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Six unlikely but doughty kids encounter the path of a immense and fearsome paranormal evil that has infiltrated our world from the farthest reaches of shadow. They have no choice but to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, facing horror after horror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Storyline with a New Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (a standout in his career; no arguments). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s recent massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group call forth the age-old, deeply sinister dragon the Dragon King from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Heritage

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession making great efforts to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his father). However, in his newest work, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a moment that recalls a signature King element (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Central Figures

Back to those friends: the majority are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in Maine. First is Arthur, academic and gifted, cracking ancient puzzles in his leisure hours; Colin, rich, clever, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they toy, half believing, half not, in the occult.

The Pivotal Summoning

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and unsettling publication: the logbook of occultist the historical figure (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a “proud worm to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and devote the remaining story enduring the repercussions. The dragon will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they are required to pick a new sacrifice annually or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the friends attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we go from thriller to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to terror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, far beneath the surface below Cornwall, a section tinged by JRR Tolkien that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Canvas of Horror and Hope

We encounter trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and online ones, truly terrifying and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both human and otherworldly. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is primarily a paean to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “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 friends assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

In the author’s own words in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.