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Six quirky but resilient children fall into the path of a vast and dreadful otherworldly malevolence that has invaded our realm from the deepest abyss of shadow. They must spend their lifetimes fighting it, facing horror after horror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Premise with a Distinctive Twist

This is the plot, roughly, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group summon the ancient, utterly malevolent serpent King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Acknowledging a Literary Legacy

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession striving diligently to remain separate from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. Certain passages 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 whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: most are students at the fictional this academic setting in Maine. First is Arthur, studious and intelligent, cracking Old English riddles in his leisure hours; another key figure, affluent, astute, and prone to trampling those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their band as they dabble, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Fateful Summoning

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s made to take the institution’s prized and disturbing work: the diary of adept this enigmatic character (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what the occultist details as a clever snake to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they are required to pick a new sacrifice every twelve months or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Dexterity and Imaginative Range

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency across narrative styles: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to terror. A standout transition was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a segment sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Canvas of Horror and Courage

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, properly scary and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and instances of terrible wickedness, both mortal and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is chiefly a ode to the human inventiveness, and to devotion and companionship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the allies sit around the table, getting ready to invoke their beast to life with the force of their minds.

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