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Six unlikely but doughty youngsters fall into the trail of a vast and terrible paranormal malevolence that has entered our world from the deepest abyss of shadow. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle fighting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the process.

A Resonant Premise with a Distinctive Approach

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (his best; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a band of six invoke the primordial, deeply sinister beast King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Needless to say, their arcane ceremony goes awry.

Embracing a Literary Lineage

Joe Hill began his writing journey striving diligently to avoid any connection from his famous father, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his father). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a scene that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). In this epic story, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Protagonists

Returning to the group: five of them are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in Maine. There’s Arthur, bookish and intelligent, solving historical enigmas in his spare time; another key figure, rich, clever, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who doesn’t study with them, but emerges as crucial of their group as they experiment, half believing, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Critical Ritual

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s compelled to seize the institution’s prized and disturbing work: the journal of occultist Enoch Crane (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the cover is crafted from his flesh). Our Scooby gang read the journal, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. The dragon will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they are required to pick a different victim annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Dexterity and Inventive Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the companions attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or seeking means to slay the beast themselves, we go from page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to fright. A standout transition was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a section sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Dread and Courage

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and ones of dreadful evil, both earthly and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is above all a ode to the human inventiveness, and to love and friendship. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the allies sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent into existence with the power of their thoughts.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.