As a lover of medieval literature, forgotten languages and vintage books Arthur Oakes loves nothing more than being a student librarian in Rackham College, home to some extraordinary rare books. When he becomes entangled with two local drug dealers Arthur is blackmailed into his worst nightmare, stealing those precious books for them to sell. Together with his friends Gwen Underfoot, Allison Shiner, Colin Wren, Donna and Van McBride, they come up with a plan they hardly believe will ever work—to summon King Sorrow, a dragon of old from the Long Dark to smite their tormentors. Only to summon King Sorrow has its dire consequences, each Easter the six must choose a new sacrifice to give the dragon or else they will become the next sacrifice.

King Sorrow by Joe Hill is a fantasy story of epic proportions and impressive depths. This was one wild adventure I thoroughly enjoyed being on. 

The novel is structured into six books with the point of view alternating in each one. Hill is very clever here because this is an absolutely huge book closing in on just under the 900 page mark and yet whilst you’re reading he immerses you so deeply you don’t even notice how long it is. Just when the story begins to feel like it might become repetitive, he switches up the narrative in terms of pacing and even genre. Though the characters begin as being in their 20s, book one feels very much like a coming of age story, where our six group of friends are each established and during the late 80s are on the brink of beginning their adult life. Whereas books two and three jump ahead to the mid 90s and feels very much like an action thriller, with the pacing heightened and the tension bleeding from the page. When we reach book four further twists and revelations ensue as we meander through a more mythical and folkloric narrative. Instead of being jarring, keeping the story fresh throughout worked in favour of keeping me utterly gripped, as did having short punchy chapters that always compelled me to want to read ‘just one more’. 

This is very much a character driven story as we span decades over these six friends’ lives. Hill crafts them all so well they truly feel like real people with real messy lives. Whilst following these characters we witness the good, the bad and the ugliness in between. Allie struggles with being gay in the 80s when prejudices were much more prevalent and with her parents being highly religious, she could never just be herself and therefore turned to drink. Van struggles with always disappointing his parents which leads him to drink and drugs to make himself feel something too. His twin sister Donna struggles to control her temper. Then there’s Arthur who is a young Black man basically raising himself after his mother is sent to prison. Though Gwen is the most stable of the six, she still has to deal with having less doors open to her than her other friends because she’s not as wealthy as they are. Yet they help each other through life, they love each other in a way that cements them as family, at least throughout the beginning of the book, and the more that came through the more attached I became to all of them for different reasons. If I had to pick favourites though it would definitely be Arthur and Gwen and though I won’t give spoilers here, let’s just say their narratives gave me endless stress and heartache. I felt for these characters so deeply they became like actual friends of mine. 

‘What’s King Sorrow, if not a weaponized act of the imagination? He’s a bad dream with teeth. For a few years, I wondered if we’d ever wake up from him.’

When I first heard about King Sorrow I was very curious to see Joe Hill take on the fantasy genre. Of course, Hill still injects a level of horror into his narrative, but it comes in the form of the reader feeling anxious for the characters and the creepiness of the Dragon itself, rather than any graphic horror. The dragon, King Sorrow, surprised me in many ways, particularly with his narrative voice which was often quite humorous. King Sorrow revels in taunting his sacrifices before their imminent death and this makes for some rather eerie scenes that I loved! Yet Hill also surprised me with the inclusion of another fantasy creature who was used in a very subversive and clever way. I will say that this creature uses offensive slurs and though I understood what that creature represented and therefore the purpose of the character using such language, it was still uncomfortable to come across which I believe was Hill’s intention, to make the reader feel appalled. However, I loved the way Hill peppers his prose with plenty of nods to other fantasy stories, most notably to me, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Tolkien himself and Arthurian mythology. Hill also superbly juxtaposes contemporary human life with the fantastical. This might be a story of a malevolent hungry dragon and deals with plenty of other staple fantasy themes but it is also the story of the growth of the internet and mobile phone age, it’s the story of government corruption, of lives filled with hardships and grittiness, it’s the story of love and loss.  

‘King Sorrow had let them feel they were in charge, because it pleased him, but he had never been playing their game— they had been playing his. He was a king, after all, and they his subjects. No one was ever in charge of a dragon. Some snakes were too big to catch by the tail.’

Another notable aspect for me was the way Hill explores the philosophical notion of do two wrongs make a right? In sacrificing evil figures to King Sorrow, does this make the characters heroes or murderers? Have they been preventing innocents from being hurt and future crimes or have they themselves committed a crime? Choosing sacrifices shapes each of these characters’ lives in different ways, some being passive about their choices, others choosing mercy sacrifices, and some believing they are the righteous smiting down the evils of mankind. The psychology explored in this novel is so fantastically portrayed that if you look closely enough you’ll see how it reflects what’s happening in our world today. 

Here lies a story filled with clever allegories, characters that showcase the full range of human shortcomings and strengths, and a dragon to send shivers down your spine. King Sorrow is a triumph of modern fantasy in the hands of a superb storyteller. 

‘Love was the secret language of twins. It was the private code of a husband and a wife. It was the telegraph system of best friends. When you had it, a glance could suffice for ten minutes of talk. When you loved someone enough, you did not simply remember them.

Some part of them was copied into you forever and so when they were gone they weren’t gone.’

ARC provided by Caitlin at Headline publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

King Sorrow will be released on 21st October 2025 but you can pre-order your copy from Bookshop.org