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A group of six unlikely but resilient youngsters fall into the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural malevolence that has infiltrated our realm from the deepest abyss of darkness. They must devote their lives fighting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the struggle.

An Echoing Plot with a New Twist

This describes the premise, in essence, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group invoke the age-old, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some villains. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Acknowledging a Authorial Legacy

Joseph Hillström King started his career striving diligently to remain separate from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). 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 scene that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, the author rejoices in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Introducing the Main Characters

Back to those friends: five of them are scholars at the fictional this academic setting in the New England state. There’s Arthur, bookish and intelligent, cracking ancient puzzles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, affluent, astute, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their band as they toy, somewhat credulous, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Summoning

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and chilling work: the journal of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). These young investigators peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a “arrogant beast to help Arthur out with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. The dragon will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a fresh offering each year or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace between genres: as the allies endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or searching for methods to destroy the entity themselves, we move between suspense to dark fantasy, covert operations to love story to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Dread and Courage

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, properly scary and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, breath-taking moments of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both earthly and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is above all a ode to the human inventiveness, 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 the wealthy student as the allies sit around the table, preparing to summon their beast into being with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Ensure you experience it.