🔗 Share this article

Six oddball but brave children fall into the trail of a vast and terrible paranormal evil that has entered our existence from the outer limits of oblivion. They must devote their lives confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Premise with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It similarly frames of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s new massive horror novel, in which six friends call forth the primordial, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to help them defeat some villains. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Family Lineage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey going to great lengths to distance himself from his famous father, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his father). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. There are lines that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a incident that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this epic story, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: the majority are scholars at the imagined Rackham College in the New England state. First is Arthur, studious and brilliant, cracking historical enigmas in his leisure hours; the character Colin, wealthy, sharp, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their group as they dabble, half believing, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Ceremony

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and unsettling title: the logbook of adept the historical figure (executed “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators peruse the diary, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a cunning serpent to help Arthur out with his coercion issue – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. The dragon will certainly eliminate 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 sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Fluidity and Creative Scope

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we go from thriller to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to romance to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a section infused with JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Horror and Optimism

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and scenes of appalling malevolence, both earthly and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is above all a paean to the creative spirit, 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 Colin as the friends gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent to life with the strength of their collective will.

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