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A group of six oddball but doughty children confront the path of a vast and dreadful paranormal darkness that has infiltrated our world from the deepest abyss of shadow. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes fighting it, facing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Premise with a Fresh Approach

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It is also the plot of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent horror doorstopper, in which six friends invoke the age-old, utterly malevolent dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Embracing a Literary Legacy

Joe Hill launched his profession striving diligently to avoid any connection from his famous father, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his parent). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Several quotes that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, the author rejoices in his lineage, and the audience revels alongside.

Meet the Central Figures

Returning to the group: most are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in the New England state. First is Arthur, studious and gifted, deciphering Old English riddles in his free moments; the character Colin, rich, sharp, and known for crushing those who oppose him; the twin siblings; the attractive Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they dabble, half believing, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ceremony

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and unsettling work: the logbook of occultist this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang read the journal, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. The dragon will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a new sacrifice annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Dexterity and Creative Range

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with effortless ease between genres: as the companions strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to offer up, or seeking means to slay the beast themselves, we transition from page-turner to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to love story to terror. A standout transition was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Courage

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, properly scary and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and instances of appalling malevolence, both earthly and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is above all a paean to the human inventiveness, and to devotion and companionship. “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 companions gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their dragon into being with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.