🔗 Share this article

A group of six unlikely but doughty children fall into the way of a vast and fearsome otherworldly evil that has entered our world from the farthest reaches of darkness. They are compelled to spend their lifetimes battling it, enduring horror after horror in the struggle.

An Echoing Plot with a Distinctive Approach

This outlines the narrative, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joe Hill’s latest massive horror novel, in which six friends invoke the age-old, infinitely malicious serpent the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Lineage

The author began his writing journey making great efforts to remain separate from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he bears a striking resemblance to his dad). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a moment that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his lineage, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Protagonists

Back to those friends: most are pupils at the made-up Rackham College in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, academic and intelligent, cracking ancient puzzles in his free moments; another key figure, affluent, sharp, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but becomes a key part of their circle as they experiment, partly convinced, half not, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Ritual

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing prized manuscripts from his beloved college library by a bunch of local criminals. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and unsettling work: the diary of occultist the historical figure (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is fashioned from his hide). These young investigators read the journal, discover they could summon what the author references as a “arrogant beast to aid our hero with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. The dragon will certainly eliminate those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering each year or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As Arthur later puts it: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Versatility and Inventive Scope

Covering a generation, Hill also moves with seamless grace between genres: as the friends strive to manage the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we go from thriller to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to romance to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a heroic journey, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a section tinged by the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Dread and Optimism

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, genuinely frightening and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and deceptions, breath-taking moments of courage and instances of appalling malevolence, both mortal and supernatural. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily a ode to the creative spirit, and to love and friendship. “We required a narrative to trust 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, preparing to summon their dragon into existence with the force of their minds.

As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Don’t miss them.