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Katathon: The Official Companion Novella to The Rest of the Laurels
Fifty competitors. Nine levels. One winner. Every year, millions tune in to see which of the world's most eligible adventurers are able to secure the infamous laurel crown. This is Katathon.
In a world where the nine levels of Hell described in Dante's Inferno are not only real, but the backdrop for the world's deadliest race, aspiring singer Asha enters Katathon with an ulterior to retrieve her ex-boyfriend, a previous Katathon competitor who never made it out. She forges a tenuous alliance with two fellow competitors to maximize her chances of making it through Hell alive, only to find that she is in over her head – literally.
Katathon is the official companion novella to Janani K. Jha's debut album The Rest of the Laurels. Each chapter of the novella corresponds to a song on the album.
In a world where the nine levels of Hell described in Dante's Inferno are not only real, but the backdrop for the world's deadliest race, aspiring singer Asha enters Katathon with an ulterior to retrieve her ex-boyfriend, a previous Katathon competitor who never made it out. She forges a tenuous alliance with two fellow competitors to maximize her chances of making it through Hell alive, only to find that she is in over her head – literally.
Katathon is the official companion novella to Janani K. Jha's debut album The Rest of the Laurels. Each chapter of the novella corresponds to a song on the album.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2024
45 people are currently reading
1443 people want to read
About the author
Janani K. Jha
1 book81 followersJanani K. Jha loves to tell stories. Her music has been streamed over eighty million times across platforms, and her songwriting has been praised by outlets like VOGUE India, the Recording Academy, MTV, NME, Spin, and Forbes. She lives in Los Angeles, where she obsessively hosts game nights (much to the chagrin of her friends) and drinks unhealthy amounts of bubble tea.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Want to read
February 19, 2025How am I only now just finding out that she wrote a freaking book?
December 28, 2024
Super fun read if you’ve ever loved Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, Survivor, and/or Hadestown
January 3, 2025
I love this book!!
If you liked Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games this is right up your alley.
To me the characters felt believable, realistic. I could relate to the protagonist and I loved the kind of humor she has. It left me wanting more, not because it lacked anything but because of how good it is. Listening to the album really improved the experience.
If you liked Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games this is right up your alley.
To me the characters felt believable, realistic. I could relate to the protagonist and I loved the kind of humor she has. It left me wanting more, not because it lacked anything but because of how good it is. Listening to the album really improved the experience.
May 14, 2025
I thought this was a solid novella and will read more of Janani Jha's works in the future once she writes more. I've enjoyed her music. I found the first half of the book to be great. The prose was elegant and the plot was developed well for a novella. I wish the ending was more satisfying. It seemed like she got bored of writing the book half way through and stopped coming up ideas for each of the stages of hell. The final few were basically skipped over and we never got to see the fall out from the climax of the book. I would have liked it to be more
January 8, 2025
The ONLY thing I can say is I wish it was longer!!! The characters are branched out so well and witty, the story is one of a kind and told so beautifully. And the album (The Rest of the Laurels) is of COURSE stunning and pairs to this beautifully.
January 10, 2025
A great story didn't expect the ending. Also love the album that accompanies it.
Want to read
August 18, 2025There’s a album from the author where every song corresponds with a chapter and the main characters mental state. I need this right now.
January 23, 2025
2,75
I hate to give this book such a low rating, I really, really do. I’ve been a fan of Janani K. Jha back in December 2021, waiting for the song “Library Card” to come out. I remember being ecstatic when I listened to her first Album “Poetic License” for the first time. I love her voice, her “writing style” and how original her music is. I relate to her and her music a lot being an immigrant (although a privileged one), being perceived as weird as a child and still today, loving poetry and wordplays, loving reading, and being obsessed with greek mythology from a young age.
When I heard about an album based off mythology and her debut novella I got so excited. I had read the first chapter on substack already (btw if you’re looking for some good mythology books to read, go on there, I read Ithaca by Claire North because she was reading it for a book club and it was amazing) and it was really good.
Then I got to the actual book and I’m sad to admit that it was not as good as I thought it would be. Granted, it’s her first time writing a book. But still. I was really disappointed by the shallow and cringe writing of some characters, dialogues and monologues especially when
SPOILER
Silas has his “evil monologue” in the end, which is a trope I hate and made his character so much more inconsistent. You could say that Katathon has corrupted him so much that he became “crazy”, but that wasn’t mentioned at all...
SPOILER END
The issue was mainly that hasn’t come into her writing style yet. When accomplished, it could become as amazing as Claire North or Madeline Miller’s. There were some great metaphors and similes with symbolism that I so love. The concept was also a great idea (if I wish she’d taken it further!). And I think the characterization of Asha could have been great if she’d just written it better. I also really enjoyed the mythology aspect of it.
So to conclude: Often cringe writing, great symbolism, great idea and a lot of potential.
I hope she’s gonna get back to this novella in a couple of years to rewrite it and make it longer — then it might even become a masterpiece.
I hate to give this book such a low rating, I really, really do. I’ve been a fan of Janani K. Jha back in December 2021, waiting for the song “Library Card” to come out. I remember being ecstatic when I listened to her first Album “Poetic License” for the first time. I love her voice, her “writing style” and how original her music is. I relate to her and her music a lot being an immigrant (although a privileged one), being perceived as weird as a child and still today, loving poetry and wordplays, loving reading, and being obsessed with greek mythology from a young age.
When I heard about an album based off mythology and her debut novella I got so excited. I had read the first chapter on substack already (btw if you’re looking for some good mythology books to read, go on there, I read Ithaca by Claire North because she was reading it for a book club and it was amazing) and it was really good.
Then I got to the actual book and I’m sad to admit that it was not as good as I thought it would be. Granted, it’s her first time writing a book. But still. I was really disappointed by the shallow and cringe writing of some characters, dialogues and monologues especially when
SPOILER
Silas has his “evil monologue” in the end, which is a trope I hate and made his character so much more inconsistent. You could say that Katathon has corrupted him so much that he became “crazy”, but that wasn’t mentioned at all...
SPOILER END
The issue was mainly that hasn’t come into her writing style yet. When accomplished, it could become as amazing as Claire North or Madeline Miller’s. There were some great metaphors and similes with symbolism that I so love. The concept was also a great idea (if I wish she’d taken it further!). And I think the characterization of Asha could have been great if she’d just written it better. I also really enjoyed the mythology aspect of it.
So to conclude: Often cringe writing, great symbolism, great idea and a lot of potential.
I hope she’s gonna get back to this novella in a couple of years to rewrite it and make it longer — then it might even become a masterpiece.
January 20, 2025
Hunger games meet Dantes Inferno meets Hadestown 🫡
February 1, 2025
I was pleasantly surprised by this novella! I've been listening to Janani's music since I found her through Epic the Musical and was excited to find she had written a companion novella to her album The Rest of the Laurels. As a fan of Greek mythology and Dante's Inferno, this was such an intriguing story, with hints of Hunger Games/Survivor. This makes we want to go back and read Inferno and The Odyssey.
Minor spoiler: My favorite part was when Asha handed Homer part of The Illiad to read allowed. I'm just imagining what it would be like to actually hear Homer himself read from The Illiad!!
Minor spoiler: My favorite part was when Asha handed Homer part of The Illiad to read allowed. I'm just imagining what it would be like to actually hear Homer himself read from The Illiad!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2025
DID IT REALLY HAVE TO END??? DAMN
October 27, 2025
Overview:
Katathon is a story of a brave young woman who willingly joined a competition that takes her and 49 others through a series of circles of Hell—called “The Other Place” in the story. All of it was in the name of rescuing an old lover, Myo, who she lost to him joining the first edition of the competition.
She meets Silas, a blond mysterious man who she has mixed feelings for, and Violet, the fiery red-haired Arkansan who had just the practical survival skills they needed to survive this.
Plot:
I’m really loving the worldbuilding of the Other Place being this mysterious place called Celestial Hades apparently located in the Andromeda Galaxy.
The maze riddle part was really interesting and fun, seeing the main characters interact with historical figures like Orpheus and Homer.
There is a thrilling aspect of leaving the reader guessing who was being genuine to Asha and who wasn’t keeping the reader at the edge of their seat the whole time, as revelations get unraveled slowly.
There were multiple points where Asha had to make a decision quickly on whether she was going to let other contestants aside from her team through, and each time she has to come to terms with the ruthlessness that she needed to maintain if she wanted her and her team to make it out alive.
61% of the way through, Asha finds Myo—though it was more Myo finding Asha.
I had a grand time laughing about the Lust memory wipe, and the mystery of who did what to who. It was one of the slivers of pure entertainment amidst the chaos unfolding in the main story.
The tension that erupted when it was discovered that Violet and Asha got drunk from berries they hid from the others was palpable, and it was apparent that it was the beginning of the end for their quartet.
“Greed is a factory.” - Myo. It was a factory and warehouse full of money bags, with an animated golden statue named Plutus giving out a challenge. More cracks in the quartet of protagonists appear as there were multiple strategies on how to get to the exit door.
As soon as I saw the title of Chapter 10 being “Cut the Cord”, I knew heartbreak was on its way, 89% of the way through the whole thing.
The last few chapters were so gut-wrenching. It really tugged at my heartstrings as someone who has been betrayed before. I really felt Asha’s pain when the three she thought were allies all the while had conspired for YEARS—even before Myo met her—to divvy up the winnings.
But in the end, it’s the one who is brave enough to run the last leg alone who wins. It’s a great message for us readers who are dealing with a lot.
Characters:
Asha - South Asian Indie singer living in California who lost her footballer boyfriend to a hell marathon.
Silas - Blonde tall guy who keeps his secrets carefully up his sleeve.
Violet - Arkansan park ranger who wore a fiery red outfit and hair to the competition to represent her state.
Myo - Asha’s perfectionist boyfriend who was smart and sweet.
Writing:
POV - First Person, Asha
The overall writing was really good, and the pacing was alright. There was nothing revealed to the reader that wasn’t already revealed to Asha, so there were no immersion-breaking moments.
A bit of bonus for this part: I really love the accompanying album to this book. I avoided it before finishing the book to avoid spoilers and it was worth the wait! Really great lyrics that take me back to key scenes in the book.
All-in-all, a five-star read for anyone who, like me, had once felt lost in an unknown path, and those who felt that the people around them have been hiding crucial secrets from them before.
Favorite quotes:
(I think this is the longest quote compilation I have done on here so far, this whole book really just spoke to me, many hints of major spoilers ahead)
“I'd spent my entire life sneaking into places I wasn't meant to be, jumping headfirst into chaos and fleeing from problems with abandon, and thought, what's the harm in one more escapade?”
“There is a moment in your life where it fractures, and you are faced with a clearly defined "before" and a murkier "after.””
“[…] so many of us choose to exist in limbo willingly in our actual Lifetimes. We see nothing wrong with it. We straddle that space between sadness and satisfaction and build our lives around it. We settle for contentness and silently resent those of us who have chosen otherwise.”
“"Courage is not the absence of fear," [Myo] had announced into the mic, his voice artificially deepened, chest ceremoniously puffed.
"It's the flash of terror that takes hold in one's eyes,"-here, a pause for dramatic effect-"and the brow that sets after."”
“The one man who l'd ever loved was down there in the pits of Hell, trapped under metric tons of dirt and mantle, doomed to experience some of the worst horrors conceivable to man on an eternal loop. A modern day Eurydice, and I his Orpheus.”
"You were right, Asha." "About what?" "You've changed." The tip of his mouth twitches. I can't tell if he's smiling or suppressing a frown. "You're not the girl I used to know.”
“They've underestimated me from the beginning. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy finally feeling respected. Even if all it took was a rage-fueled outburst that almost left two of our team members trapped in a hellish warehouse.”
“The Greeks had a word for the act of purifying oneself of unwanted emotion, of dissolving the thick veil of shame that hangs in the aftermath of sin: katharsis. I feel cleansed. If the water below wasn't acrid, l'd swim in it.”
“This is when something remarkable happens, something I can't quite understand even all these years later. I rise and the rope falls from me and I just start walking. My legs grow a mind of their own and move uninhibited. I'm just along for the ride.”
“I'm motivated by a singular thought that loops like a skipping CD player: it's been decided. All the thoughts, all the memories— they just decided how this would all end for me. I had no say. I had no choice.”
“But, if like me, the Other Place calls to you like a siren, here's what I have to say: don't trust anyone. Forge your own paths and run wildly, faster than you think you need to. You already have everything you need in yourself.”
Katathon is a story of a brave young woman who willingly joined a competition that takes her and 49 others through a series of circles of Hell—called “The Other Place” in the story. All of it was in the name of rescuing an old lover, Myo, who she lost to him joining the first edition of the competition.
She meets Silas, a blond mysterious man who she has mixed feelings for, and Violet, the fiery red-haired Arkansan who had just the practical survival skills they needed to survive this.
Plot:
I’m really loving the worldbuilding of the Other Place being this mysterious place called Celestial Hades apparently located in the Andromeda Galaxy.
The maze riddle part was really interesting and fun, seeing the main characters interact with historical figures like Orpheus and Homer.
There is a thrilling aspect of leaving the reader guessing who was being genuine to Asha and who wasn’t keeping the reader at the edge of their seat the whole time, as revelations get unraveled slowly.
There were multiple points where Asha had to make a decision quickly on whether she was going to let other contestants aside from her team through, and each time she has to come to terms with the ruthlessness that she needed to maintain if she wanted her and her team to make it out alive.
61% of the way through, Asha finds Myo—though it was more Myo finding Asha.
I had a grand time laughing about the Lust memory wipe, and the mystery of who did what to who. It was one of the slivers of pure entertainment amidst the chaos unfolding in the main story.
The tension that erupted when it was discovered that Violet and Asha got drunk from berries they hid from the others was palpable, and it was apparent that it was the beginning of the end for their quartet.
“Greed is a factory.” - Myo. It was a factory and warehouse full of money bags, with an animated golden statue named Plutus giving out a challenge. More cracks in the quartet of protagonists appear as there were multiple strategies on how to get to the exit door.
As soon as I saw the title of Chapter 10 being “Cut the Cord”, I knew heartbreak was on its way, 89% of the way through the whole thing.
The last few chapters were so gut-wrenching. It really tugged at my heartstrings as someone who has been betrayed before. I really felt Asha’s pain when the three she thought were allies all the while had conspired for YEARS—even before Myo met her—to divvy up the winnings.
But in the end, it’s the one who is brave enough to run the last leg alone who wins. It’s a great message for us readers who are dealing with a lot.
Characters:
Asha - South Asian Indie singer living in California who lost her footballer boyfriend to a hell marathon.
Silas - Blonde tall guy who keeps his secrets carefully up his sleeve.
Violet - Arkansan park ranger who wore a fiery red outfit and hair to the competition to represent her state.
Myo - Asha’s perfectionist boyfriend who was smart and sweet.
Writing:
POV - First Person, Asha
The overall writing was really good, and the pacing was alright. There was nothing revealed to the reader that wasn’t already revealed to Asha, so there were no immersion-breaking moments.
A bit of bonus for this part: I really love the accompanying album to this book. I avoided it before finishing the book to avoid spoilers and it was worth the wait! Really great lyrics that take me back to key scenes in the book.
All-in-all, a five-star read for anyone who, like me, had once felt lost in an unknown path, and those who felt that the people around them have been hiding crucial secrets from them before.
Favorite quotes:
(I think this is the longest quote compilation I have done on here so far, this whole book really just spoke to me, many hints of major spoilers ahead)
“I'd spent my entire life sneaking into places I wasn't meant to be, jumping headfirst into chaos and fleeing from problems with abandon, and thought, what's the harm in one more escapade?”
“There is a moment in your life where it fractures, and you are faced with a clearly defined "before" and a murkier "after.””
“[…] so many of us choose to exist in limbo willingly in our actual Lifetimes. We see nothing wrong with it. We straddle that space between sadness and satisfaction and build our lives around it. We settle for contentness and silently resent those of us who have chosen otherwise.”
“"Courage is not the absence of fear," [Myo] had announced into the mic, his voice artificially deepened, chest ceremoniously puffed.
"It's the flash of terror that takes hold in one's eyes,"-here, a pause for dramatic effect-"and the brow that sets after."”
“The one man who l'd ever loved was down there in the pits of Hell, trapped under metric tons of dirt and mantle, doomed to experience some of the worst horrors conceivable to man on an eternal loop. A modern day Eurydice, and I his Orpheus.”
"You were right, Asha." "About what?" "You've changed." The tip of his mouth twitches. I can't tell if he's smiling or suppressing a frown. "You're not the girl I used to know.”
“They've underestimated me from the beginning. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy finally feeling respected. Even if all it took was a rage-fueled outburst that almost left two of our team members trapped in a hellish warehouse.”
“The Greeks had a word for the act of purifying oneself of unwanted emotion, of dissolving the thick veil of shame that hangs in the aftermath of sin: katharsis. I feel cleansed. If the water below wasn't acrid, l'd swim in it.”
“This is when something remarkable happens, something I can't quite understand even all these years later. I rise and the rope falls from me and I just start walking. My legs grow a mind of their own and move uninhibited. I'm just along for the ride.”
“I'm motivated by a singular thought that loops like a skipping CD player: it's been decided. All the thoughts, all the memories— they just decided how this would all end for me. I had no say. I had no choice.”
“But, if like me, the Other Place calls to you like a siren, here's what I have to say: don't trust anyone. Forge your own paths and run wildly, faster than you think you need to. You already have everything you need in yourself.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2025
2.5 rounded up really...
wanted to really love this, but the pacing was really off imo both in an overarching scope and at the scene level. I was drawn to it as an exploration of myths of hell, the Inferno in particular of course, but those aspects were basically glossed over for moments that were meant to make us care about the characters but... didn't really.
the album that is the companion is good though
edited because the more I think about this book the more I realize it really only deserves 2 stars.
wanted to really love this, but the pacing was really off imo both in an overarching scope and at the scene level. I was drawn to it as an exploration of myths of hell, the Inferno in particular of course, but those aspects were basically glossed over for moments that were meant to make us care about the characters but... didn't really.
the album that is the companion is good though
edited because the more I think about this book the more I realize it really only deserves 2 stars.
December 28, 2024
"Here's the tale I've come to tell; of two options when it comes to Hell..."
I was very pleasantly surprised by Katathon, especially knowing it is a debut novella. Until now I primarily knew Janani K. Jha through her music, which I am a big fan of. I expected this novella to be a short story that expands a bit on the themes of the songs on her album "The Rest of the Laurels".
That is definitely not what this is, it is a very well written, lengthy (I feel like you can almost call it a novel) novella, that can stand on its own even without the context of the songs. But the reading experience is definitely improved upon by listening to the corresponding chapter songs alongside reading, so that is what I would recommend doing.
I was captivated from the dedication on, as I was one of those kids who stayed up later than they were supposed to at night, reading under the covers (side note: very fittingly, I read Katathon in one sitting and stayed up until almost 5am for it):
For all my friends who stayed awake at night reading stories under the covers with flashlights. This one's for us.
The beginning of the novella was a bit slow, but in this case that wasn't such a bad thing as there was a lot of world building and explaining to be done. At this point in time there are of course thousands of tournament-based stories out there, so I was interested to see if and how the author would manage to make this common trope new and interesting. She definitely achieved this, during the tournament I especially enjoyed how different mythologies were woven into Dante's concept of hell (although I'm unsure how much of this comes from the actual source story). I have personally not read Inferno yet, but reading Katathon definitely made me interested in looking into that in the future.
The novella was well written and had a great flow, alongside this the author also put her knowledge as a pun world champion to good use. I loved these little funny moments and they certainly added a personal touch to the text (as a former Latin student I specifically enjoyed "semperary"). Her love for language and words was also noticeable throughout the novella.
The dynamics and tension between the main characters were very believable and I was quickly invested in all the characters and the storyline. I found the story to be a great mix of plot- and character-driven. Without getting into too much spoiler territory, there was one part that confused me a bit where I had to go back and reread a few pages and I'm still not entirely sure if I understood what was going on 100% (the part where a new character is introduced and Asha recounts a dream), but that was a minor issue.
There is a twist towards the end that I kind of saw coming, but that did not make it less exciting to actually read. The ending then kind of broke my heart a bit, but I still found it very fitting and a powerful way to finish this gripping story.
Overall, big recommendation, especially if you have listened to the album already! I hope to read more by Janani K. Jha in the future.
"I saw the edge, and then I shook; then I leapt before I looked..."
I was very pleasantly surprised by Katathon, especially knowing it is a debut novella. Until now I primarily knew Janani K. Jha through her music, which I am a big fan of. I expected this novella to be a short story that expands a bit on the themes of the songs on her album "The Rest of the Laurels".
That is definitely not what this is, it is a very well written, lengthy (I feel like you can almost call it a novel) novella, that can stand on its own even without the context of the songs. But the reading experience is definitely improved upon by listening to the corresponding chapter songs alongside reading, so that is what I would recommend doing.
I was captivated from the dedication on, as I was one of those kids who stayed up later than they were supposed to at night, reading under the covers (side note: very fittingly, I read Katathon in one sitting and stayed up until almost 5am for it):
For all my friends who stayed awake at night reading stories under the covers with flashlights. This one's for us.
The beginning of the novella was a bit slow, but in this case that wasn't such a bad thing as there was a lot of world building and explaining to be done. At this point in time there are of course thousands of tournament-based stories out there, so I was interested to see if and how the author would manage to make this common trope new and interesting. She definitely achieved this, during the tournament I especially enjoyed how different mythologies were woven into Dante's concept of hell (although I'm unsure how much of this comes from the actual source story). I have personally not read Inferno yet, but reading Katathon definitely made me interested in looking into that in the future.
The novella was well written and had a great flow, alongside this the author also put her knowledge as a pun world champion to good use. I loved these little funny moments and they certainly added a personal touch to the text (as a former Latin student I specifically enjoyed "semperary"). Her love for language and words was also noticeable throughout the novella.
The dynamics and tension between the main characters were very believable and I was quickly invested in all the characters and the storyline. I found the story to be a great mix of plot- and character-driven. Without getting into too much spoiler territory, there was one part that confused me a bit where I had to go back and reread a few pages and I'm still not entirely sure if I understood what was going on 100% (the part where a new character is introduced and Asha recounts a dream), but that was a minor issue.
There is a twist towards the end that I kind of saw coming, but that did not make it less exciting to actually read. The ending then kind of broke my heart a bit, but I still found it very fitting and a powerful way to finish this gripping story.
Overall, big recommendation, especially if you have listened to the album already! I hope to read more by Janani K. Jha in the future.
"I saw the edge, and then I shook; then I leapt before I looked..."
December 28, 2024
For a debut novel (personally I wouldn't count this as a novella), it's pretty damn good.
I first discovered Janani's music after watching (and stanning) her on Survivor (robbed). It did take a while for me to get into her music but, as a fellow enjoyer of Greek mythology, I eventually just couldn't resist. So when I heard she was making a Greek mythology concept album, I was fully seated
The Rest of the Laurels is a wonderful album, for lovers of Greek mythology and otherwise, and I was so excited for the companion novella when she announced it. Naturally I bought it the day she put it on her website.
I didn't do this the whole way through as I'm a pretty slow reader, but listening to the album while reading adds a lot to the experience. Though Katathon works just fine without it too, it tied into the themes of the album in a very satisfying way.
Katathon started off pretty slow, and I honestly didn't really fuck with the framing device, but the premise was compelling and when we finally get to Hell, it really picks up.
As I said before, I love Classical mythology, and I have a working familiarity with Dante's Inferno, so all the references made me really giddy, and you can tell the author knows her shit (shoutout the narrator being an Achilles Is Gay truther). The descriptions of Hell, its challenges, and the emotions the characters were feeling all throughout it were written extremely vividly, and were pretty damn creative too. The alliteration throughout the narration was also a nice touch.
So yeah, the writing and the worldbuilding was great, but Katathon still isn't quite a 5-star for me because honestly, I couldn't really get into the characters. Their banter was pretty cheesy (derogatory) and Violet in particular felt sort of underdeveloped. I liked the narrator character Asha but no one else really gripped me. Also I tend to rate just based on vibes and this just didn't have a 5-star vibe, which I know is a copout but the girlies who get it get it. And 4 stars is still like an A-tier or an 8/10 for me, so not bad by any means. It's a good book, *very* good for a first novel too.
I first discovered Janani's music after watching (and stanning) her on Survivor (robbed). It did take a while for me to get into her music but, as a fellow enjoyer of Greek mythology, I eventually just couldn't resist. So when I heard she was making a Greek mythology concept album, I was fully seated
The Rest of the Laurels is a wonderful album, for lovers of Greek mythology and otherwise, and I was so excited for the companion novella when she announced it. Naturally I bought it the day she put it on her website.
I didn't do this the whole way through as I'm a pretty slow reader, but listening to the album while reading adds a lot to the experience. Though Katathon works just fine without it too, it tied into the themes of the album in a very satisfying way.
Katathon started off pretty slow, and I honestly didn't really fuck with the framing device, but the premise was compelling and when we finally get to Hell, it really picks up.
As I said before, I love Classical mythology, and I have a working familiarity with Dante's Inferno, so all the references made me really giddy, and you can tell the author knows her shit (shoutout the narrator being an Achilles Is Gay truther). The descriptions of Hell, its challenges, and the emotions the characters were feeling all throughout it were written extremely vividly, and were pretty damn creative too. The alliteration throughout the narration was also a nice touch.
So yeah, the writing and the worldbuilding was great, but Katathon still isn't quite a 5-star for me because honestly, I couldn't really get into the characters. Their banter was pretty cheesy (derogatory) and Violet in particular felt sort of underdeveloped. I liked the narrator character Asha but no one else really gripped me. Also I tend to rate just based on vibes and this just didn't have a 5-star vibe, which I know is a copout but the girlies who get it get it. And 4 stars is still like an A-tier or an 8/10 for me, so not bad by any means. It's a good book, *very* good for a first novel too.
January 22, 2026
C’est grâce à un reel que je suis tombée sur cette novella. Et l’idée qu’elle accompagne tout un album était plus qu’intrigante donc, sans plus de question, j’ai ajouté le livre à ma liste. Dans cette critique, je parlerai strictement du livre cela dit.
Asha s’apprête à participer au troisième Katathon : une course à travers les cercles de l’enfer qui a lieu périodiquement depuis la découverte de deux mystérieuses portes dans le Grand Canyon. Cependant, Asha ne s’y dirige pas pour gagner la gloire ou la reconnaissance. Son but : découvrir ce qui est arrivé à son ex-petit ami qui n’est jamais revenu.
Cette novella est une découverte assez sympa en vrai. On suit Asha alors qu’elle passe les différents cercles en compagnie de l’équipe qu’elle assemble. J’ai bien aimé cette image de l’enfer, autant basé sur les écrits de Dante que pour les libertés que l’autrice s’accorde. La vision est vraiment chouette et ça crée une histoire qui se lit plutôt bien.
Par contre, je dois dire que je trouve que le texte souffre d’un style qui est parfois trop simpliste à coup de répliques qui ont l’air cool quand on y pense, mais qui n’ont aucun impact en pratique, une protagoniste qui ne sait pas vraiment s’imposer au sein de sa propre histoire et des personnages secondaires qui… n’ont pas vraiment lieu de se développer.
De plus, même s’il s’agit d’une novella, je trouve que la fin est particulièrement rushée au point qu’elle manque beaucoup de constance. Je pense, surtout devant la longueur des trois derniers chapitres en comparaison avec le reste de la novella, il y aurait eu lieu de pousser un peu plus rien que pour assurer une meilleure conclusion.
Mais bon. En somme, c’est une jolie découverte (et c’était cool de pouvoir écouter son album par la même occasion !).
Asha s’apprête à participer au troisième Katathon : une course à travers les cercles de l’enfer qui a lieu périodiquement depuis la découverte de deux mystérieuses portes dans le Grand Canyon. Cependant, Asha ne s’y dirige pas pour gagner la gloire ou la reconnaissance. Son but : découvrir ce qui est arrivé à son ex-petit ami qui n’est jamais revenu.
Cette novella est une découverte assez sympa en vrai. On suit Asha alors qu’elle passe les différents cercles en compagnie de l’équipe qu’elle assemble. J’ai bien aimé cette image de l’enfer, autant basé sur les écrits de Dante que pour les libertés que l’autrice s’accorde. La vision est vraiment chouette et ça crée une histoire qui se lit plutôt bien.
Par contre, je dois dire que je trouve que le texte souffre d’un style qui est parfois trop simpliste à coup de répliques qui ont l’air cool quand on y pense, mais qui n’ont aucun impact en pratique, une protagoniste qui ne sait pas vraiment s’imposer au sein de sa propre histoire et des personnages secondaires qui… n’ont pas vraiment lieu de se développer.
De plus, même s’il s’agit d’une novella, je trouve que la fin est particulièrement rushée au point qu’elle manque beaucoup de constance. Je pense, surtout devant la longueur des trois derniers chapitres en comparaison avec le reste de la novella, il y aurait eu lieu de pousser un peu plus rien que pour assurer une meilleure conclusion.
Mais bon. En somme, c’est une jolie découverte (et c’était cool de pouvoir écouter son album par la même occasion !).
June 18, 2025
This book was not what I expected. I'm going to be honest, E-Books are hard for me, and when someone only has an E-Book, it worries me about the quality.
BOY WAS I WRONG.
This book was so stellar, I made an 11-minute review video of it, so I'll keep this one short.
I DID NOT EXPECT THE TWIST. I have a sad reality of guessing twists easily, so when I tell you that this book shocked me to the point where I sat up, set it down, and had to walk a lap around my house before I kept going, I'M NOT BEING DRAMATIC.
As for vibes, it's amazing! It has the perfect mix of seriousness and humor, and with each chapter and each song, I grew to love it. Before this, I'll admit the only forum of "Dante's Inferno" that I had consumed was the video game Ultra Kill, so I didn't know much prefacing the book. I think that's good, though, because it helped me appreciate the world-building so much more. She tells the background information perfectly without sounding like a history book shoved in between two pages.
Overall, this is a 6/5 star read. My only bone to pick is that I can't get a paperback version, but I'll live.. for now...
BOY WAS I WRONG.
This book was so stellar, I made an 11-minute review video of it, so I'll keep this one short.
I DID NOT EXPECT THE TWIST. I have a sad reality of guessing twists easily, so when I tell you that this book shocked me to the point where I sat up, set it down, and had to walk a lap around my house before I kept going, I'M NOT BEING DRAMATIC.
As for vibes, it's amazing! It has the perfect mix of seriousness and humor, and with each chapter and each song, I grew to love it. Before this, I'll admit the only forum of "Dante's Inferno" that I had consumed was the video game Ultra Kill, so I didn't know much prefacing the book. I think that's good, though, because it helped me appreciate the world-building so much more. She tells the background information perfectly without sounding like a history book shoved in between two pages.
Overall, this is a 6/5 star read. My only bone to pick is that I can't get a paperback version, but I'll live.. for now...
February 22, 2025
Gave it 3.75/5
That was a new universe and I really liked it. I read the book while listening the the album as intended which made the experience more immersive.
I had a hard time liking Asha, a lot of unnecessary jealousy. I did like the banter between the characters, somehow she had more chemistry with Silas than Myo.
I was pleasantly surprised by the plot twist at the end.
I'm only giving it 3.75 because unfortunately it didn't dive into the 9 levels of Hell as I would have expected. We mostly skimmed through the quests and I found that disappointing. I wish we had had a more descriptive notion about what happened in each levels and how they get through each of them.
But for a first novella, this was quite good, if she ever decides to write something else, I'll definitely check it out.
That was a new universe and I really liked it. I read the book while listening the the album as intended which made the experience more immersive.
I had a hard time liking Asha, a lot of unnecessary jealousy. I did like the banter between the characters, somehow she had more chemistry with Silas than Myo.
I was pleasantly surprised by the plot twist at the end.
I'm only giving it 3.75 because unfortunately it didn't dive into the 9 levels of Hell as I would have expected. We mostly skimmed through the quests and I found that disappointing. I wish we had had a more descriptive notion about what happened in each levels and how they get through each of them.
But for a first novella, this was quite good, if she ever decides to write something else, I'll definitely check it out.
February 24, 2025
I was recently introduced to Janani's music and became an instant fan of her deep and layered lyrics and storytelling. So, it wasn't a complete surprise when I found out that she has written a novella. I finished Katathon in one sitting.
Story progression is so wonderful and gripping. Like in her songs, the storytelling in Katathon is layered and deep (against the backdrop of Dante's Hell).
The idea of having a companion novella to the album is so unique - makes you appreciate the album even more. Highly recommend both Katathon and the album!
Story progression is so wonderful and gripping. Like in her songs, the storytelling in Katathon is layered and deep (against the backdrop of Dante's Hell).
The idea of having a companion novella to the album is so unique - makes you appreciate the album even more. Highly recommend both Katathon and the album!
July 7, 2025
I absolutely adore Janani’s music, and I’ve been a huge fan for years. But the ending felt rushed and I wished we could’ve seen the aftermath. I also wanted more fleshed out quests from ALL nine levels of hell, because those were the most interesting parts imo. I did love listening to the album while reading, and this book could’ve been a 5/5 if the last three chapters weren’t cut short. :/
October 2, 2025
I listened to the concept album and read the book and it was so good. The songs kind of give a hint to what is to come in the next chapter. I really did not expect the big plot twist either, it added an incredible surprise and made it an even more victorious finish for the winner of the game however bittersweet it may have been.
February 13, 2025
I found her through survivor and thought what the hell, I'll read this. and it was really good. I liked the action and the relationship between her and Silas the most.
February 17, 2025
Incredibly artistic, beautifully written. Dialogue is the highlight to me!!
April 24, 2025
Absolute fantastic book and album
October 28, 2025
I rlly need to read the divine comedy huh
December 27, 2025
MARVELOUS PROSE AND WORLD BUILDING, WE NEED A TRILOGY JANANI
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2025
when i found out there was a companion novella to janani k. jha's album ‘the rest of the laurels’, i just had to read it. i’ve been loving her music for a while now, but i didn’t think i’d end up loving her book just as much.
she crafted a modern world, where a race through dante’s 9 levels of hell takes place each year. and asha entered to go find her ex-boyfriend who never made it out.
i loved how she combined the modern world with all these mythological figures who reside in different levels, all of which came with unique challenges. added to that was the tension of her teammates desperately wanting to win, and her feeling like she’s missing some important detail.
on top of that each chapter was linked to a song on the album which just made it all the more interesting to read.
she crafted a modern world, where a race through dante’s 9 levels of hell takes place each year. and asha entered to go find her ex-boyfriend who never made it out.
i loved how she combined the modern world with all these mythological figures who reside in different levels, all of which came with unique challenges. added to that was the tension of her teammates desperately wanting to win, and her feeling like she’s missing some important detail.
on top of that each chapter was linked to a song on the album which just made it all the more interesting to read.
December 31, 2025
4.5
It really surprises me that this is her first novella!
Only the concept of the story already intrigued me right of the bat!
It really surprises me that this is her first novella!
Only the concept of the story already intrigued me right of the bat!
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