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A group of six unlikely but doughty youngsters encounter the way of a colossal and terrible supernatural darkness that has entered our existence from the deepest abyss of shadow. They have no choice but to wage a lifelong battle fighting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the struggle.

A Resonant Storyline with a New Twist

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a band of six invoke the ancient, utterly malevolent dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Embracing a Authorial Legacy

Joseph Hillström King started his career striving diligently to avoid any connection from his famous father, using the pseudonym he still uses today and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (that classic opening line); a scene that brings to mind a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Central Figures

Returning to the group: five of them are scholars at the fictional this academic setting in Maine. First is Arthur, studious and brilliant, deciphering Old English riddles in his leisure hours; Colin, affluent, clever, and known for crushing those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. Additionally, Gwen appears, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their group as they experiment, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and chilling publication: the journal of practitioner the historical figure (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the cover is made from his skin). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a cunning serpent to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a different victim every twelve months or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Fluidity and Inventive Range

Covering a generation, the author shifts with effortless ease between genres: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from suspense to shadowy tale, covert operations to romance to horror. A standout transition was to a quest story, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a segment sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Tapestry of Horror and Optimism

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and internet antagonists, properly scary and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, breath-taking moments of bravery and instances of dreadful evil, both earthly and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is chiefly a ode to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “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 allies gather at the table, preparing to summon their beast into existence with the power of their thoughts.

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