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Six oddball but doughty kids encounter the trail of a vast and dreadful otherworldly evil that has infiltrated our world from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They are compelled to devote their lives battling it, enduring horror after horror in the process.

A Familiar Premise with a Distinctive Spin

This is the plot, in essence, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (his best; undeniable). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest massive horror novel, in which six friends call forth the age-old, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark to help them defeat some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession going to great lengths to remain separate from his famous father, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that recalls a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Returning to the group: the majority are scholars at the fictional the esteemed institution in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and gifted, deciphering Old English riddles in his free moments; Colin, rich, clever, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their circle as they dabble, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Summoning

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the institution’s prized and disturbing work: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). These young investigators read the journal, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a armoured devil” to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they are required to pick a fresh offering annually or fall prey to the beast. In the character’s own words: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Versatility and Creative Breadth

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency across narrative styles: as the companions strive to manage the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we move between suspense to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a part tinged by the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Canvas of Horror and Courage

There are trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and perfectly brought to life. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, breath-taking moments of courage and ones of terrible wickedness, both mortal and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is primarily a tribute to the imagination, and to love and friendship. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the companions assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their beast to life with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.