ObscuraJournal 12/8/25

I've been thinking a lot about how horror is swinging round to fantasy again, and how this is a good thing for the genre, and how it will keep horror weird. That's three genres right there: horror, fantasy, and weird, which in a way is one path to keeping it personal for the writer and the reader. See, I think that when characters are faced with things they do not understand or comprehend, it heightens their fear, which in turn heightens the reader's fear, as long as you don't confuse or overwhelm either. The weirder horror is, the more characters question their reality. When the horrors become too much, the time to question what the fuck is going on is over. It's fight or fly time. Usually it's a little of both.

Fantasy allows writers the conventions to create these weird scenarios we put our characters in. I've been reading Joe Hill's King Sorrow, which is horror wrapped in fantasy that is very weird indeed. Now ... here's the thing I don't like about this book: it takes a long time to get into it. This is EPIC more in terms of classic Peter Straub than Hill's father Stephen King. Straub took his time getting to the juicy bits. We learn about the characters, fall in love with them, determine who has the potential to be a problem later on, while dealing with a preamble narrative that forms the catalyst of the thrust of the story. Once we're settled in, BAM!. Straub feints with a jab then clocks you with roundhouse you never saw coming. All the sudden you're at the races, danger lurking behind every corner, characters you trusted become your enemy, and you find the friends you never knew you had.

This is what Joe Hill has done with King Sorrow. The thing that holds all the horrors together is classic fantasy, plain and simple. Sometimes a little too simple, but damn does it provide a fine frame to work with. I'll probable write more about the book once I finish reading it (I've got about a little over 100 pages left, out of almost 900 pages!), but if anything, this book follows the tried and true concept of 'unpredictable yet logical' to a T.

If you're wanting a book that starts off fast, King Sorrow is not for you. Nothing of the main plot happens for pages and pages. Hill takes his time, and though I understand why, I also understand why some people were put off with the book. If you have the patience, Hill will reward you with a tale of epic proportions. To be honest, I hung in there because Hill will be a guest on an upcoming podcast, so I had to read the book, but I am also very glad I stuck with the book. If my only complaint is the beginning is the stuff that makes me generally DNF a book, then considering the rest is thrilling page turner makes it worth the effort.

Like I said, I'll write more about it once I finish reading it, especially how Hill weaves fantasy into horror.

peace&love