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A group of six quirky but brave kids encounter the trail of a vast and dreadful paranormal evil that has invaded our realm from the farthest reaches of shadow. They must devote their lives confronting it, facing horror after horror in the process.

A Familiar Storyline with a Distinctive Spin

This outlines the narrative, roughly, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no debate). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a band of six summon the primordial, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. As one might expect, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Authorial Legacy

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to remain separate from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his parent). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Back to those friends: five of them are students at the imagined this academic setting in Maine. First is Arthur, academic and intelligent, deciphering historical enigmas in his spare time; Colin, rich, astute, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the beautiful Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their circle as they toy, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Critical Summoning

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer valuable volumes from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and disturbing publication: the journal of practitioner the historical figure (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators read the journal, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a “proud worm to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they are required to pick a different victim every twelve months or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Versatility and Inventive Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the companions endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from suspense to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a segment tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was wonderfully frightening.

A Detailed Tapestry of Horror and Courage

The novel features trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and instances of dreadful evil, both human and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is chiefly a tribute to the creative spirit, 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 the wealthy student as the companions assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their beast into existence with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.