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A group of six unlikely but doughty children encounter the trail of a vast and dreadful supernatural evil that has infiltrated our realm from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes battling it, enduring terror upon terror in the process.

An Echoing Plot with a New Twist

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s novel It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent massive horror novel, in which a band of six call forth the ancient, utterly malevolent beast the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Acknowledging a Authorial Legacy

Joe Hill launched his profession making great efforts to distance himself from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he still uses today and avoiding meeting his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a scene that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: most are students at the made-up Rackham College in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, studious and gifted, solving historical enigmas in his free moments; another key figure, wealthy, 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 assumes a vital role of their group as they dabble, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in the occult.

The Pivotal Ritual

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s made to take the institution’s prized and disturbing publication: the journal of practitioner the historical figure (executed “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang read the journal, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a clever snake to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering every twelve months or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Fluidity and Inventive Scope

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with natural fluency between genres: as the friends endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or seeking means to slay the beast themselves, we move between thriller to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths beneath this UK region, a section tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Mosaic of Fear and Optimism

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, breath-taking moments of bravery and instances of appalling malevolence, both mortal and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is above all a tribute to the imagination, 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 this character as the allies gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their beast into being with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.