🔗 Share this article King Sorrow by Joseph Hillstrom King Review – A Epic Supernatural Saga Delivers Masterpiece-Level Thrills A group of six unlikely but resilient children encounter the way of a vast and dreadful supernatural evil that has invaded our existence from the outer limits of shadow. They must spend their lifetimes fighting it, facing terror upon terror in the ordeal. An Echoing Plot with a New Approach This describes the premise, in essence, of the master of horror’s iconic book It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It parallels of King’s son Joseph Hillstrom King’s latest horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group invoke the age-old, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual backfires. Celebrating a Authorial Heritage Joseph Hillström King launched his profession striving diligently to distance himself from his renowned parent, using the pseudonym he maintains to this day and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he bears a uncanny likeness to his dad). Yet with this recent release, he leans into it. There are lines that consciously reflect some of the senior author’s well-known (that classic opening line); a scene that recalls a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this whopper of a novel, Hill is delighting in his family connection, and the audience revels alongside. Meet the Main Characters Back to those friends: the majority are scholars at the fictional this academic setting in this northeastern locale. There’s Arthur, academic and brilliant, cracking historical enigmas in his free moments; Colin, wealthy, clever, and inclined to bulldoze anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning the lovely Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who doesn’t study with them, but assumes a vital role of their group as they experiment, half believing, half not, in the occult. The Critical Ritual The protagonist finds himself, due to circumstances beyond his control, forced into stealing valuable volumes from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This devastates his scholarly soul, notably because he’s forced to acquire the institution’s prized and chilling work: the logbook of occultist this enigmatic character (condemned “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators read the journal, learn they can invoke what Crane describes as a cunning serpent to help Arthur out with his extortion dilemma – and devote the remaining story facing the fallout. King Sorrow will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice annually or succumb to the dragon’s wrath. As our protagonist states: “You sow dragon’s teeth, all you get is additional horrors.” Genre Fluidity and Inventive Scope Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with effortless ease between genres: as the friends strive to manage the situation they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to immolate, or hunting down ways to slay the beast themselves, we transition from page-turner to shadowy tale, black-ops torture to love story to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a quest story, deep in the caves under the English county, a part sprinkled with the fantasy maestro that was magnificently horrifying. A Rich Mosaic of Dread and Optimism We encounter trolls – those living under bridges and internet antagonists, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. The story includes mystic weapons and betrayals, breath-taking moments of bravery and scenes of dreadful evil, both earthly and extraterrestrial. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean 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 the wealthy student as the friends assemble around a surface, making preparations to call forth their dragon into being with the strength of their collective will. As Hill puts it in his opening statement: “This is dragon territory”. Do not overlook this.