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A group of six quirky but brave children encounter the path of a colossal and terrible supernatural evil that has invaded our realm from the farthest reaches of shadow. They must wage a lifelong battle confronting it, facing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Storyline with a Fresh Twist

This is the plot, in essence, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of King’s son Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group call forth the ancient, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to help them defeat some antagonists. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Celebrating a Family Legacy

The author launched his profession going to great lengths to distance himself from his famous father, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and avoiding meeting his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a scene that brings to mind a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: the majority are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in the New England state. There’s Arthur, bookish and gifted, cracking Old English riddles in his spare time; Colin, affluent, clever, and known for crushing those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their band as they toy, somewhat credulous, half not, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ceremony

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing rare books from his cherished academic collection by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and chilling title: the diary of occultist this enigmatic character (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang read the journal, discover they could summon what the author references as a cunning serpent to assist Arthur with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or fall prey to the beast. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Dexterity and Inventive Breadth

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the companions strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we move between suspense to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface beneath this UK region, a section sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Tapestry of Horror and Hope

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. We see enchanted blades and deceptions, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and ones of appalling malevolence, both human and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is chiefly a ode to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the friends assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their beast into existence with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.