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Six oddball but resilient youngsters fall into the way of a colossal and dreadful otherworldly evil that has infiltrated our realm from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They must wage a lifelong battle confronting it, enduring horror after horror in the struggle.

A Resonant Storyline with a Fresh Twist

This outlines the narrative, in essence, of Stephen King’s novel It (his best; no arguments). It similarly frames of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s latest massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group summon the ancient, utterly malevolent dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Celebrating a Authorial Lineage

Joseph Hillström King started his career 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 bears a striking resemblance to his parent). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that brings to mind a signature King element (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Protagonists

Back to those friends: most are pupils at the imagined the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, academic and intelligent, cracking historical enigmas in his leisure hours; another key figure, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their group as they experiment, somewhat credulous, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take rare books from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, notably because he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and chilling work: the journal of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armored demon” to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a different victim annually or fall prey to the beast. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with seamless grace between genres: as the companions attempt to deal with the situation they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we move between suspense to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a segment sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Dread and Courage

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, truly terrifying and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, breath-taking moments of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both human and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is above all a ode to the human inventiveness, 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 the wealthy student as the friends gather at the table, preparing to summon their serpent into existence with the force of their minds.

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