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A group of six quirky but doughty children fall into the path of a immense and dreadful supernatural darkness that has entered our realm from the outer limits of shadow. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes battling it, enduring horror after horror in the process.

An Echoing Premise with a New Twist

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no debate). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group call forth the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Dragon King from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Celebrating a Authorial Heritage

Joe Hill began his writing journey going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a strong similarity to his father). 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 incident that evokes a signature King element (a battle of wits). Throughout this massive book, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Introducing the Protagonists

Back to those friends: the majority are scholars at the fictional this academic setting in Maine. We have Arthur, bookish and brilliant, deciphering historical enigmas in his leisure hours; the character Colin, wealthy, sharp, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their group as they toy, half believing, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take rare books from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and chilling work: the diary of practitioner this enigmatic character (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). The intrepid group read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what the author references as a “proud worm to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a different victim annually or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the allies attempt to deal with the situation they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from thriller to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a part tinged by the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Tapestry of Horror and Hope

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, heart-stopping scenes of valor and scenes of dreadful evil, both human and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean to the human inventiveness, and to love and friendship. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the allies gather at the table, preparing to summon their beast to life with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his opening statement: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.