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A group of six unlikely but doughty children confront the trail of a immense and dreadful paranormal darkness that has invaded our world from the outer limits of darkness. They are compelled to spend their lifetimes confronting it, facing horror after horror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Premise with a New Spin

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s novel It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It is also the plot of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s new chilling tome, in which a band of six call forth the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some antagonists. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King started his career making great efforts to remain separate from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his father). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a incident that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Protagonists

Back to those friends: five of them are students at the imagined Rackham College in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and gifted, deciphering historical enigmas in his leisure hours; another key figure, wealthy, sharp, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; the twin siblings; the beautiful the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but assumes a vital role of their group as they toy, half believing, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ritual

Our hero becomes, as a result of external pressures, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and disturbing publication: the journal of adept this enigmatic character (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the cover is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang peruse the diary, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a armoured devil” to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. The dragon will certainly eliminate those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a different victim each year or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Dexterity and Imaginative Range

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the allies strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to offer up, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a section tinged by JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Fear and Hope

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and online ones, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of valor and ones of terrible wickedness, both mortal and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is above all a tribute to the human inventiveness, 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 this character as the companions sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their beast into existence with the force of their minds.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.