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Six oddball but resilient kids fall into the trail of a vast and fearsome paranormal malevolence that has infiltrated our world from the outer limits of oblivion. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes confronting it, facing horror after horror in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a Distinctive Spin

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no arguments). It similarly frames of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new chilling tome, in which six friends invoke the primordial, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some villains. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Literary Lineage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession striving diligently to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a uncanny likeness to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Several quotes that consciously reflect some of King’s most famous (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a scene that recalls a King plot point (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

Meet the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: most are students at the imagined Rackham College in Maine. First is Arthur, studious and intelligent, deciphering Old English riddles in his leisure hours; Colin, affluent, sharp, and known for crushing those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they toy, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Ceremony

Arthur is, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing rare books from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and chilling title: the journal of practitioner this enigmatic character (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). These young investigators read the journal, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice annually or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Versatility and Creative Range

Moving through four decades, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the companions strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we move between thriller to shadowy tale, covert operations to romance to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves 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

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both mortal and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is primarily a paean to the imagination, 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 companions assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the power of their thoughts.

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