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Six oddball but resilient children fall into the way of a vast and fearsome otherworldly darkness that has infiltrated our existence from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They are compelled to devote their lives confronting it, facing terror upon terror in the process.

A Familiar Storyline with a Fresh Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s new horror doorstopper, in which six friends call forth the ancient, deeply sinister beast King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Heritage

Joe Hill began his writing journey striving diligently to remain separate from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance 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 (that classic opening line); a moment that recalls a King plot point (a riddling contest). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Protagonists

Returning to the group: the majority are scholars at the imagined the esteemed institution in Maine. There’s Arthur, studious and brilliant, deciphering ancient puzzles in his spare time; another key figure, wealthy, astute, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their band as they dabble, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in the occult.

The Critical Summoning

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing rare books from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and chilling title: the diary of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering annually or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Creative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with seamless grace between genres: as the allies strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, far beneath the surface beneath this UK region, a part tinged by JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, truly terrifying and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, breath-taking moments of bravery and instances of terrible wickedness, both human and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is primarily a paean to the creative spirit, 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 Colin as the allies assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their dragon into being with the strength of their collective will.

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