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A group of six oddball but resilient children fall into the way of a colossal and dreadful paranormal darkness that has invaded our existence from the outer limits of shadow. They are compelled to spend their lifetimes confronting it, enduring horror after horror in the process.

A Resonant Storyline with a Fresh Twist

This outlines the narrative, in essence, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no debate). It is also the plot of King’s son Joe Hill’s new chilling tome, in which six friends invoke the age-old, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some antagonists. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Celebrating a Family Heritage

Joe Hill started his career going to great lengths to remain separate from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a uncanny likeness to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. Several quotes that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a moment that brings to mind a signature King element (a riddling contest). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Protagonists

Back to those friends: five of them are students at the fictional Rackham College in the New England state. There’s Arthur, studious and intelligent, cracking historical enigmas in his free moments; Colin, affluent, astute, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but assumes a vital role of their group as they toy, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Fateful Ceremony

Our hero becomes, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, notably because he’s made to take the institution’s prized and chilling title: the logbook of occultist the historical figure (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to help Arthur out with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a new sacrifice each year or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with natural fluency between genres: as the companions endeavor to address the situation they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we move between thriller to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to horror. A standout transition was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths beneath this UK region, a segment sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Fear and Courage

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and ones of dreadful evil, both human and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is above all a ode to the imagination, and to love and friendship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the allies gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.