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Six quirky but doughty kids confront the trail of a vast and dreadful paranormal evil that has invaded our world from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They are compelled to devote their lives confronting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the process.

An Echoing Storyline with a Fresh Twist

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s novel It (his best; no debate). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s new horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group summon the age-old, infinitely malicious dragon King Sorrow from the Endless Night to help them defeat some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Lineage

The author started his career striving diligently to remain separate from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his father). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a incident that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Main Characters

Returning to the group: the majority are scholars at the imagined the esteemed institution in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and gifted, cracking historical enigmas in his spare time; Colin, wealthy, astute, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; the twin siblings; the attractive Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their group as they dabble, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in arcane arts.

The Pivotal Summoning

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, notably because he’s made to take the institution’s prized and disturbing publication: the logbook of adept Enoch Crane (executed “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the author references as a armored demon” to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a different victim each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Inventive Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency between genres: as the allies strive to manage the situation they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or searching for methods to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from thriller to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a segment infused with JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Horror and Hope

The novel features trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and online ones, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of valor and ones of appalling malevolence, both human and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is primarily a paean to the human inventiveness, and to love and friendship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the companions gather at the table, making preparations to call forth their serpent to life with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.