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Six quirky but doughty children fall into the trail of a colossal and fearsome supernatural darkness that has invaded our realm from the outer limits of oblivion. They must wage a lifelong battle battling it, experiencing horror after horror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Storyline with a Distinctive Spin

This is the plot, in essence, of the master of horror’s novel It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a band of six summon the age-old, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some antagonists. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony backfires.

Acknowledging a Family Heritage

Joseph Hillström King began his writing journey making great efforts to remain separate from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). However, in his newest work, he leans into it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a scene that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Returning to the group: most are scholars at the fictional the esteemed institution in the New England state. We have Arthur, bookish and brilliant, deciphering historical enigmas in his leisure hours; the character Colin, wealthy, astute, and inclined to bulldoze those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie herself. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their group as they toy, partly convinced, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Pivotal Ceremony

Our hero becomes, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing rare books from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and chilling title: the logbook of adept the historical figure (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators examine the log, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a armored demon” to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and devote the remaining story enduring the repercussions. The dragon will undoubtedly remove those annoying regional antagonists, but they are required to pick a different victim each year or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Moving through four decades, the author shifts with seamless grace between genres: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, in different ways, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to offer up, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we go from suspense to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a section infused with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Detailed Canvas of Horror and Hope

There are trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. There are magical swords and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both mortal and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a frightening tale that is chiefly a paean to the human inventiveness, and to affection and camaraderie. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the allies sit around the table, getting ready to invoke their serpent into being with the power of their thoughts.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.