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Six unlikely but resilient youngsters encounter the path of a immense and fearsome paranormal malevolence that has infiltrated our realm from the deepest abyss of darkness. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes fighting it, facing one nightmare after another in the ordeal.

A Familiar Storyline with a Fresh Spin

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (a standout in his career; no debate). It similarly frames of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a band of six invoke the ancient, utterly malevolent beast King Sorrow from the Endless Night to help them defeat some antagonists. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Embracing a Authorial Lineage

Joe Hill began his writing journey striving diligently to distance himself from his famous father, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his lineage, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Protagonists

Returning to the group: five of them are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and brilliant, cracking historical enigmas in his free moments; another key figure, affluent, clever, and known for crushing those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their group as they dabble, somewhat credulous, somewhat doubtful, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Summoning

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and unsettling publication: the journal of practitioner the historical figure (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). The intrepid group read the journal, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a “proud worm to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Dexterity and Imaginative Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from page-turner to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to fright. A standout transition was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a segment infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Horror and Optimism

There are trolls – the classic variety and online ones, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and scenes of terrible wickedness, both human and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is above all a paean to the creative spirit, 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 allies sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent into existence with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.