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A group of six unlikely but doughty children encounter the way of a colossal and fearsome supernatural darkness that has entered our existence from the outer limits of oblivion. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Plot with a Distinctive Twist

This is the plot, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (his best; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s recent massive horror novel, in which a band of six summon the primordial, deeply sinister beast King Sorrow from the Long Dark to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony goes awry.

Embracing a Authorial Heritage

Joe Hill launched his profession striving diligently to avoid any connection from his famous father, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his dad). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. There are lines that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a scene that brings to mind a King plot point (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Protagonists

Back to those friends: the majority are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, academic and brilliant, deciphering historical enigmas in his spare time; the character Colin, wealthy, astute, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; the twin siblings; the beautiful Allie. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their group as they experiment, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Fateful Summoning

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take rare books from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and chilling work: the journal of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group read the journal, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a cunning serpent to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a new sacrifice each year or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease between genres: as the allies endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we transition from suspense to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to terror. A standout transition was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface under the English county, a segment tinged by the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

A Detailed Canvas of Dread and Hope

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, properly scary and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and ones of terrible wickedness, both mortal and supernatural. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is above all a paean 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 this character as the allies assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their dragon into existence with the force of their minds.

In the author’s own words in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.