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A group of six unlikely but resilient children fall into the way of a colossal and dreadful paranormal evil that has infiltrated our world from the deepest abyss of darkness. They must wage a lifelong battle confronting it, experiencing horror after horror in the process.

A Familiar Plot with a Fresh Spin

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (a standout in his career; no arguments). It similarly frames of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest chilling tome, in which six friends summon the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Dragon King from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some baddies. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Literary Lineage

The author started his career going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his famous father, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his dad). However, in his newest work, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that brings to mind a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Back to those friends: most are pupils at the imagined Rackham College in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, studious and intelligent, solving ancient puzzles in his spare time; the character Colin, rich, astute, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; the twin siblings; the beautiful Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but assumes a vital role of their band as they experiment, somewhat credulous, somewhat doubtful, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ceremony

Arthur is, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing rare books from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and chilling work: the journal of adept the historical figure (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the book’s jacket is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators read the journal, discover they could summon what Crane describes as a “proud worm to assist Arthur with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. This ancient entity will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a new sacrifice every twelve months or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Dexterity and Inventive Range

Moving through four decades, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we go from thriller to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a segment sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Mosaic of Fear and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and online ones, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and ones of dreadful evil, both mortal and otherworldly. It stands as a masterpiece: a horror novel that is primarily a tribute to the human inventiveness, and to affection and camaraderie. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the friends assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their beast into existence with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.