King Sorrow: A Faustian Fable of Dark Academia, Summoned Dragons, and the Terrible Bargain Six Friends Make

by Joe Hill

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook

832 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2026

About the author

Joe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.

He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.

He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.

He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.

Reviews

[Nicola]

A truly epic novel. The ouroboros felt appropriate and I was never quite sure who was good or bad until the end.

[Sarah]

Dnf 40% - fun premises but it’s just not progressing, don’t give 2 shits about the characters and the big bad is just not interesting

[Robert Huff]

I thought a lot about what I could write about this book as I was reading it. Which is odd, because I never do that. Perhaps Hill’s wordplay, crossword puzzle clue suspense, fear, and enchantment do a good job at evoking the imagination in all of us? Or in King Sorrows’s case, our worst nightmares???

Excellent book. A redemption big time from me after The Fireman. It had everything I expected and more than what I didn’t know I needed.

In contention for best book I may read this year.

[Miguel Rodriguez]

I usually don’t do reviews. But this book is beyond the 5 stars. It’s not going the way you think it’s gonna go. I absolutely enjoyed it. I went in without any info. No spoilers. If you are a Joe Hill fan, you will love this.
Thabk you Joe Hill for writing an awesome book. It was 🔥

[Carol]

Just a little too long but I wasn’t about to stop reading it. I have loved all of Joe Hills books.

[Ramya.N]

One of the best books I have read... I totally went down hill... (See what I did there...) #leastusefulreview

[Lorie Allen]

LOVE LOVE LOVE! I love Joe Hill!

[Kayleigh Onstott]

3.5 ⭐️ - good story, however, the book is incredibly long and drawn out. 😅

[M stanic]

Really enjoyed the characters.
Good read!

[Heidi]

I liked this book but I felt it could have been a few hundred pages shorter maybe? I kept turning pages thinking “are we there yet? How much more could possibly happen?” But at the same time I was too invested to chuck it into the DNF pile. I needed to know what happened!
Overall, it’s a good story, interesting characters, I just think they could have weeded out some bits that would have moved it along better.