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A group of six unlikely but doughty youngsters fall into the trail of a vast and terrible supernatural darkness that has invaded our realm from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They must wage a lifelong battle confronting it, facing one nightmare after another in the ordeal.

An Echoing Premise with a New Approach

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no arguments). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s new horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group invoke the primordial, deeply sinister beast the Sorrowful Monarch from the Endless Night to help them defeat some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Embracing a Literary Lineage

Joe Hill started his career going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Main Characters

Back to those friends: the majority are scholars at the fictional the esteemed institution in the New England state. There’s Arthur, studious and gifted, cracking ancient puzzles in his spare time; another key figure, affluent, astute, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they toy, half believing, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Pivotal Summoning

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and disturbing title: the logbook of practitioner Enoch Crane (executed “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a clever snake to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a different victim every twelve months or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Range

Spanning forty years, the author shifts with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the friends attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we move between suspense to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves under the English county, a section tinged by the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Dread and Courage

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, truly terrifying and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, heart-stopping scenes of courage and ones of dreadful evil, both human and supernatural. It stands as a masterpiece: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode to the creative spirit, 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 friends gather at the table, preparing to summon their beast into being with the power of their thoughts.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Ensure you experience it.