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Six unlikely but resilient children fall into the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural evil that has invaded our existence from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They must spend their lifetimes fighting it, experiencing one nightmare after another in the struggle.

A Familiar Premise with a New Spin

This is the plot, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest massive horror novel, in which six friends invoke the primordial, utterly malevolent serpent the Dragon King from the Endless Night to aid them in overcoming some villains. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Acknowledging a Authorial Heritage

Joe Hill started his career making great efforts to remain separate from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (that classic opening line); a moment that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and the audience revels alongside.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: most are scholars at the made-up the esteemed institution in Maine. First is Arthur, academic and brilliant, solving historical enigmas in his free moments; the character Colin, wealthy, sharp, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they dabble, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in the occult.

The Fateful Ritual

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and chilling work: the logbook of practitioner this enigmatic character (executed “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a cunning serpent to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and devote the remaining story reaping the consequences. The dragon will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they are required to pick a different victim every twelve months or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Versatility and Inventive Breadth

Moving through four decades, Hill also moves with effortless ease through various literary forms: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to immolate, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we move between thriller to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to affectionate subplot to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a heroic journey, far beneath the surface under the English county, a section tinged by the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Horror and Courage

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and betrayals, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both mortal and otherworldly. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is chiefly a ode to the human inventiveness, 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 the wealthy student as the companions sit around the table, preparing to summon their dragon into existence with the power of their thoughts.

In the author’s own words in his opening statement: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.