🔗 Share this article

A group of six quirky but doughty youngsters encounter the way of a vast and fearsome supernatural darkness that has entered our existence from the outer limits of oblivion. They must wage a lifelong battle battling it, experiencing horror after horror in the struggle.

A Resonant Plot with a Fresh Spin

This outlines the narrative, roughly, of the master of horror’s novel It (arguably his finest; no debate). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s latest horror doorstopper, in which six friends invoke the primordial, deeply sinister serpent the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to help them defeat some baddies. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Family Legacy

Joe Hill started his career striving diligently to remain separate from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he still uses today and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his father). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. Certain passages that deliberately echo some of his father’s iconic (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that brings to mind a King plot point (a game of puzzles). Throughout this massive book, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his heritage, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Central Figures

Back to those friends: most are students at the made-up this academic setting in Maine. There’s Arthur, studious and intelligent, deciphering Old English riddles in his spare time; the character Colin, rich, clever, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their group as they toy, somewhat credulous, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, compelled to pilfer rare books from his beloved college library by a group of neighborhood thugs. This devastates his scholarly soul, particularly as he’s forced to acquire the collection’s foremost and disturbing title: the logbook of occultist the historical figure (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the cover is made from his skin). These young investigators examine the log, realize they are able to call forth what the occultist details as a “proud worm to assist Arthur with his extortion dilemma – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. This ancient entity will indeed rid them of those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering each year or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Genre Dexterity and Imaginative Breadth

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with seamless grace across narrative styles: as the friends attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to affectionate subplot to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, far beneath the surface under the English county, a section infused with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Fear and Optimism

The novel features trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and perfectly brought to life. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, breath-taking moments of bravery and instances of terrible wickedness, both mortal and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is primarily a tribute to the creative spirit, 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 this character as the companions sit around the table, preparing to summon their serpent into existence with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Hic sunt dracones”. Ensure you experience it.