King Sorrow by Joe Hill Analysis – A Epic Horror Saga Is a Tour de Force

Six unlikely but brave children confront the way of a colossal and terrible otherworldly evil that has entered our realm from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They are compelled to spend their lifetimes fighting it, enduring terror upon terror in the ordeal.

A Familiar Premise with a Distinctive Approach

This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (his best; undeniable). It parallels of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s latest massive horror novel, in which six friends summon the age-old, utterly malevolent dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some villains. Needless to say, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Acknowledging a Family Lineage

Joseph Hillström King started his career striving diligently to avoid any connection from his well-known dad, publishing under the pen name he maintains to this day and avoiding meeting his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his parent). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. There are lines that intentionally mirror some of King’s most famous (the famous Dark Tower introduction); a incident that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a game of puzzles). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

Meet the Central Figures

Returning to the group: five of them are pupils at the made-up this academic setting in the New England state. First is Arthur, studious and brilliant, solving Old English riddles in his spare time; Colin, wealthy, sharp, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their band as they toy, partly convinced, half not, in the occult.

The Critical Ritual

Arthur is, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, especially when he’s made to take the library’s most valuable and unsettling publication: the diary of occultist Enoch Crane (condemned “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is crafted from his flesh). These young investigators read the journal, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a armoured devil” to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and occupy the subsequent narrative reaping the consequences. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering every twelve months or fall prey to the beast. As Arthur later puts it: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is more dragons.”

Narrative Versatility and Inventive Range

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with seamless grace between genres: as the friends endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, in different ways, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or searching for methods to kill the dragon themselves, we go from page-turner to shadowy tale, clandestine torment to romance to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a segment infused with JRR Tolkien that was gloriously terrifying.

A Rich Canvas of Fear and Courage

There are trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, truly terrifying and perfectly brought to life. There are magical swords and deceptions, heart-stopping scenes of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both earthly and otherworldly. This is a remarkable achievement: a horror novel that is primarily a paean to the imagination, 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 this character as the companions assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their beast into being with the strength of their collective will.

In the author’s own words in his introductory quote: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.