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Six unlikely but doughty kids confront the trail of a colossal and fearsome otherworldly darkness that has infiltrated our realm from the outer limits of oblivion. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle battling it, facing one nightmare after another in the process.

An Echoing Plot with a Fresh Twist

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which a band of six invoke the primordial, infinitely malicious dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Embracing a Family Lineage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to remain separate from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a uncanny likeness to his dad). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: the majority are pupils at the imagined this academic setting in Maine. First is Arthur, studious and gifted, cracking Old English riddles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, wealthy, sharp, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their band as they toy, half believing, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ceremony

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and disturbing title: the logbook of occultist the historical figure (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what the occultist details as a cunning serpent to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a different victim annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Versatility and Inventive Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the allies strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we move between page-turner to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to romance to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface under the English county, a section sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Fear and Courage

The novel features trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and deceptions, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and scenes of dreadful evil, both earthly and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily 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 Colin as the allies gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their dragon to life with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his opening statement: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.