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A group of six oddball but resilient youngsters fall into the way of a immense and terrible otherworldly darkness that has entered our existence from the deepest abyss of shadow. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle fighting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It similarly frames of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a close-knit group invoke the ancient, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Celebrating a Family Legacy

Joe Hill began his writing journey striving diligently to distance himself from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his dad). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and the audience revels alongside.

Meet the Main Characters

Back to those friends: five of them are scholars at the imagined Rackham College in the New England state. There’s Arthur, academic and gifted, solving Old English riddles in his spare time; the character Colin, wealthy, astute, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their band as they experiment, somewhat credulous, somewhat doubtful, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Summoning

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and unsettling work: the logbook of adept this enigmatic character (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). Our Scooby gang examine the log, learn they can invoke what the author references as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and devote the remaining story facing the fallout. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a new sacrifice each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, the author shifts with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the allies strive to manage the situation they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we go from thriller to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to romance to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a segment sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Mosaic of Horror and Hope

There are trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and expertly realized. There are magical swords and deceptions, breath-taking moments of bravery and scenes of appalling malevolence, both mortal and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is chiefly a paean to the human inventiveness, 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 Colin as the allies assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their serpent to life with the power of their thoughts.

In the author’s own words in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.