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A group of six oddball but doughty kids encounter the way of a vast and terrible otherworldly darkness that has infiltrated our realm from the deepest abyss of shadow. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle fighting it, facing horror after horror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Storyline with a Distinctive Twist

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group invoke the age-old, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Acknowledging a Family Lineage

The author started his career striving diligently to remain separate from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his parent). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Back to those friends: five of them are pupils at the imagined the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, academic and gifted, solving Old English riddles in his leisure hours; Colin, rich, astute, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their group as they experiment, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and chilling title: the logbook of occultist Enoch Crane (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the author references as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they are required to pick a different victim each year or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Stylistic Dexterity and Inventive Breadth

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the friends attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface under the English county, a segment sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Fear and Hope

There are trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, genuinely frightening and perfectly brought to life. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and scenes of appalling malevolence, both mortal and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode 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 the wealthy student as the friends gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their beast to life with the strength of their collective will.

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