King Sorrow

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King Sorrow
US hardcover cover for King Sorrow, Joe Hill novel 2025.jpg
US hardcover
Author Joe Hill
Language English
Genre Horror fiction; Fantasy; Thriller (genre); Supernatural fiction; Occult
Publisher William Morrow and Company
Publication date
October 21, 2025
Publication place United States
Media typePrint (hardcover), e-book, audiobook
Pages896
ISBN 978-0-06-220060-0

King Sorrow is a 2025 horror novel by American author Joe Hill, published by William Morrow and Company. Hill's first novel in nine years, it received positive reviews.

Contents

Synopsis

Arthur Oakes, an American college student in Maine, faces an evil dragon who coerces him and his friends into offering a sacrifice every Easter. [1]

Release and reception

The fifth novel by Joe Hill, King Sorrow was also his first since 2016's The Fireman . [2] [3] Hill revealed the book's cover on social media in January 2025. [4]

Reception to the title was positive. In their pre-release starred review, Kirkus found the novel "At turns spooky and funny, with bits of inside baseball and a swimming pool's worth of blood." [1] Booklist called it a "remarkably well-paced, character-centered epic [that pits] the computer age against folktales", [5] while James Gardner of Library Journal said, "Though nearly 900 pages, the book never feels long or overstuffed, since Hill deftly moves between characters' viewpoints while rendering them vividly." [2] The staff of Publishers Weekly wrote, "Pitch-perfect characterizations and doses of black humor....[reinforce] Hill's reputation as a titan of the [horror] genre." [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "King Sorrow" . Kirkus Reviews . Vol. XCIII, no. 16. August 15, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025 via ProQuest.
  2. 1 2 Gardner, James (July 2025). "Horror: 'King Sorrow'" . Library Journal . Vol. 150, no. 7. p. 52. Retrieved October 21, 2025 via ProQuest.
  3. "Joe Hill previews his first standalone novel in 9 years, 'King Sorrow'". today.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  4. @joe_hill (January 15, 2025). "Here's the cover of my next novel, King Sorrow" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  5. Spraford, Becky (August 2025). "Review: 'King Sorrow'" . Booklist . Vol. 121, no. 22. p. 53. Retrieved October 21, 2025 via ProQuest.
  6. "Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Reviews: 'King Sorrow'" . Publishers Weekly . Vol. 272, no. 31. August 11, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025 via ProQuest.