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A group of six oddball but brave kids fall into the path of a vast and dreadful paranormal malevolence that has infiltrated our existence from the deepest abyss of darkness. They are compelled to devote their lives battling it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the process.

An Echoing Plot with a New Spin

This is the plot, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s novel It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It parallels of King’s son Joe Hill’s latest chilling tome, in which six friends summon the age-old, deeply sinister dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some antagonists. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Literary Legacy

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey making great efforts to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a strong similarity to his dad). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: most are pupils at the fictional Rackham College in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and intelligent, cracking historical enigmas in his leisure hours; Colin, affluent, astute, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their group as they toy, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Ceremony

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take prized manuscripts 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 work: the diary of adept the historical figure (executed “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the author references as a armored demon” to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a fresh offering each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is additional horrors.”

Narrative Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the companions strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we go from suspense to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths beneath this UK region, a part sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Horror and Courage

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and online ones, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and deceptions, breath-taking moments of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both human and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a frightening tale that is chiefly a ode to the imagination, 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 Colin as the friends assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their beast to life with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.