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Six quirky but resilient children encounter the path of a vast and dreadful paranormal darkness that has invaded our realm from the outer limits of oblivion. They must devote their lives fighting it, enduring terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Premise with a New Twist

This is the plot, in essence, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s new massive horror novel, in which six friends invoke the age-old, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to help them defeat some antagonists. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Embracing a Family Lineage

The author began his writing journey making great efforts to distance himself from his famous father, using the pseudonym he still uses today and avoiding meeting his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his father). However, in his newest work, he leans into it. Several quotes that consciously reflect some of his father’s iconic (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that brings to mind a signature King element (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: most are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, academic and gifted, cracking Old English riddles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they dabble, somewhat credulous, half not, in the occult.

The Fateful Ritual

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and disturbing publication: the logbook of adept the historical figure (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang examine the log, learn they can invoke what the author references as a clever snake to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a new sacrifice annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Dexterity and Inventive Scope

Spanning forty years, the author shifts with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the companions endeavor to address the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we go from thriller to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths beneath this UK region, a segment sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Detailed Tapestry of Fear and Optimism

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and online ones, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both human and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is above all a paean to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the allies sit around the table, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the power of their thoughts.

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