Six oddball but doughty youngsters encounter the way of a vast and terrible otherworldly darkness that has invaded our existence from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They have no choice but to devote their lives fighting it, experiencing horror after horror in the struggle.
An Echoing Premise with a New Approach
This is the plot, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s recent chilling tome, in which a close-knit group invoke the ancient, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some villains. Needless to say, their supernatural ritual goes awry.
Embracing a Family Lineage
Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey striving diligently to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears 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 incident that recalls a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.
Introducing the Protagonists
Returning to the group: the majority are scholars at the fictional Rackham College in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, studious and gifted, deciphering ancient puzzles in his spare time; the character Colin, wealthy, clever, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie. Then we have Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but emerges as crucial of their band as they experiment, somewhat credulous, half not, in the occult.
The Pivotal Summoning
Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the institution’s prized and unsettling title: the diary of occultist this enigmatic character (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group examine the log, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to help Arthur out with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a fresh offering each year or become his victim themselves. In the character’s own words: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”
Narrative Fluidity and Inventive Range
Covering a generation, the author shifts with natural fluency between genres: as the friends attempt to deal with the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from thriller to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to romance to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a section infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.
An Expansive Tapestry of Horror and Hope
We encounter trolls – the classic variety and online ones, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and instances of terrible wickedness, both earthly and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a chilling book that is primarily a tribute to the creative spirit, 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 Colin as the friends gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their beast into existence with the power of their thoughts.
As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.
