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A group of six oddball but brave youngsters confront the trail of a colossal and dreadful supernatural malevolence that has invaded our world from the farthest reaches of darkness. They must devote their lives confronting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a Fresh Spin

This is the plot, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group invoke the age-old, utterly malevolent serpent King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some villains. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Celebrating a Family Lineage

The author started his career going to great lengths to remain separate from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and avoiding meeting his agent (he possesses a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). Throughout this massive book, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: five of them are pupils at the made-up the esteemed institution in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and gifted, solving ancient puzzles in his leisure hours; another key figure, wealthy, sharp, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their circle as they experiment, half believing, partly skeptical, in the occult.

The Critical Ceremony

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, particularly as he’s made to take the institution’s prized and chilling work: the diary of practitioner the historical figure (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is crafted from his flesh). These young investigators examine the log, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to help Arthur out with his coercion issue – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. The dragon will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a fresh offering every twelve months or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Versatility and Creative Range

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the companions attempt to deal with the situation they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to sacrifice, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we move between suspense to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a segment infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Detailed Tapestry of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and internet antagonists, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. We see enchanted blades and betrayals, breath-taking moments of courage and ones of appalling malevolence, both earthly and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is above all a ode to the human inventiveness, and to love and friendship. “We needed a story to believe 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, making preparations to call forth their beast into existence with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his epigraph: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.