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A group of six unlikely but brave kids fall into the path of a immense and fearsome otherworldly evil that has invaded our world from the farthest reaches of darkness. They must wage a lifelong battle confronting it, enduring terror upon terror in the process.

A Resonant Premise with a Distinctive Twist

This describes the premise, in essence, of Stephen King’s seminal work It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It similarly frames of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a band of six call forth the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Dragon King from the Endless Night to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. As one might expect, their arcane ceremony goes awry.

Celebrating a Authorial Legacy

The author began his writing journey making great efforts to remain separate from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he still uses today and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he exhibits a striking resemblance to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of the senior author’s well-known (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a scene that evokes a King plot point (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and the audience revels alongside.

Introducing the Central Figures

Returning to the group: five of them are students at the made-up the esteemed institution in the New England state. First is Arthur, bookish and gifted, deciphering Old English riddles in his spare time; the character Colin, rich, clever, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they dabble, somewhat credulous, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take rare books from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the library’s most valuable and disturbing title: the diary of occultist this enigmatic character (condemned “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the cover is made from his skin). These young investigators read the journal, learn they can invoke what the occultist details as a armored demon” to assist Arthur with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will certainly eliminate those troublesome local drug dealers, but they are required to pick a fresh offering each year or fall prey to the beast. As our protagonist states: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Dexterity and Creative Scope

Covering a generation, the author shifts with natural fluency between genres: as the friends endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we move between suspense to dark fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to fright. A standout transition was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a section tinged by the fantasy maestro that was wonderfully frightening.

A Detailed Mosaic of Fear and Optimism

There are trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and deceptions, pulse-pounding sequences of bravery and ones of dreadful evil, both earthly and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is above all a ode to the human inventiveness, and to love and friendship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the allies sit around the table, preparing to summon their serpent to life with the power of their thoughts.

As Hill puts it in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.