🔗 Share this article

Six unlikely but resilient youngsters encounter the trail of a colossal and dreadful paranormal darkness that has infiltrated our world from the farthest reaches of darkness. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the process.

A Resonant Plot with a New Twist

This outlines the narrative, roughly, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group summon the ancient, utterly malevolent beast the Dragon King from the Long Dark to assist them in vanquishing some villains. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual goes awry.

Celebrating a Authorial Legacy

Joseph Hillström King launched his profession going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his father). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a incident that brings to mind a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: five of them are pupils at the fictional Rackham College in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and intelligent, solving Old English riddles in his free moments; Colin, affluent, sharp, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but becomes a key part of their band as they experiment, partly convinced, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, as a result of external pressures, compelled to pilfer prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and chilling work: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is crafted from his flesh). The intrepid group peruse the diary, learn they can invoke what the author references as a cunning serpent to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a new sacrifice annually or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Dexterity and Creative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with seamless grace through various literary forms: as the companions endeavor to address the situation they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we go from page-turner to shadowy tale, covert operations to affectionate subplot to horror. A standout transition was to a adventure narrative, far beneath the surface beneath this UK region, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

A Rich Mosaic of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and online ones, properly scary and expertly realized. There are magical swords and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of valor and ones of terrible wickedness, both earthly and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is primarily a paean to the human inventiveness, and to affection and camaraderie. “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 sit around the table, preparing to summon their serpent into being with the strength of their collective will.

According to Joe Hill in his epigraph: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.