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Six oddball but brave youngsters fall into the way of a vast and terrible supernatural evil that has invaded our world from the deepest abyss of darkness. They must spend their lifetimes battling it, facing horror after horror in the process.

A Familiar Plot with a Distinctive Spin

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s novel It (his best; no arguments). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent massive horror novel, in which a close-knit group invoke the primordial, deeply sinister dragon the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation goes awry.

Acknowledging a Literary Lineage

The author launched his profession making great efforts to remain separate from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a strong similarity to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. Certain passages that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (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, the author rejoices in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

Meet the Central Figures

Returning to the group: five of them are students at the fictional this academic setting in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, studious and brilliant, deciphering historical enigmas in his free moments; another key figure, affluent, clever, and prone to trampling those who oppose him; twins Donna and Donovan; the beautiful Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their band as they toy, partly convinced, half not, in the occult.

The Fateful Summoning

Our hero becomes, as a result of external pressures, compelled to pilfer valuable volumes from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and disturbing publication: the logbook of occultist this enigmatic character (executed “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a “proud worm to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those annoying regional antagonists, but they must select a new sacrifice each year or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Versatility and Creative Range

Spanning forty years, Joe Hill transitions with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the allies strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from suspense to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to love story to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves under the English county, a part tinged by the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Fear and Courage

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and online ones, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and scenes of terrible wickedness, both human and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean 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 friends sit around the table, making preparations to call forth their beast into existence with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.