The Dragon's Curse by Joe Hill Review – An Dragon-Fired Horror Saga Is a Tour de Force

Six unlikely but resilient children confront the trail of a immense and dreadful otherworldly malevolence that has infiltrated our realm from the farthest reaches of oblivion. They have no choice but to devote their lives battling it, facing horror after horror in the ordeal.

A Resonant Storyline with a New Approach

This is the plot, roughly, of the master of horror’s novel It (a standout in his career; undeniable). It parallels of the celebrated author’s heir Joseph Hillstrom King’s recent chilling tome, in which six friends invoke the age-old, infinitely malicious dragon King Sorrow from the Endless Night to help them defeat some villains. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual has unintended consequences.

Embracing a Literary Heritage

The author began his writing journey making great efforts to distance himself from his well-known dad, adopting the nom de plume he continues to employ and steering clear of encounters with his agent (he bears a strong similarity to his father). Yet with this recent release, he fully acknowledges it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of the senior author’s well-known (“The man in black fled across the desert …”); a moment that brings to mind a recurring theme in King’s works (a battle of wits). In this whopper of a novel, Joe Hill takes pleasure in his family connection, and we delight along with him.

Introducing the Protagonists

Returning to the group: most are scholars at the imagined this academic setting in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, bookish and gifted, cracking historical enigmas in his spare time; Colin, rich, clever, and prone to trampling anyone who stands in his way; the twin siblings; the stunning the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who isn’t their classmate, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they toy, partly convinced, half not, in the occult.

The Critical Ritual

The protagonist finds himself, due to circumstances beyond his control, compelled to pilfer rare books from his cherished academic collection by a group of neighborhood thugs. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the institution’s prized and unsettling publication: the logbook of occultist the historical figure (put to death “for trafficking with the devyll in 1703”; the cover is fashioned from his hide). The intrepid group read the journal, realize they are able to call forth what the author references as a armoured devil” to assist Arthur with his coercion issue – and spend the rest of the novel facing the fallout. The dragon will indeed rid them of those troublesome local drug dealers, but they’ll have to choose a new sacrifice each year or fall prey to the beast. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Dexterity and Imaginative Scope

Covering a generation, Joe Hill transitions with natural fluency through various literary forms: as the friends endeavor to address the predicament they find themselves in by, variously, picking people who are obviously evil to immolate, or searching for methods to destroy the entity themselves, we go from suspense to grim fantasy, black-ops torture to romance to horror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, deep in the caves below Cornwall, a segment infused with the Lord of the Rings author that was wonderfully frightening.

An Expansive Mosaic of Fear and Hope

The novel features trolls – the classic variety and internet antagonists, properly scary and superbly depicted. There are magical swords and deceptions, breath-taking moments of valor and scenes of terrible wickedness, both earthly and otherworldly. It’s a tour de force: a frightening tale that is primarily a paean to the imagination, and to devotion and companionship. “We needed a story to believe and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the allies assemble around a surface, getting ready to invoke their beast to life with the power of their thoughts.

According to Joe Hill in his opening statement: “Hic sunt dracones”. Do not overlook this.