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A group of six quirky but resilient kids confront the path of a vast and terrible otherworldly evil that has infiltrated our realm from the deepest abyss of darkness. They are compelled to devote their lives confronting it, facing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Resonant Premise with a Distinctive Twist

This describes the premise, in essence, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which six friends summon the age-old, utterly malevolent serpent King Sorrow from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some villains. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony has unintended consequences.

Embracing a Literary Heritage

The author started his career making great efforts to remain separate from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that brings to mind a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Main Characters

Back to those friends: most are scholars at the imagined the esteemed institution in Maine. We have Arthur, bookish and intelligent, solving ancient puzzles in his free moments; another key figure, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their band as they toy, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and disturbing title: the diary of practitioner the historical figure (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang read the journal, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a different victim each year or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Fluidity and Creative Scope

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the friends strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we go from thriller to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to romance to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, far beneath the surface beneath this UK region, a segment tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was wonderfully frightening.

An Expansive Mosaic of Fear and Optimism

There are trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. There are magical swords and deceptions, breath-taking moments of valor and instances of appalling malevolence, both mortal and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is primarily a paean to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the allies gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their dragon into being with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.