After Arthur performs a good deed while visiting his mother in prison he finds himself blackmailed by an unscrupulous family into stealing rare books for them from his college library. He and his college friends get together to find a solution to this situation before it gets out of hand.
A fantasy thriller with some unforgettable characters.
I enjoyed this epic story about good versus evil so much that I just couldn’t put this book down.
This is the first book I have read from this author and I’ll be looking out for more of his work. I have been an avid fan of his father’s books for many years.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t even know how to begin talking about a book like this. King Sorrow by Joe Hill wrecked me. Every single one of these 900 pages meant something. I clung to the words, dragged them out, savoured them. And when it was over, I felt completely hollow. Like something had been taken from me. I would’ve read another 900 pages without a second thought.

This is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I don’t say that lightly.

These characters didn’t feel like characters. They felt like people I knew. People I loved. I cried with them, ached for them, and carried their weight long after I turned the final page.

At its core, it’s about six college friends and the tangled, messy beauty of growing up, falling apart, and clinging to each other in the dark. But this isn’t just a coming-of-age story. One desperate night, they make a deal to save a friend, and the price is steep. The devil they strike a bargain with takes the shape of a massive, terrifying dragon, and from that moment on, their lives are never the same.
It’s a sweeping, brutal, and beautiful epic novel. Heartbreaking and haunting in equal measure. King Sorrow burns itself into you.

Releases October 21st 2025. You do not want to miss this one.

"What's King Sorrow, if not a weaponized act of the imagination? He's a bad dream with teeth."

Joe Hill's mammoth novel brings together a group of friends in their earlier years. Arthur has found himself in trouble where he is being blackmailed to steal rare books. He turns to his friends Colin, Donna, Allie, Van and Gwen, in order to stop those that are taking advantage of him. Dabbling with the occult they summon the help of a dragon known as King Sorrow. Although this erases the trouble Arthur was in they had not realised King Sorrow's conditions are to give him a victim every year for the rest of their lives. How can they break free from this evil? Over the span of a few decades, these lifelong friends will have to work hard in keeping their promise to King Sorrow whilst trying to take him down and living with the consequences of what they started.

Much like a lot of readers of Joe Hill, I have patiently waited to get my hands on his first huge novel in quite some time. I remember reading Fireman when it was first published, to think that was almost 10 years ago.

Although this book is huge it does start off at a fast pace, it shows the dynamics of this group of friends and as expected the more the story evolves the deeper the understanding of each of these characters surfaces. There were many twists in this story that had me pausing and processing before moving on.

I loved the big character of King Sorrow. He very much reminded me of Smaug, there were several scenes that felt like parallels to great dragon stories or films I've experienced before however Joe Hill does manage to make it unique to the story he is telling.

Also couldn't help myself when I came across references that will be familiar to readers of his works and those of his father.

Overall this was an epic fantasy horror story that will be enjoyed by many. It was definitely worth the wait.

First up, this is a very long book. Some might say "epic", to which I'd agree, but it's also far too long. In any passage of the narrative or a sub-story, there's page after page of waffle before the author gets to the conclusion of what's going on. So it's a gargantuan piece of work, but I loved it none-the-less!

It's refreshingly nice to see that Joe Hill has such a unique writing style, very different from his father (whose books I love), but also nice to see that an incredible level of imagination is a common family trait.

A bunch of very different friends dabble with the occult, and the tale then takes place over decades, with delightful twists & turns, some surprises at the end.

Starts off with a novel blackmail plot, then 12%, a drug induced supernatural experience. Saying much more would need to include spoilers. A very captivating read.

One moan is that I don't know if the author has ever been to the UK, but when the UK pops up, it's portrayed in quite an old fashioned stereotype way. "Crap food & weather" is a bit like me describing the weather in the US based on Chicago, or the food available in the US based on the choices available in Nebraska. We also don't all walk around in tweeds, baggy sweaters, have 100% Scottish red-headed barmaids, and far from us considering spam is a superfood (I've never had it, nor has anyone I know, and I'm middle aged), the two highest consumers of spam are the USA (Hawaii especially) and South Korea. The author also chooses Magdelin college at Oxford, but it's actually practically the only college that does NOT offer English Literature (Balliol is the main one, plus seven other Oxford Uni colleges). So a bit patronising as a UK reader.

So epic, enjoyable, too long in places. I'd recommend to friends who have the patience to read it, as it's not written in "page turner" style and does need some attention. Very clever piece of authoring.

Thanks to the ARC from NetGalley.

I enjoyed this monster of a book a lot. I have read some of Joe Hills previous novels (and many of his fathers). It was so long it could almost have been 2 separate novels, the characters were well written and the locations and events exciting. Anyone who enjoys a fantasy novel will love this. Highly recommended.

This book had me invested from the very first chapter! king sorrow was fast paced from the start and I’ve been looking forward picking it up every day!
It’s a mammoth of a book at 895 pages, around the 500 odd mark, I felt the story could have been wrapped up and it started to feel like a real slog to read.
However I really enjoyed all the different paths this story went down. The character development is well done and I can imagine this would make a great movie!
Truly original and fantastic, worth the read!

This is a big old book full of damaged and imperfect characters which I love! Creepy, nerve wracking and tense at times, a really good read!

So, a book about dragons, eh?

They say you should start with the good things and mention the not-so-good things later. So, good things first: this book is an unreal PAGE-TURNER! It’s incredibly engaging, full of twists, interesting characters, lovely insights into history, thought-provoking ideas and a lot of humor (some of it quite dark!). I never expected it to be this good. I never thought I’d say I loved (!) a book about dragons - one of my least favorite subjects to read about - but I truly loved it! Several times while reading, I thought: wow, amazing, wow, wow, bravo, Joe Hill!

So, “King Sorrow” is a dark fantasy about a group of six friends at Rackham College in Maine. One of them gets into trouble and then there is a desperate (and not quite so serious) plan to use a mysterious, human-skin-bound journal to summon a dragon - King Sorrow - to solve the problem.

But their problems are just about to start! The book’s scope is epic, following the group (and others) across nearly quarter of a century. Hill explores how the burden of their “dragon secret” shapes their lives, friendships and identities. The story is as much about the human condition - loyalty, love, power, corruption, guilt and the weight of responsibility - as it is about dragons and dark magic.

Now, some critiques. There are too many characters. It takes a while to remember who’s who, understand what’s going on between them and keep track of who did what. By the time you’re more or less familiar with everyone - more towards the end of the book - you’ve already forgotten some of their earlier roles and involvement. That said, some characters do stand out. Arthur, for example - I thought he would be the main protagonist. Robin - such a quirky character, loved her! But I wonder if she were included just to tick a certain box. Secondly, the beginning: it’s long. Really, really long. It goes on forever - almost more than 20% of the book - and such a detailed introduction doesn’t really add much to the story. I mean, what takes 200 pages here was summarised in one sentence in the synopsis.

That said, I loved the book! I enjoyed many long evenings with it and have already recommended it to a number of people—both those who love dragons and those who don’t care for them. I think it deserves FIVE stars!

With many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow, a monster of a book in every way. King Sorrow is Joe Hills first novel since the awesome The Fireman almost 10,years ago and it’s epic in scale and in size. Spanning over thirty years King Sorrow follows the lives of a group of friends who summon a dragon from the Long Dark to help solve a situation. The summoning leads to far more than any of them bargained for. King Sorrow is Joe Hills best novel and when you consider his awesome back catalogue, that’s really saying something.

Wow! A long time coming, but well worth the wait.

Supreme storytelling, and a brilliantly written book. Even after almost 900 epic pages, I still wanted more. An emotional rollercoaster that keeps the reader enthralled and breathless.

What starts off as a college kids story evolves into a masterpiece of suspense and horror. With a cast of seemingly hundreds, it takes a while to get straight who’s who, but when they click they stay around for long after the book is finished.

It’s unfair to compare authors, and suffice to say that this writer is his own man, but is also a (not so little) chip off the old block.

A favourite author, but this book excels. Outstanding, worth way more stars than a measly 5!

Thank you NetGalley and Headline.

Another absolutely fantastic piece of fiction from this author! I have been a big fan for a while and this book made it so hard to stop reading! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

I'm fairly new to Joe Hill's stories but am fast becoming a fan.
This was a great read, switching between the views of each character. I found ,myself being drawn into the story and looking forward to picking it back up.
It is a looonnngg read though but worth the perseverance.

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Liz Barnsley rated a book it was amazing
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King Sorrow
by Joe Hill (Goodreads Author)
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One of the most imaginative, darkly observant, clever pieces of fiction I have read.

Generally I've found Joe Hill to be crazy good in his previous offerings but this surpassed all those by quite some way. To think that he is, relatively speaking, only at the start of his career is exciting and I'm hoping I live long enough to see quite a portion of it unfold.

At nearly 900 pages King Sorrow is a novel that demands commitment. When you do commit to it, it will reward you in many many unexpected ways. No wasted words. No filter, unpretentious, unapologetic storytelling from an author who is already a master of his craft and he's not even nearly done yet.

I'm not offering a single spoiler beyond that which you can read in the blurb. King Sorrow will invoke every emotion it is possible to feel then it will exponentially up the reading stress levels until you are barely breathing and you will love every last moment of it.

No need to read it all at once. It lends itself to many breaks for emotional recovery, you can read something else and go back to it easily so don't let the size of this behemoth of brilliance dissuade you. Go all in. Embrace the long dark and let it embrace you.

Forget the legacy, the expectations that come from Joe Hill's parentage. He is an entirely different writer whose talent may be somewhat inherited on paper but is, in fact, entirely his own.

Some books have mic drop moments. This one regularly drops the mic and dares you not to laugh or cry or scream or fist pump the air but to do at least one, maybe all of those things, may be beyond your control.

Read King Sorrow. It will leave you ragged but absolutely satisfied on any reading level you can put into words.

Did I say I highly recommend this? Well. I do.

An imaginative blend of fantasy and thriller with a touch of romance to boot, King Sorrow is a huge book that takes some reading.
The story takes place over a series of time frames, following a group of characters whom we get to know well. Allie, Donna, Gwen, Van, Arthur and Colin are well defined yet even as we think we know them we find they have hidden depths.
The friends summon a dragon from the long dark and spend the next part of their lives dealing wih the consequences, which were more than they anticipated.
I found the story lagged somewhat in places but ratchets up towards the end and the ending itself was excellent - entirely as it should be. In all this could have been five stars with a bit editing to take out the slow spots.
Well worth a read however, especially if you are a fan of dragons and/or fantasy.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A great horror story of the price of power. Told in a number of timelines, we follow the characters through their life and how the price of power changes through the years.

The characters were going well flushed out and they each brought their own purpose to the story. Van, absolute legend.

Overall a very enjoyable read, my only issue was the length. This could be trimmed a lot and it wouldn’t harm the story in any way.

4/5 stars.

Thank you to the author, publishers Headline and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

No good deed goes unpunished, but the punishment for bad deeds lasts a lifetime. When Arthur Doakes lends his hoodie to a girl so that she can visit her mother in prison it sets off a series of events that leads to him and his friends unleashing a dragon on the world. A dragon who demands an annual sacrifice for his help.

A wonderful blend of fantasy and thriller, horror and hope, if you loved the author’s The Fireman you’ll adore this one even more. Epic, but never dragging, the story takes place over a lifetime with reality seamlessly weaved with creature of fantasy who often seem more real, and more understandable, than the real-life horrors or reflections of real-life horrors contained in the story.

The characters are strong throughout, well-rounded and growing over the course of the narrative. Neither wholly good nor wholly bad, and so even more believable in their most shining moments or darkest depths.

I was particularly struck by how the book initially centred around one character and then gradually focused on more without it ever seeming forced. Some multiple character perspective novels have a pattern of switching focus which is part of the rhythm of the narrative and so always reminds you that it is narration. I don’t know when Arthur’s story became the story of all of his friends, and then of individuals and small groupings again. That ebb and flow of focus just felt so much of how life changes that it’s only reflecting back that it seems odd not to have questioned why different characters became more or less vital to the story at various points.

I’ve enjoyed all of the author’s previous books, but this one is a cut above the rest. Highly recommended.

I shouldn't compare Joe to his father, but all I will say is the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
At nearly 900 pages, it's a long one, and at times, it was a little too long, with some parts being overly descriptive. I've read all Joe Hills novels and enjoyed them all. I wasn't sure about a book about a dragon, but I actually really enjoyed it. The characters were fully rounded and all very different. I loved Arthur and Gwen 🥺. And Jayne and Rod were horrible. But I kind of enjoyed that.
As for King Sorrow himself. He was my absolute favourite.
4 stars only because it was a little longwinded in parts.
Thank you, Netgalley, and the publishers for making my wish come true.

When a group of college friends summon the dragon King Sorrow from the Long Dark and form a life and death pact with him their lives are changed forever

Wow. An epic tome that has it all covered - fantasy, supernatural, horror , thriller . The writing never lets up despite the length, the plot twists keep the reader determinedly reading trying to absorb the emotional shocks along the way, the characters evolve and change in a never ending spiral of friendship, hate, love, guilt, loyalty…. the list is endless.
Joe Hill goes out of his way to avoid comparisons with his father (Stephen King) but this is a blockbuster that is worthy of that kinship.

What did I just read… Joe Hill.. King Sorrow .. absolutely outstandingly superb! I made so many notes reading this and they just don’t and won’t do this book justice! 5/5. I’m completely blown away.

Holy hell fire, what a book this is!!

Take a group of college kids, add in a pair of drug dealers, subtract a young damsel in distress, and multiply by a Dragon Demon who protects them as long as they feed him once a year. It is all fun and games until it isn't. And what a toll it will take.

I just cant say more, I dont want to give anything away, but let me tell you, it is not going to go the way you think it is.

As usual, Joe Hill has delievered a book of epic proportions (both figuritly and litrally.) In some ways it is reminiscent of his Fathers work, but with his own unique flavour, that sits on your tongue like an ever lasting gobstopper. One that seems to get bigger in your mouth as you suck. I also did notice a few references to his fathers books, which delighted me no end.

In short, read this damn book.