King Sorrow: A Faustian Fable of Dark Academia, Summoned Dragons, and the Terrible Bargain Six Friends Make
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From 1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, a chilling tale of modern- world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful… calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.“A brilliantly Faustian fable with a heart as huge as a dragon’s, and a stinging twist in its tail. I devoured it.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Suite 11Arthur 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. Read more
Publisher : William Morrow
Publication date : October 21, 2025
Language : English
Print length : 896 pages
ISBN-10 : 0062200607
ISBN-13 : 00
Item Weight : 2.3 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 2.04 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #9,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #23 in Horror Occult & Supernatural #31 in Ghost Thrillers #92 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
#23 in Horror Occult & Supernatural:
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
First off, I'm an old lady who has become hard to entertain. A voracious reader my entire life, I now can't seem to find many books that hold my attention or really engage me. I've been reading Stephen King religiously since I was in high school in 1978, so I've been spoiled. I had resigned myself to the fact that Mr. King, like me, is getting older, slowing down a bit, and maybe my reading pleasure is winding down with his career. He still entertains me, engages me, makes me laugh, cringe, and think; just not as often. He deserves a break too, I get it. I started reading Joe Hill maybe 10 years ago and have really enjoyed his work. NOS4A2 was awesome, The Fireman, Horns, Heart Shaped Box, etc. were really, really good. But just not quite there for me yet. Until King Sorrow. Wow. I know Mr. Hill probably hates getting compared to his dad, who is, after all, a legend, but hear me out, Joe. With King Sorrow, you have stepped right up on that pedestal with your dad in my eyes. This book was almost as if I WAS reading King. (I guess, technically, I was reading King, just a different one.) A very talented guy has hit his stride with this book, and I am thrilled. . . .for ME! lol Nothing recently has been able to draw me away from watching The Pitt or Shrinking as soon as they dropped (love those shows) until King Sorrow. I didn't want to watch TV; I wanted to READ. I wanted to read King Sorrow. A book hasn't engaged me or taken me away into another world like that in a long time. Joe Hill is now one of the very few authors on my buy-it-the-day-it-releases list. And while I'm happy for the author, I'm selfish -- I'm happier for me, who has been quite sad about losing something I loved very much. Reading. Reading something that makes me FEEL something. All that long-winded nonsense aside, King Sorrow is an epic tale of friendship, love, betrayal, greed, and power. . .of dragons, trolls, and fairy tales, all juxtaposed on a modern world finding its way in a new digital age. Troll farms? Yep. They're just what you think. And not. . .and more. Loved that little tidbit. The easter egg nods to his father were great also. The character development is wonderful; you will care about these people (and absolutely abhor some of them). BUY THIS BOOK. It will take you away, make you laugh, make you sad, outrage you. Thank you, Joe. And thank you, Tabitha and Steve, for passing on your amazing talents to the next generation. It's gotta be in the DNA. lol
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Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2026 by Kassie K
Format: Kindle
I enjoyed getting to know these new characters. With over a quarter of a million words, I found myself wanting more...I would have liked more of Daphne, for example. It seemed to build up with her part of the storyline, only to blow up/out in a brief final altercation. I would have enjoyed more character development with nearly everyone. They were well written, but I just found myself with more questions. I wanted to know Colin and Allie more deeply. I've been hooked since 'Heart Shaped Box'. Watching the curve from total jerk to a good man was incredible, and I couldn't put it down. It started going bad, and continued getting worse. It's one of those rare books that I like to return to every few years to revisit old friends. I think that's why avid readers exist. In the end, I really enjoyed the story. Keep it up, Joe!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2025 by Dad2ad
Format: Kindle
Have you ever been desperate? I mean TRULY desperate—backed into a corner and unable to find a way out? It’s amazing—and perhaps a little frightening—what one might do in such circumstances… Meet Arthur Oakes. He’s an undergrad at Rackham College with a complicated past. His mother, Erin, is doing serious time in a women’s reformatory for complicity in a man’s death that happened when her peaceful protest turned deadly. He visits her regularly as she accepts responsibility for her actions and attempts to make amends. Unfortunately, this puts him in direct contact with others who are also visiting their incarcerated loved ones, including the Nighswanders. Their matriarch, Daphne, is serving a lengthy sentence for shooting a postal worker, and she’s one nasty piece of work. Her daughter, Jayne, and Jayne’s scuzzy boyfriend, Ronnie, aren’t much better. Opportunists ’til the end, they take full advantage of a chance encounter with Arthur, and before he feels the noose tightening around his throat, they blackmail him into stealing valuable university property from the college’s prestigious library. If he refuses to cooperate, they make it plain that Erin’s days on this planet are numbered. Daphne has more than enough connections behind bars to ensure it. When Arthur’s closeknit group of college friends (Colin Wren, twins Donna and Donovan McBride, and Allison Shiner) eventually learn what’s going on, they (along with high school student and daughter of the Wren family housekeeper, Gwen Underfoot) conspire to free him from the arrangement—no matter the cost. As it turns out, the Wren family is quite wealthy, and Colin has a real interest in continuing some promising research his grandfather had begun decades earlier involving the sorts of things you might expect to see on The X Files. He convinces his friends to join him in trying to summon a protector from the Long Dark who can free Arthur from the stranglehold the Nighswanders have on him. After a wild night of heavy drinking and a little prestidigitation, they manage to invoke a vengeful dragon willing to settle their score with the Nighswanders—but at what duplicitous price? Puff the Magic Dragon this AIN’T… The first thing you should know about dragons is they must be fed, and in this case, yearly at Easter time. Alfred and his friends are cajoled into offering an annual sacrifice to King Sorrow, lest they opt to volunteer themselves instead. It’s an incredibly hefty burden of guilt for Alfred and his five friends, and each of King Sorrow’s five “Books” is focused on one (or more) of them as the years pass and the culpability affects their ongoing friendship. Each of these “Books” also serves to pull readers even deeper into their plight, as it eventually becomes clear that they must work together to stop this perennial monstrosity from partaking in its annual Easter feast. Expansive and deeply engrossing, I could hardly put this book down despite its mammoth size. I simply had to know what was going to happen next. Joe Hill’s gift for storytelling (undoubtedly hereditary, and if you don’t already know, you’ll just have to Google it) has made him one of the most consistently reliable entertainers in the modern literary world. His world-building is effortless, and his characters as well as their emotions and motivations feel unquestionably authentic, inviting readers along for a once-in-a-lifetime ride that will captivate their minds long after the last page is turned. I absolutely cannot wait to read what Mr. Hill conjures up next.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2026 by D Morrow
Format: Hardcover
This book is easily a 5 star read and going to be in my top reads for the year. Possibly one of the top reads of my entire life. I had no idea this was the son of Stephen King until I read the acknowledgements. I almost never read them and I found myself wishing to linger within the pages of this piece longer than the story would allow, so I read them. This book starts out with such a unique premise and I was hooked immediately. Books this size tend to be daunting for me but I wished it was even longer. As you read this book it is like a run away train going downhill. It only serves to pick up steam and gets increasingly better as you go. For me, this book has everything you could ever want. Action, thriller, horror, fantasy, even a touch of romance. This book left such an impact I had to purchase a trophy copy only while 64% through it. The world and this writing and story have left me entirely shook. I had moments of laughter, moments of tearfully turning pages, moments where I cheered for the villain, and moments of sweet relief for our beloved main characters. I feel so strongly about this book being truly phenomenal that I wish I could afford getting any reader in my life a copy of it so they can experience it too. If I could rate it higher than 5 stars I surely would. Thank you, Joe Hill, for this masterpiece. My next tattoo has to be of the titular character now. Thoroughly enchanted by this novel.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2026 by V
Format: Hardcover
King Sorrow by Joe Hill is an absolute powerhouse of modern horror. It's ambitious, emotionally rich, and impossible to put down. At its core, the novel follows a tight-knit group of friends whose desperate decision to summon a supernatural entity spirals into a decades-long nightmare. What begins as a dark, almost fantastical fix to a very human problem evolves into a sweeping story about guilt, loyalty, and the long shadow of consequences. The premise alone is gripping, but it’s the execution that truly elevates this book. Hill masterfully blends genres including horror, fantasy, coming-of-age drama, and dark humor into a seamless narrative. The story spans decades without ever losing momentum, and each shift in time deepens both the characters and the stakes. The characters are where the novel truly shines. Each member of the group feels fully realized, with their own flaws, motivations, and arcs. As they age and reckon with the consequences of their choices, their relationships evolve in ways that feel painfully real. This emotional grounding makes the supernatural horror hit even harder. And then there’s the horror itself which is bold, imaginative, and often unsettling. The entity at the center of the story isn’t just a monster; it’s a symbol of moral compromise and the cost of power. Hill uses it to explore weighty themes like responsibility, sacrifice, and the ethics of choosing who lives and dies. Despite its length, the novel never feels bloated. Instead, it feels epic in the best sense. It is layered, immersive, and rewarding for readers willing to take the journey. In the end, King Sorrow isn’t just a horror novel. It’s a story about friendship, regret, and the terrifying weight of the choices we make when we think we’re in control. A must-read for fans of character-driven horror and sweeping, genre-bending epics.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2026 by Tania Dawn
Format: Kindle
I’d give this book a solid 3.5 stars. It is not my usual genre, but this book was a fun ride. I just wish it was a bit shorter.
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2026 by AMO1234
Format: Kindle
I’m new to reading the horror genre but this was perfect. Characters you care about, scenery you can see and feel and King Sorrow himself, all were amazingly described. Despite the length, the story moved along surprisingly well and I enjoyed reading it.
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2026 by Joe
Format: Hardcover
Not a bad book. Interesting concept. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to finish. Story could have been shorter and would have been better. As it drug on I felt like I had to force myself to continue reading. I think Joe Hill is a great writer.
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2026 by Avid reader