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Six oddball but doughty children encounter the trail of a immense and fearsome supernatural evil that has infiltrated our world from the outer limits of oblivion. They are compelled to devote their lives battling it, experiencing terror upon terror in the process.

An Echoing Premise with a Fresh Approach

This outlines the narrative, roughly, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (his best; no arguments). It similarly frames of King’s son Joe Hill’s recent massive horror novel, in which a band of six summon the ancient, infinitely malicious dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to help them defeat some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Family Lineage

Joseph Hillström King started his career making great efforts to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his dad). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a incident that evokes a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Returning to the group: five of them are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in Maine. There’s Arthur, academic and gifted, cracking historical enigmas in his leisure hours; another key figure, rich, sharp, and prone to trampling those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their band as they experiment, half believing, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Summoning

The protagonist finds himself, due to circumstances beyond his control, compelled to pilfer prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and unsettling work: the diary of practitioner this enigmatic character (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang examine the log, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they are required to pick a new sacrifice annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Creative Scope

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the friends attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from page-turner to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a segment sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Mosaic of Dread and Hope

There are trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and perfectly brought to life. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and instances of appalling malevolence, both earthly and supernatural. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is primarily a tribute to the human inventiveness, and to affection and camaraderie. “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 companions sit around the table, preparing to summon their serpent to life with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.