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King Sorrow

the epic new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author
By Joe Hill
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Brief Description
SOME PROMISES SHOULD NEVER BE MADE... 'A monster of a book...a vast, brimstoned, relentless zinger' NICK HARKAWAY King Sorrow by Joe Hill tells the story of bookish dreamer Arthur Oakes, a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters and beautiful buildings. However, Arthur's... Read More
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Like The Secret History colliding with IT, this exhilarating, emotional and genre-bending novel is perfect for fans of Stephen King and Catriona Ward.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
SOME PROMISES SHOULD NEVER BE MADE... 'A monster of a book...a vast, brimstoned, relentless zinger' NICK HARKAWAY

King Sorrow by Joe Hill tells the story of bookish dreamer Arthur Oakes, a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters and beautiful buildings.

However, Arthur's idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when local drug dealers force him into a terrible crime: stealing rare and valuable books from the exceptional college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for help: the wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren; brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen. Together, they dream up an impossible, fantastical scheme that they scarcely imagine will work: to summon the fabled dragon King Sorrow to kill those tormenting Arthur.

The six, however, stumble backwards into a deadly bargain—they soon learn they must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow each year, or one of them will become his next victim. Unleashing consequences they can neither predict nor control, this promise will, over the course of four decades, shape and endanger their lives in ways they could never expect.

Praise for Sunday Times bestseller Joe Hill: 'Fantastically compelling' THE OBSERVER 'Clever, gripping and packs a hell of a punch' JOANNE HARRIS 'Character-driven stories that enthral and thrill' DAILY MAIL 'Original and gripping' GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035434305

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 October 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Headline Book Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 896

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Fantasy Fiction General Fiction Horror & Supernatural In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Joe Hill Literary Fiction New Release Fiction Sci-Fi & Fantasy

About the Author

Joe Hill is a Sunday Times bestseller and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box, The Fireman, and Full Throttle. He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with artist Gabriel Rodriguez. Much of his work has been adapted for movies and television. His second novel, Horns, was translated to film in 2014 and starred Daniel Radcliffe. His third novel, NOS4A2, is now a hit series on AMC, starring Zachary Quinto. The first season of Locke & Key was released on Netflix in early 2020 and became an overnight smash. His story, 'In The Tall Grass'. co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature for Netflix, and became a mind-bending cult horror sensation. Most recently, Hill has returned to graphic novels -- his latest comics include Basketful of Heads and Plunge for D.C., and Dying is Easy for IDW.

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