Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

Having semi-recently read NOS4A2, I knew I was going to love the works of Joe Hill. I’d seen and heard all of the hype for King Sorrow at its release and was immediately interested. Afterall, how could I not be intrigued by a dark fantasy horror crossover? Ancient mythology, horror and thriller elements; oh yes – and a very big dragon. Perfect.

When Arthur Oakes inadvertently crosses paths with a family of drug dealers while visiting his activist mother in prison, his life is set on a dangerous, irreversible path. Threats against his mother come, with the promise of her safety if he steals rare and valuable books from the Rackham College library to help the family recoup the loss of their stash to the authorities. A crime worse than murder, in the eyes of literature scholar Arthur. The threats begin to come thick and fast, and against Arthur himself, too. And when his group of friends get drawn into the mess, they seek a way to put an end to the threats. Diving into myth and lore, the group uncover ways to speak with beings in realities beyond their own. Ultimately, they end up bringing a dragon through to our world.

King Sorrow could easily end there – those threatening the group are destroyed by the dragon, King Sorrow, and it slinks back to its realm. Instead, once a year, the dragon requires the name of one person to be killed. The situation that ties them to the dragon worsens and deepens, tainting their lives and their relationships over decades.

King Sorrow is a roller coaster of a novel. It’s filled with an ominous atmosphere that never truly dispels. With each undesirable they take out of the world through King Sorrow, their ties to him become ever more inextricable. It’s dark and tense throughout, and telling the story over multiple “books” allows the story to unfold over time. A fantastic read that just cements Joe Hill as a firm favourite author.

My rating: