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A group of six oddball but doughty children confront the trail of a immense and terrible paranormal malevolence that has invaded our realm from the farthest reaches of shadow. They have no choice but to wage a lifelong battle battling it, enduring one nightmare after another in the struggle.

An Echoing Premise with a Fresh Twist

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no debate). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group invoke the age-old, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Celebrating a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession striving diligently to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a scene that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: the majority are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and gifted, cracking ancient puzzles in his spare time; Colin, wealthy, sharp, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their circle as they dabble, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Summoning

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing rare books from his cherished academic collection by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and unsettling work: the journal of occultist this enigmatic character (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators read the journal, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a armoured devil” to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a fresh offering each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we move between page-turner to grim fantasy, covert operations to affectionate subplot to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths beneath this UK region, a part sprinkled with JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Mosaic of Dread and Courage

There are trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and betrayals, heart-stopping scenes of valor and scenes of terrible wickedness, both human and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is primarily a ode to the imagination, 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 Colin as the companions assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Do not overlook this.