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A group of six quirky but doughty youngsters confront the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural malevolence that has infiltrated our existence from the deepest abyss of shadow. They must spend their lifetimes confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the process.

An Echoing Premise with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no debate). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest massive horror novel, in which six friends invoke the age-old, utterly malevolent dragon the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony goes awry.

Embracing a Literary Lineage

The author started his career going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a uncanny likeness to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. Several quotes that consciously reflect some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that brings to mind a King plot point (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: five of them are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in Maine. There’s Arthur, academic and gifted, solving historical enigmas in his leisure hours; Colin, wealthy, clever, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their band as they toy, partly convinced, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and unsettling title: the logbook of adept the historical figure (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what the author references as a “proud worm to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they are required to pick a new sacrifice annually or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Dexterity and Imaginative Range

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, far beneath the surface below Cornwall, a segment tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Tapestry of Dread and Courage

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, properly scary and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, breath-taking moments of courage and ones of dreadful evil, both mortal and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode to the human inventiveness, and to affection and camaraderie. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the companions assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their serpent into being with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his opening statement: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.