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Six oddball but doughty kids fall into the trail of a immense and fearsome paranormal darkness that has infiltrated our world from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes confronting it, enduring horror after horror in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a Fresh Twist

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (his best; undeniable). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the ancient, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Embracing a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King started his career striving diligently to remain separate from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that brings to mind a signature King element (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

Meet the Central Figures

Returning to the group: most are students at the made-up the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, studious and brilliant, solving Old English riddles in his free moments; the character Colin, wealthy, clever, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie herself. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their band as they toy, half believing, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Critical Summoning

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer rare books from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the institution’s prized and unsettling publication: the journal of adept the historical figure (executed “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators examine the log, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a “proud worm to assist Arthur with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a new sacrifice each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Scope

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with natural fluency across narrative styles: as the companions strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we move between thriller to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to romance to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, far beneath the surface beneath this UK region, a segment sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Dread and Courage

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, properly scary and expertly realized. There are magical swords and deceptions, breath-taking moments of bravery and ones of dreadful evil, both human and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is chiefly a tribute to the creative spirit, 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 this character as the friends gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.