region.
But experts and Greenlanders question that claim, and it has become a hot topic on the snow-covered main street in Greenland’s capital, where international journalists and camera crews have descended as Trump continues his takeover talk.
In interviews, Greenlanders said the outcome of the Washington talks didn't exactly evince confidence that Trump can be persuaded.
“Trump is unpredictable,” said Geng Lastein, who immigrated to Greenland 18 years ago from the Philippines.
Maya Martinsen, 21, said she doesn't buy Trump's arguments that Greenland needs to be controlled by the U.S. for the sake maintaining a security edge in Arctic over China and Russia. Instead, Martinsen said, Trump is after the plentiful “oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”
Greenland “has beautiful nature and lovely people," Martinsen added. "It’s just home to me. I think the Americans just see some kind of business trade.”
Denmark has said the U.S., which already has a military presence, can boost its bases on Greenland. The U.S. is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland.
Løkke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt also met with a bipartisan group senators from the Arctic Caucus. The senators said they were concerned Trump's push to acquire Greenland could upend NATO and play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has introduced legislation to try to block any U.S. action in Greenland, said it was “stunning” to her that they were even discussing the matter. “We are operating in times where we are having conversations about things that we never even thought possible,” Murkowski said.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said it is “nonsense” to say that the U.S. needs to control Greenland to protect national security. The officials were “very open to additional national security assets in Greenland in order to meet whatever risks there are.”
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers plans to show their solidarity by traveling to Copenhagen this week.
Burrows reported from Nuuk, Greenland and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert in Washington, Sara Cline and Jack Brook in Baton Rouge, La., and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.
People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
An American flag is displayed on the facade of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
From left, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, begin a meeting on Capitol Hill as officials from Denmark and Greenland meet with lawmakers from the Arctic Caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The demonstration under the slogan Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders is held in front of the American embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, third from left, Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, not shown, and their delegations leave the Old Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the grounds of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speaks at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Denmark's Foreign Minister, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, right, and Greenland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt, left, prepare at the danish embassy for the meeting with the American Vice President, J.D. Vance, and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio in Washington D.C., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
A fisherman carries a bucket onto his boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A boat travels at the sea inlet in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People walk near the church in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A bird stands on a boat at the harbour of Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People walk along a street in downtown of Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
