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A group of six unlikely but brave children confront the trail of a immense and dreadful paranormal malevolence that has infiltrated our existence from the farthest reaches of darkness. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle fighting it, experiencing horror after horror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Plot with a Distinctive Spin

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s new horror doorstopper, in which a band of six summon the primordial, deeply sinister dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony has unintended consequences.

Embracing a Literary Legacy

Joe Hill began his writing journey making great efforts to distance himself from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he still uses today and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his father). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that evokes a King plot point (a riddling contest). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Main Characters

Returning to the group: most are pupils at the fictional Rackham College in Maine. We have Arthur, bookish and gifted, deciphering historical enigmas in his spare time; Colin, affluent, astute, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their band as they toy, partly convinced, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Summoning

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This tears at his bookish heart, particularly as he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and chilling title: the journal of occultist Enoch Crane (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities 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 “arrogant beast to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a different victim each year or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Versatility and Creative Scope

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the allies endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we go from thriller to grim fantasy, covert operations to affectionate subplot to fright. A standout transition was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a segment infused with JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

An Expansive Tapestry of Dread and Optimism

There are trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, breath-taking moments of bravery and instances of appalling malevolence, both human and otherworldly. It stands as a masterpiece: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode 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 the wealthy student as the allies assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

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