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A group of six quirky but brave youngsters encounter the way of a vast and fearsome otherworldly evil that has infiltrated our world from the deepest abyss of darkness. They must spend their lifetimes fighting it, enduring horror after horror in the process.

An Echoing Plot with a New Spin

This outlines the narrative, in essence, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (his best; no debate). It parallels of King’s son Joe Hill’s new horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the primordial, infinitely malicious serpent King Sorrow from the Long Dark to help them defeat some baddies. Needless to say, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Celebrating a Family Heritage

Joe Hill began his writing journey making great efforts to remain separate from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his parent). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that evokes a signature King element (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, the author rejoices in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

Meet the Protagonists

Back to those friends: most are pupils at the imagined the esteemed institution in the New England state. First is Arthur, bookish and intelligent, deciphering ancient puzzles in his spare time; another key figure, affluent, sharp, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their group as they experiment, partly convinced, half not, in arcane arts.

The Critical Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing rare books from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and disturbing publication: the journal of occultist this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what the author references as a clever snake to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. The dragon will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a fresh offering annually or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Covering a generation, the author shifts with natural fluency between genres: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or searching for methods to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from page-turner to grim fantasy, covert operations to love story to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a part infused with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Fear and Courage

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and online ones, truly terrifying and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of valor and scenes of dreadful evil, both human and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the friends assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their beast to life with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.