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A group of six unlikely but brave children fall into the trail of a colossal and terrible supernatural darkness that has infiltrated our realm from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They must spend their lifetimes confronting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Resonant Premise with a Fresh Spin

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It parallels of King’s son Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group call forth the age-old, utterly malevolent beast the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Celebrating a Literary Heritage

The author launched his profession making great efforts to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges 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 signature King element (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Returning to the group: the majority are students at the fictional this academic setting in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, bookish and brilliant, deciphering Old English riddles in his free moments; Colin, affluent, clever, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the attractive Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their band as they experiment, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Ceremony

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, notably because he’s compelled to seize the institution’s prized and chilling title: the journal of practitioner this enigmatic character (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators read the journal, learn they can invoke what the author references as a “arrogant beast to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. The dragon will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they are required to pick a new sacrifice each year or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Dexterity and Inventive Scope

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency across narrative styles: as the friends strive to manage the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from suspense to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to love story to horror. A standout transition was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface under the English county, a section infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Fear and Courage

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, truly terrifying and expertly realized. We see enchanted blades and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and instances of dreadful evil, both human and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is above all a paean to the imagination, 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 the wealthy student as the companions assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their dragon into being with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.