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Six oddball but brave kids fall into the trail of a vast and terrible otherworldly evil that has entered our world from the outer limits of shadow. They must wage a lifelong battle fighting it, enduring one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Plot with a Distinctive Twist

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no debate). It similarly frames of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group call forth the primordial, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Acknowledging a Authorial Heritage

The author launched his profession striving diligently to remain separate from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and avoiding meeting his agent (he possesses a strong similarity to his parent). However, in his newest work, he leans into it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that evokes a signature King element (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 Main Characters

Back to those friends: most are scholars at the made-up this academic setting in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, academic and gifted, deciphering historical enigmas in his spare time; another key figure, affluent, astute, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their group as they dabble, partly convinced, half not, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the library’s most valuable and disturbing title: the diary of practitioner Enoch Crane (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is made from his skin). The intrepid group read the journal, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a different victim annually or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the allies endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from page-turner to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to terror. A standout transition was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves under the English county, a section tinged by the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Horror and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and ones of terrible wickedness, both earthly and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean to the imagination, and to love and friendship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the allies sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent into existence with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.