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A group of six oddball but brave children confront the trail of a immense and fearsome supernatural malevolence that has infiltrated our world from the deepest abyss of shadow. They must wage a lifelong battle battling it, experiencing horror after horror in the process.

An Echoing Storyline with a Fresh Approach

This is the plot, roughly, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent massive horror novel, in which a band of six summon the primordial, deeply sinister dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark to assist them in vanquishing some villains. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Celebrating a Literary Lineage

Joe Hill started his career going to great lengths to distance himself from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his dad). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a incident that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). In this epic story, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Returning to the group: five of them are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in the New England state. We have Arthur, bookish and gifted, deciphering ancient puzzles in his free moments; another key figure, rich, astute, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their group as they dabble, partly convinced, half not, in the occult.

The Pivotal Summoning

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and unsettling publication: the diary of adept Enoch Crane (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a armored demon” to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering annually or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Fluidity and Imaginative Range

Spanning forty years, the author shifts with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the friends endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we move between suspense to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths beneath this UK region, a section tinged by the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Canvas of Horror and Hope

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, properly scary and expertly realized. There are magical swords and deceptions, breath-taking moments of valor and scenes of appalling malevolence, both earthly and supernatural. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is chiefly a ode to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the friends sit around the table, preparing to summon their beast into existence with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.