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Six unlikely but brave children encounter the path of a colossal and terrible supernatural malevolence that has infiltrated our world from the outer limits of shadow. They have no choice but to devote their lives fighting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

An Echoing Storyline with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (his best; undeniable). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a band of six summon the age-old, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Acknowledging a Authorial Heritage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey making great efforts to avoid any connection from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his dad). However, in his newest work, he leans into it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that evokes a signature King element (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

Introducing the Main Characters

Back to those friends: five of them are pupils at the made-up Rackham College in Maine. First is Arthur, studious and intelligent, solving historical enigmas in his spare time; Colin, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; the twin siblings; the beautiful Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their group as they experiment, half believing, somewhat doubtful, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, compelled to pilfer rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and disturbing publication: the diary of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators examine the log, discover they could summon what the author references as a “proud worm to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering every twelve months or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Dexterity and Imaginative Scope

Moving through four decades, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the friends strive to manage the situation they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or seeking means to slay the beast themselves, we go from page-turner to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to romance to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a section infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Horror and Courage

There are trolls – the classic variety and online ones, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and instances of dreadful evil, both mortal and supernatural. It stands as a masterpiece: a horror novel that is above all a ode to the human inventiveness, and to devotion and companionship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the companions assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke 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.