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A group of six oddball but doughty kids encounter the way of a immense and terrible paranormal malevolence that has entered our existence from the deepest abyss of darkness. They must spend their lifetimes confronting it, facing terror upon terror in the struggle.

An Echoing Plot with a New Twist

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It is also the plot of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent chilling tome, in which six friends invoke the primordial, utterly malevolent beast King Sorrow from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony goes awry.

Acknowledging a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession striving diligently to remain separate from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). However, in his newest work, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that evokes a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: the majority are students at the fictional Rackham College in Maine. We have Arthur, studious and gifted, solving ancient puzzles in his leisure hours; another key figure, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their band as they dabble, somewhat credulous, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Summoning

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, compelled to pilfer rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and disturbing work: the diary of practitioner Enoch Crane (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). Our Scooby gang examine the log, discover they could summon what the author references as a cunning serpent to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a fresh offering annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Range

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with natural fluency between genres: as the friends strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from page-turner to shadowy tale, covert operations to affectionate subplot to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, far beneath the surface below Cornwall, a part sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, properly scary and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, breath-taking moments of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both earthly and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a frightening tale that is primarily a tribute to the imagination, and to devotion and companionship. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the companions gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his opening statement: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.