🔗 Share this article

A group of six oddball but brave kids encounter the trail of a colossal and dreadful supernatural malevolence that has infiltrated our existence from the farthest reaches of shadow. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Storyline with a New Twist

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (his best; no arguments). It parallels of King’s son Joe Hill’s new massive horror novel, in which a band of six invoke the ancient, deeply sinister beast King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Celebrating a Literary Lineage

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to distance himself from his famous father, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and avoiding meeting his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his dad). However, in his newest work, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that consciously reflect some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that recalls a King plot point (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Protagonists

Returning to the group: five of them are scholars at the fictional the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, studious and brilliant, solving Old English riddles in his spare time; another key figure, rich, clever, and known for crushing those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their band as they toy, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Critical Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and unsettling work: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what the occultist details as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Versatility and Creative Range

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the companions strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we move between thriller to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to romance to horror. A standout transition was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves under the English county, a part infused with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Tapestry of Horror and Hope

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and ones of appalling malevolence, both human and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is above all a ode to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “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 friends gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their beast into being with the power of their thoughts.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.