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Six quirky but brave children fall into the path of a colossal and fearsome supernatural malevolence that has entered our existence from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They have no choice but to devote their lives fighting it, facing one nightmare after another in the ordeal.

A Resonant Storyline with a Distinctive Approach

This outlines the narrative, in essence, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (a standout in his career; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s recent massive horror novel, in which a band of six invoke the age-old, utterly malevolent serpent King Sorrow from the Long Dark to assist them in vanquishing some villains. As one might expect, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Embracing a Authorial Heritage

The author began his writing journey striving diligently to distance himself from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that brings to mind a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: the majority are scholars at the imagined Rackham College in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, bookish and brilliant, cracking ancient puzzles in his free moments; Colin, affluent, clever, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they dabble, somewhat credulous, half not, in the occult.

The Fateful Ritual

Our hero becomes, as a result of external pressures, compelled to pilfer rare books from his cherished academic collection by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and unsettling title: the diary of adept this enigmatic character (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a different victim every twelve months or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Dexterity and Creative Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the companions endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we move between suspense to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface under the English county, a section sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Detailed Canvas of Fear and Courage

There are trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, properly scary and superbly depicted. We see enchanted blades and betrayals, heart-stopping scenes of valor and ones of dreadful evil, both human and otherworldly. It stands as a masterpiece: a horror novel that is above all a tribute to the imagination, 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, making preparations to call forth their dragon into being with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.