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A group of six quirky but resilient youngsters confront the trail of a vast and fearsome paranormal malevolence that has entered our existence from the deepest abyss of shadow. They must devote their lives confronting it, facing terror upon terror in the struggle.

A Familiar Storyline with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s new chilling tome, in which a close-knit group call forth the age-old, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Embracing a Authorial Heritage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to distance himself from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his father). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a scene that recalls a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his lineage, and the audience revels alongside.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Returning to the group: the majority are scholars at the imagined Rackham College in the New England state. First is Arthur, studious and intelligent, solving ancient puzzles in his free moments; another key figure, affluent, astute, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their band as they experiment, somewhat credulous, half not, in the occult.

The Critical Ceremony

Arthur is, as a result of external pressures, obliged to take valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and disturbing publication: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group examine the log, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a armoured devil” to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will undoubtedly remove those annoying regional antagonists, but they are required to pick a fresh offering annually or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Creative Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease between genres: as the friends endeavor to address the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we transition from thriller to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a segment infused with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Dread and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and online ones, properly scary and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and deceptions, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and scenes of appalling malevolence, both earthly and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a horror novel that is above all a paean to the imagination, and to affection and camaraderie. “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, preparing to summon their dragon into existence with the force of their minds.

In the author’s own words in his epigraph: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.