King Sorrow by Joe Hill

Book Review: King Sorrow by Joe Hill Joe Hill’s King Sorrow is a sprawling, atmospheric tale that fuses horror, dark academia, and raw human emotion into a story that lingers. At the center is Arthur Oakes, a dreamy, bookish student at Rackham College in Maine. With his mother in prison and debts pressing in, Arthur gets pulled into a desperate act—stealing rare books—which ultimately leads him and his circle of friends down a path none of them can return from. Arthur, Gwen Underfoot, Colin Wren, Alison Shiner, and the McBride twins stumble upon the Crane journal, a sinister volume bound in human skin. What begins as curiosity and bravado becomes deadly when they summon a dragon from another realm: King Sorrow. The creature demands a sacrifice every Easter, and the group soon learns the true cost of their choices as the pact reshapes their lives across decades. Hill excels at more than just crafting suspense. His characters are flawed, vividly human, and often heartbreaking in the ways they cling to ambition, desire, or regret. The supernatural here isn’t just for thrills—it’s a mirror reflecting the desperation and compromises that define youth and haunt adulthood. King Sorrow is both terrifying and deeply moving. It’s about power, temptation, and sacrifice—but at its heart, it’s about the people who make impossible choices and must live with the fallout. Why you should read it: Joe Hill delivers an epic that’s part horror, part tragedy, and all heart—a chilling, unforgettable reminder that every bargain has its price.

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