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Six unlikely but brave children encounter the path of a colossal and terrible supernatural darkness that has infiltrated our world from the farthest reaches of darkness. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Plot with a Distinctive Spin

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s novel It (his best; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a close-knit group invoke the age-old, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Long Dark to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Acknowledging a Family Heritage

The author started his career making great efforts to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a scene that brings to mind a signature King element (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Protagonists

Returning to the group: five of them are scholars at the fictional the esteemed institution in Maine. First is Arthur, academic and intelligent, cracking Old English riddles in his free moments; another key figure, rich, clever, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their group as they dabble, half believing, half not, in the occult.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s made to take the institution’s prized and unsettling title: the journal of occultist Enoch Crane (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang examine the log, learn they can invoke what the author references as a armored demon” to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and devote the remaining story facing the fallout. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a different victim every twelve months or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Dexterity and Creative Breadth

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the friends endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or searching for methods to destroy the entity themselves, we go from page-turner to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves under the English county, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

A Detailed Canvas of Dread and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, truly terrifying and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of courage and ones of terrible wickedness, both human and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the friends assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their serpent into existence with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.