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A group of six unlikely but brave youngsters fall into the way of a vast and terrible otherworldly malevolence that has entered our realm from the farthest reaches of darkness. They have no choice but to spend their lifetimes battling it, facing one nightmare after another in the ordeal.

A Familiar Storyline with a New Approach

This is the plot, roughly, of the master of horror’s novel It (a standout in his career; no debate). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest horror doorstopper, in which a band of six call forth the age-old, deeply sinister serpent the Dragon King from the Long Dark to help them defeat some antagonists. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Literary Legacy

Joseph Hillström King started his career going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, publishing under the pen name he still uses today and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he possesses a uncanny likeness to his dad). But in this latest novel, he fully acknowledges it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a incident that evokes a King plot point (a riddling contest). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his heritage, and readers share in the joy.

Introducing the Protagonists

Focusing on the companions: five of them are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and gifted, cracking Old English riddles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, affluent, sharp, and inclined to bulldoze obstacles in his path; the twin siblings; the attractive the lovely Allie. Then we have Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their group as they toy, half believing, half not, in arcane arts.

The Critical Ceremony

Arthur is, as a result of external pressures, compelled to pilfer rare books from his cherished academic collection by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, especially when he’s made to take the collection’s foremost and disturbing title: the logbook of practitioner Enoch Crane (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators peruse the diary, realize they are able to call forth what Crane describes as a clever snake to help Arthur out with his blackmail problem – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. The dragon will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they must select a fresh offering annually or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Genre Versatility and Imaginative Breadth

Covering a generation, the author shifts with natural fluency between genres: as the friends attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, selecting clearly malevolent individuals to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to kill the dragon themselves, we move between thriller to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to love story to fright. One particularly memorable shift was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a part sprinkled with the Lord of the Rings author that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Tapestry of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – bridge-dwelling ones and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and deceptions, pulse-pounding sequences of courage and instances of terrible wickedness, both mortal and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a horror novel that is above all a tribute to the human inventiveness, and to affection and camaraderie. “We required a narrative to trust and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says Colin as the friends assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their serpent into being with the strength of their collective will.

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