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A group of six unlikely but doughty youngsters fall into the trail of a vast and fearsome otherworldly malevolence that has entered our world from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They have no choice but to devote their lives battling it, experiencing terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Plot with a Fresh Twist

This is the plot, in essence, of Stephen King’s novel It (a standout in his career; no debate). It similarly frames of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest chilling tome, in which a close-knit group call forth the ancient, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Endless Night to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. As one might expect, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Embracing a Authorial Heritage

Joe Hill started his career going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). But in this latest novel, he leans into it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Main Characters

Focusing on the companions: most are scholars at the made-up Rackham College in Maine. We have Arthur, academic and intelligent, solving Old English riddles in his free moments; Colin, rich, sharp, and known for crushing obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the beautiful the lovely Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but becomes a key part of their group as they toy, half believing, partly skeptical, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Summoning

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his cherished academic collection by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, especially when he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and unsettling work: the journal of practitioner the historical figure (executed “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). Our Scooby gang examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. This ancient entity will certainly eliminate those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a new sacrifice each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Genre Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the companions endeavor to address the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to offer up, or seeking means to destroy the entity themselves, we transition from page-turner to grim fantasy, covert operations to romance to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a section infused with the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Mosaic of Fear and Optimism

The novel features trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and instances of dreadful evil, both mortal and supernatural. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is chiefly a ode to the human inventiveness, and to devotion and companionship. “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, getting ready to invoke their serpent into being with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Here be dragons”. Ensure you experience it.