🔗 Share this article

A group of six unlikely but brave kids confront the trail of a colossal and terrible supernatural malevolence that has invaded our world from the deepest abyss of darkness. They must devote their lives fighting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a Fresh Approach

This is the plot, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; no debate). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which six friends summon the ancient, infinitely malicious dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some villains. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Celebrating a Authorial Heritage

Joseph Hillström King 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 parent). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that recalls a signature King element (a riddling contest). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

Introducing the Protagonists

Back to those friends: most are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in Maine. First is Arthur, bookish and brilliant, deciphering historical enigmas in his leisure hours; another key figure, affluent, astute, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the attractive the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their circle as they experiment, partly convinced, half not, in the occult.

The Critical Ceremony

Arthur is, as a result of external pressures, obliged to take valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This wounds his academic spirit, notably because he’s made to take the institution’s prized and chilling publication: the journal of occultist this enigmatic character (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the cover is crafted from his flesh). The intrepid group read the journal, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a clever snake to aid our hero with his extortion dilemma – and devote the remaining story enduring the repercussions. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a new sacrifice every twelve months or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Creative Scope

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the friends attempt to deal with the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to offer up, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we move between suspense to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to terror. A standout transition was to a quest story, far beneath the surface below Cornwall, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Canvas of Fear and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of valor and scenes of dreadful evil, both mortal and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean to the imagination, and to devotion and companionship. “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 friends gather at the table, preparing to summon their beast into existence with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.