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A group of six unlikely but resilient youngsters encounter the way of a colossal and dreadful otherworldly malevolence that has infiltrated our existence from the farthest reaches of shadow. They must devote their lives fighting it, facing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Plot with a Distinctive Approach

This outlines the narrative, roughly, of the master of horror’s novel It (arguably his finest; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the age-old, deeply sinister serpent King Sorrow from the Endless Night to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Celebrating a Authorial Heritage

Joseph Hillström King started his career making great efforts to remain separate from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day 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. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that recalls a signature King element (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Central Figures

Back to those friends: the majority are scholars at the imagined Rackham College in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, studious and gifted, solving ancient puzzles in his spare time; another key figure, rich, sharp, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their group as they dabble, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Summoning

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and disturbing work: the logbook of practitioner the historical figure (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a clever snake to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a different victim annually or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Versatility and Inventive Range

Moving through four decades, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the allies endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from thriller to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to love story to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a section infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Dread and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and instances of terrible wickedness, both human and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is primarily a ode to the imagination, and to devotion and companionship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the companions gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their beast into being with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.