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A group of six unlikely but brave children encounter the trail of a vast and terrible otherworldly evil that has infiltrated our world from the outer limits of darkness. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the process.

A Resonant Plot with a Fresh Twist

This outlines the narrative, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It parallels of King’s son Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Celebrating a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession striving diligently to remain separate from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and avoiding meeting his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that evokes a King plot point (a game of puzzles). Throughout this massive book, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Returning to the group: five of them are scholars at the made-up this academic setting in the New England state. We have Arthur, studious and gifted, deciphering historical enigmas in his leisure hours; Colin, rich, astute, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning the lovely Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their band as they toy, somewhat credulous, half not, in the occult.

The Pivotal Summoning

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take rare books from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s made to take the institution’s prized and unsettling work: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators examine the log, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a different victim each year or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Dexterity and Inventive Breadth

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with natural fluency between genres: as the friends attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we move between suspense to grim fantasy, covert operations to love story to terror. A standout transition was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Fear and Courage

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, breath-taking moments of valor and ones of terrible wickedness, both mortal and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is above all a paean to the human inventiveness, 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 Colin as the friends sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their beast into being with the power of their thoughts.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.