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A group of six quirky but brave children confront the way of a colossal and terrible paranormal darkness that has infiltrated our realm from the outer limits of darkness. They must spend their lifetimes confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the process.

A Resonant Plot with a New Approach

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (his best; undeniable). It similarly frames of King’s son Joe Hill’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a band of six summon the age-old, deeply sinister serpent the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some villains. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Literary Legacy

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey going to great lengths to remain separate 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 dad). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. Several quotes that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that recalls a King plot point (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Returning to the group: most are students at the fictional Rackham College in Maine. There’s Arthur, studious and intelligent, cracking Old English riddles in his spare time; the character Colin, affluent, sharp, and prone to trampling those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their group as they experiment, somewhat credulous, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Fateful Ceremony

Our hero becomes, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and unsettling title: the logbook of adept the historical figure (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group read the journal, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his extortion dilemma – and devote the remaining story enduring the repercussions. The dragon will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering annually or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Moving through four decades, the author shifts with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we move between page-turner to shadowy tale, covert operations to affectionate subplot to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a segment sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

An Expansive Mosaic of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and scenes of terrible wickedness, both mortal and otherworldly. It stands as a masterpiece: a horror novel that is primarily a paean to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “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 friends gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their dragon into existence with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.