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A group of six oddball but doughty children confront the way of a vast and dreadful paranormal evil that has entered our world from the deepest abyss of darkness. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes fighting it, enduring terror upon terror in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a Distinctive Spin

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (his best; no arguments). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest chilling tome, in which six friends invoke the primordial, utterly malevolent beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to help them defeat some antagonists. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Celebrating a Family Legacy

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his father). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a scene that recalls a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Returning to the group: most are scholars at the imagined the esteemed institution in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and gifted, solving Old English riddles in his free moments; the character Colin, affluent, astute, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they dabble, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in the occult.

The Critical Summoning

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, notably because he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and disturbing title: the journal of adept the historical figure (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators read the journal, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a clever snake to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. The dragon will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a different victim each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Inventive Scope

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the friends strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we go from thriller to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to romance to horror. A standout transition was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a part tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Dread and Courage

The novel features trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. There are magical swords and betrayals, breath-taking moments of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both human and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is chiefly a paean to the imagination, and to love and friendship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the allies sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.