🔗 Share this article

A group of six oddball but resilient children confront the trail of a colossal and terrible paranormal darkness that has invaded our realm from the outer limits of darkness. They have no choice but to wage a lifelong battle fighting it, experiencing horror after horror in the ordeal.

A Resonant Premise with a New Approach

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (his best; no debate). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest massive horror novel, in which six friends invoke the ancient, infinitely malicious dragon the Dragon King from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some villains. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation backfires.

Acknowledging a Family Lineage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to remain separate from his well-known dad, using the pseudonym he continues to employ 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. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, the author rejoices in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: five of them are students at the imagined this academic setting in Maine. There’s Arthur, studious and brilliant, deciphering ancient puzzles in his free moments; another key figure, wealthy, sharp, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their group as they experiment, half believing, somewhat doubtful, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer rare books from his beloved college library by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s made to take the institution’s prized and chilling work: the journal of occultist the historical figure (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group examine the log, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a “proud worm to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. The dragon will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they are required to pick a different victim every twelve months or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Stylistic Versatility and Creative Range

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we move between page-turner to shadowy tale, covert operations to romance to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a part sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Mosaic of Horror and Hope

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and perfectly brought to life. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both earthly and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is primarily a tribute to the human inventiveness, and to devotion and companionship. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the allies gather at the table, preparing to summon their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

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