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A group of six unlikely but brave youngsters encounter the way of a colossal and dreadful otherworldly evil that has invaded our realm from the farthest reaches of shadow. They are compelled to spend their lifetimes battling it, enduring one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Storyline with a Fresh Twist

This outlines the narrative, in essence, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no debate). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent chilling tome, in which six friends summon the age-old, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Acknowledging a Family Legacy

Joe Hill launched his profession going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his famous father, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his father). However, in his newest work, he fully acknowledges it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Focusing on the companions: five of them are scholars at the made-up Rackham College in Maine. There’s Arthur, studious and brilliant, cracking ancient puzzles in his free moments; another key figure, affluent, sharp, and known for crushing those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they dabble, partly convinced, half not, in the occult.

The Fateful Ceremony

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s compelled to seize the library’s most valuable and unsettling publication: the journal of practitioner the historical figure (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is crafted from his flesh). These young investigators examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what the author references as a clever snake to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel enduring the repercussions. The dragon will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice every twelve months or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the friends endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we go from suspense to dark fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, within the subterranean depths under the English county, a segment tinged by the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Courage

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and ones of appalling malevolence, both mortal and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is chiefly a paean to the imagination, 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 this character as the allies assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their serpent into existence with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his epigraph: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.