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Six quirky but brave youngsters fall into the way of a colossal and fearsome paranormal evil that has entered our realm from the outer limits of darkness. They have no choice but to devote their lives confronting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the struggle.

An Echoing Plot with a Fresh Spin

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s recent massive horror novel, in which six friends summon the age-old, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to help them defeat some antagonists. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Heritage

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his dad). However, in his newest work, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that evokes a signature King element (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: the majority are students at the made-up Rackham College in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, bookish and brilliant, solving historical enigmas in his free moments; another key figure, rich, sharp, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the beautiful Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they toy, partly convinced, half not, in arcane arts.

The Critical Summoning

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, particularly as he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and unsettling publication: the diary of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators examine the log, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. The dragon will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a different victim each year or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Imaginative Scope

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the allies endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we move between page-turner to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to romance to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a segment infused with JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and online ones, properly scary and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and instances of dreadful evil, both mortal and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “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 sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent to life with the strength of their collective will.

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