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A group of six unlikely but brave children fall into the path of a vast and dreadful supernatural evil that has infiltrated our existence from the outer limits of oblivion. They must spend their lifetimes confronting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the process.

A Resonant Plot with a New Approach

This is the plot, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no debate). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the age-old, infinitely malicious dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to help them defeat some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Embracing a Family Lineage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to distance himself from his famous father, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his parent). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that brings to mind a signature King element (a battle of wits). Throughout this massive book, the author rejoices in his heritage, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Main Characters

Returning to the group: most are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in Maine. First is Arthur, bookish and intelligent, solving Old English riddles in his spare time; another key figure, wealthy, sharp, and prone to trampling those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their group as they dabble, half believing, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and disturbing publication: the journal of practitioner Enoch Crane (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is made from his skin). 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 occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering every twelve months or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace between genres: as the companions strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to sacrifice, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we transition from page-turner to grim fantasy, covert operations to romance to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section tinged by JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

An Expansive Canvas of Horror and Hope

We encounter trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, properly scary and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, breath-taking moments of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both human and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is above all a ode to the imagination, 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 assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their serpent into being with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Ensure you experience it.