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A group of six oddball but brave children encounter the trail of a immense and fearsome otherworldly malevolence that has infiltrated our world from the outer limits of oblivion. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes fighting it, facing terror upon terror in the struggle.

A Resonant Premise with a New Twist

This outlines the narrative, in essence, of Stephen King’s novel It (his best; no arguments). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent massive horror novel, in which six friends call forth the primordial, deeply sinister serpent King Sorrow from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Literary Heritage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession going to great lengths to remain separate from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (that classic opening line); a scene that brings to mind a signature King element (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: most are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, studious and brilliant, solving Old English riddles in his free moments; Colin, affluent, sharp, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who doesn’t study with them, but emerges as crucial of their group as they toy, half believing, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s compelled to seize the library’s most valuable and unsettling title: the journal of practitioner Enoch Crane (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a “arrogant beast to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. The dragon will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a different victim each year or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Versatility and Creative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the allies attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we go from thriller to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a segment infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Canvas of Fear and Optimism

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of valor and instances of dreadful evil, both human and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is primarily a tribute to the human inventiveness, and to love and friendship. “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 companions assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Do not overlook this.