🔗 Share this article

A group of six quirky but doughty kids confront the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural evil that has entered our realm from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They must spend their lifetimes fighting it, enduring terror upon terror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Plot with a Fresh Approach

This is the plot, in essence, of Stephen King’s novel It (his best; undeniable). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest horror doorstopper, in which a band of six invoke the age-old, deeply sinister serpent King Sorrow from the Endless Night to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Acknowledging a Literary Lineage

The author started his career going to great lengths to distance himself from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (that classic opening line); a moment that recalls 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 readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Protagonists

Returning to the group: five of them are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in the New England state. We have Arthur, academic and intelligent, cracking Old English riddles in his leisure hours; Colin, affluent, astute, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they toy, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Fateful Ceremony

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and unsettling title: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a cunning serpent to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a fresh offering annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Versatility and Inventive Range

Moving through four decades, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the companions endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we go from thriller to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to horror. A standout transition was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a segment tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Tapestry of Dread and Courage

There are trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, properly scary and expertly realized. There are magical swords and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and scenes of terrible wickedness, both human and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is chiefly a ode to the human inventiveness, and to devotion and companionship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the allies sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their dragon into existence with the power of their thoughts.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.