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A group of six unlikely but brave children confront the trail of a colossal and fearsome supernatural darkness that has invaded our realm from the outer limits of darkness. They must wage a lifelong battle fighting it, facing terror upon terror in the process.

An Echoing Premise with a New Approach

This describes the premise, roughly, of the master of horror’s novel It (a standout in his career; no debate). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest massive horror novel, in which a band of six invoke the primordial, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some villains. As one might expect, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Celebrating a Literary Lineage

Joe Hill launched his profession striving diligently to distance himself from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his parent). However, in his newest work, he leans into 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 evokes a King plot point (a game of puzzles). Throughout this massive book, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Back to those friends: five of them are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in the New England state. We have Arthur, studious and brilliant, deciphering ancient puzzles in his free moments; the character Colin, affluent, clever, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their circle as they dabble, partly convinced, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and disturbing publication: the journal of occultist Enoch Crane (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armored demon” to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Covering a generation, the author shifts with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the allies endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we move between thriller to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to romance to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves under the English county, a segment sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Canvas of Dread and Hope

There are trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, properly scary and perfectly brought to life. We see enchanted blades and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and instances of appalling malevolence, both mortal and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is above all a paean to the creative spirit, and to love and friendship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the companions sit around the table, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.