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Six quirky but doughty children fall into the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural evil that has infiltrated our existence from the deepest abyss of shadow. They have no choice but to devote their lives fighting it, enduring horror after horror in the struggle.

An Echoing Storyline with a New Twist

This is the plot, roughly, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It similarly frames of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new horror doorstopper, in which six friends invoke the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some villains. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony goes awry.

Celebrating a Literary Legacy

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to avoid any connection from his famous father, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his father). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (that classic opening line); a moment that evokes a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: the majority are students at the made-up the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and gifted, solving Old English riddles in his spare time; the character Colin, rich, astute, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their group as they toy, half believing, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Summoning

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, compelled to pilfer valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and unsettling work: the logbook of occultist the historical figure (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators peruse the diary, realize they are able to call forth what the author references as a cunning serpent to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a new sacrifice annually or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Moving through four decades, the author shifts with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the companions endeavor to address the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to sacrifice, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to dark fantasy, covert operations to affectionate subplot to horror. A standout transition was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Detailed Tapestry of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, properly scary and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and instances of dreadful evil, both earthly and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is chiefly a paean to the creative spirit, and to devotion and companionship. “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, getting ready to invoke their dragon into existence with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Ensure you experience it.