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A group of six oddball but doughty children confront the trail of a colossal and fearsome otherworldly darkness that has invaded our existence from the farthest reaches of shadow. They have no choice but to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, experiencing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Resonant Storyline with a Fresh Twist

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s new chilling tome, in which a band of six invoke the primordial, utterly malevolent beast King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Celebrating a Literary Legacy

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to distance himself from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his dad). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Several quotes that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: the majority are students at the fictional Rackham College in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and brilliant, solving Old English riddles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, rich, astute, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful the lovely Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they experiment, half believing, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Summoning

Our hero becomes, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and unsettling work: the diary of occultist Enoch Crane (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 Crane describes as a cunning serpent to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a different victim each year or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Dexterity and Creative Breadth

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace between genres: as the companions endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Courage

There are trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and online ones, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and betrayals, heart-stopping scenes of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both earthly and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is above all a paean 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 the wealthy student as the allies assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their beast into being with the strength of their collective will.

According to Joe Hill in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.