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Six oddball but resilient youngsters confront the trail of a colossal and terrible supernatural darkness that has invaded our world from the deepest abyss of shadow. They must spend their lifetimes confronting it, experiencing horror after horror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Plot with a Distinctive Spin

This is the plot, roughly, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (a standout in his career; no arguments). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the age-old, deeply sinister serpent King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Celebrating a Family Heritage

Joe Hill began his writing journey striving diligently to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his father). However, in his newest work, he leans into it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a incident that evokes a signature King element (a battle of wits). Throughout this massive book, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: the majority are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in the New England state. First is Arthur, studious and brilliant, cracking Old English riddles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, affluent, sharp, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their group as they dabble, half believing, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, compelled to pilfer rare books from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and disturbing title: the journal of adept the historical figure (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). These young investigators examine the log, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a armoured devil” to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and devote the remaining story enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a different victim each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Stylistic Dexterity and Inventive Breadth

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency across narrative styles: as the companions strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we transition from suspense to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to fright. A standout transition was to a quest story, far beneath the surface below Cornwall, a part infused with JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Canvas of Dread and Hope

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, properly scary and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of courage and instances of dreadful evil, both earthly and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is primarily a ode to the imagination, and to love and friendship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the friends sit around the table, getting ready to invoke their dragon to life with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.