King Sorrow by Joe Hill Review – A Dragon-Fired Supernatural Saga Is a Tour de Force

A group of six oddball but resilient children confront the way of a immense and dreadful supernatural malevolence that has entered our existence from the farthest reaches of shadow. They are compelled to wage a lifelong battle confronting it, experiencing horror after horror in the process.

An Echoing Plot with a Fresh Spin

This describes the premise, roughly, of Stephen King’s novel It (arguably his finest; undeniable). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s new chilling tome, in which a close-knit group summon the primordial, deeply sinister serpent the Dragon King from the Abyssal Void to assist them in vanquishing some baddies. Unsurprisingly, their arcane ceremony has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Legacy

Joseph Hillström King started his career striving diligently to remain separate from his famous father, using the pseudonym he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a uncanny likeness to his parent). Yet with this recent release, he embraces it. Certain passages that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a scene that evokes a King plot point (a battle of wits). Throughout this massive book, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

Introducing the Protagonists

Returning to the group: the majority are students at the fictional the esteemed institution in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, bookish and brilliant, deciphering Old English riddles in his leisure hours; the character Colin, rich, sharp, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the attractive Allie herself. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their band as they dabble, somewhat credulous, half not, in arcane arts.

The Fateful Summoning

Arthur is, as a result of external pressures, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, notably because he’s made to take the institution’s prized and chilling work: the diary of practitioner the historical figure (put to death “for conspiring with dark forces in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). The intrepid group examine the log, discover they could summon what the author references as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel reaping the consequences. The dragon will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering every twelve months or become his victim themselves. As our protagonist states: “You invoke terrible forces, all you get is further monstrosities.”

Narrative Dexterity and Creative Breadth

Covering a generation, the author shifts with natural fluency between genres: as the friends endeavor to address the situation they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to sacrifice, or searching for methods to slay the beast themselves, we transition from thriller to dark fantasy, covert operations to love story to fright. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, within the subterranean depths below Cornwall, a segment infused with the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Mosaic of Fear and Hope

We encounter trolls – the classic variety and digital trolls, genuinely frightening and superbly depicted. We see enchanted blades and treacheries, heart-stopping scenes of valor and scenes of appalling malevolence, both earthly and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is primarily a paean to the creative spirit, and to affection and camaraderie. “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 gather at the table, getting ready to invoke their serpent to life with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.