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A group of six unlikely but brave children encounter the path of a vast and dreadful supernatural darkness that has invaded our realm from the outer limits of darkness. They are compelled to devote their lives battling it, enduring horror after horror in the process.

An Echoing Plot with a Distinctive Approach

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (his best; undeniable). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent chilling tome, in which six friends invoke the age-old, infinitely malicious beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Celebrating a Family Legacy

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to remain separate from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of his father’s iconic (that classic opening line); a moment that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Returning to the group: most are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in Maine. First is Arthur, academic and intelligent, solving historical enigmas in his free moments; Colin, wealthy, astute, and known for crushing those who oppose him; the twin siblings; the attractive Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their band as they toy, somewhat credulous, half not, in the occult.

The Pivotal Summoning

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer valuable volumes from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and disturbing work: the journal of adept this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). Our Scooby gang read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a new sacrifice every twelve months or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Versatility and Imaginative Scope

Covering a generation, the author shifts with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the allies strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we move between page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a section tinged by JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Fear and Optimism

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of courage and ones of dreadful evil, 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, getting ready to invoke their dragon into existence with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.