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A group of six oddball but brave youngsters encounter the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural evil that has infiltrated our world from the outer limits of shadow. They must wage a lifelong battle battling it, enduring terror upon terror in the process.

A Resonant Plot with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, roughly, of the master of horror’s novel It (his best; no debate). It parallels of King’s son Joe Hill’s latest massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group call forth the age-old, deeply sinister serpent the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Authorial Legacy

Joe Hill began his writing journey going to great lengths to distance himself from his famous father, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his parent). 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 moment that evokes a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Protagonists

Back to those friends: the majority are pupils at the made-up the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, studious and brilliant, solving historical enigmas in his leisure hours; the character Colin, wealthy, clever, and prone to trampling those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their group as they toy, half believing, half not, in the occult.

The Pivotal Summoning

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and chilling title: the journal of occultist Enoch Crane (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang peruse the diary, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or fall prey to the beast. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Versatility and Inventive Range

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the friends attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Fear and Courage

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, properly scary and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, breath-taking moments of valor and ones of terrible wickedness, both mortal and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is primarily a tribute to the human inventiveness, 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 Colin as the allies gather at the table, preparing to summon their dragon into existence with the force of their minds.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.