🔗 Share this article

Six unlikely but resilient youngsters confront the path of a vast and fearsome supernatural evil that has entered our world from the farthest reaches of darkness. They are compelled to devote their lives fighting it, experiencing horror after horror in the process.

An Echoing Premise with a Distinctive Spin

This is the plot, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new chilling tome, in which a band of six summon the primordial, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some villains. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Embracing a Literary Legacy

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to distance himself from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his dad). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Certain passages that consciously reflect some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that evokes a signature King element (a riddling contest). Throughout this massive book, the author rejoices in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: most are scholars at the imagined Rackham College in the New England state. First is Arthur, academic and intelligent, deciphering historical enigmas in his free moments; Colin, affluent, sharp, and known for crushing those who oppose him; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but emerges as crucial of their band as they toy, half believing, somewhat doubtful, in the occult.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, obliged to take rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and chilling publication: the diary of occultist this enigmatic character (executed “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is crafted from his flesh). The intrepid group peruse the diary, discover they could summon what the author references as a “arrogant beast to help Arthur out with his coercion issue – and devote the remaining story facing the fallout. This ancient entity will undoubtedly remove those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency across narrative styles: as the allies strive to manage the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or searching for methods to destroy the entity themselves, we move between suspense to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a part tinged by JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Dread and Courage

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and betrayals, breath-taking moments of courage and instances of dreadful evil, both human and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is primarily a tribute to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “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 companions sit around the table, getting ready to invoke their beast into existence with the force of their minds.

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