King Sorrow by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Arthur Oakes, a college student at Rackham College in Maine, is in love with Gwen Underfoot. She’s the girl of his dreams, and maybe their relationship would have flourished if it hadn’t been for a local drug dealer and her cronies.
What did they do, you ask? They corner poor, sweet Arthur and press him, in ways I won’t get into here, to commit terrible crimes. They make him steal rare books from the college library’s special collections that they can then turn around and sell on the black market.
Feeling trapped and not knowing how to get out of the situation he’s found himself in, Arthur turns to his closest friends for help. After a productive brain storming session, they come up with a plan.
Arthur’s friend, Colin, has a tome known as the Crane journal, bound in the skin of its author, which provides them with a spell to summon a dragon, known as King Sorrow, who will do their bidding.
Sounds fantastical, doesn’t it? Well, that’s sort of what the friends think as well, but what do they have to lose? Arthur needs help, and perhaps this is the answer.
Dealing with dragons is never easy though, and the friends find themselves in way over their heads. A bargain has been struck and its one that will plague them for years to come.
Every year, from then on, the six friends must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow, or risk becoming his next meal.
King Sorrow is one of those exceptional 5-star reads for me that I find close to impossible to review. How many ways can you write how much you love something? I’m no poet, so for me, the possibilities are limited.
I feel like with this novel, the proverbial torch had been passed from father to son, and I won’t lie, it made me a little emotional. I was finding so many nods to the greater Kingverse and it was giving me life. It’s brilliant.
I’ll never be able to write a review for this phenomenal story that adequately expresses how much I enjoyed it. The epic feel of this and the little subplots, the way they’re all interconnected, it’s so good. King Sorrow is one of those books that you love so much, you’re left speechless.
This entire thing, from the character development, plot progression and basic construction, is Chef’s Kiss. This has skyrocketed Joe Hill to a whole new level for me, and honestly, I think for the world.
I’ve loved following his career trajectory, and I know it’s only going to get better from here. There’s no limit to what this man can dream and achieve.
William Morrow, you blessed me with an ARC, but I’ve of course since bought my own copy. Thank you so, so much. I can’t recommend this story enough.
My favorite book of 2025!!!