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Six quirky but brave children encounter the trail of a vast and fearsome supernatural darkness that has entered our world from the outer limits of darkness. They have no choice but to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a New Spin

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which a band of six summon the age-old, deeply sinister dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some antagonists. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Celebrating a Literary Heritage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his father). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a scene that evokes a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

The Cast of the Protagonists

Returning to the group: the majority are students at the fictional this academic setting in the New England state. First is Arthur, academic and gifted, deciphering ancient puzzles in his leisure hours; another key figure, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their group as they dabble, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in the occult.

The Pivotal Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and chilling title: the logbook of adept this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). These young investigators examine the log, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a cunning serpent to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – 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 fresh offering annually or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Moving through four decades, the author shifts with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the companions attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we move between thriller to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section infused with JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Dread and Optimism

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, properly scary and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of courage and scenes of appalling malevolence, both mortal and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is chiefly a tribute to the imagination, and to devotion and companionship. “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 gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their beast to life with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Ensure you experience it.