by Joe Hill
First published 2025
Arthur Oakes loves his quiet life at Rackham College in Maine. He reads voraciously, explores the exceptional library, and falls for fellow student Gwen Underfoot. Then a drug dealer and her partner force Arthur into a corner. They demand he steal rare books from the college library or suffer brutal consequences. Arthur turns to his friends for help. Wealthy Colin Wren proposes a bizarre solution: use the Crane journal, bound in human skin, to summon a dragon. Gwen joins the plan, along with brave Alison Shiner and the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride. The six friends perform the ritual and shatter reality itself. They bring an impossible creature into the world. But dragons make their own rules. The friends discover they must feed King Sorrow a new sacrifice each year. If they refuse, they become his next meal. Arthur's rescue becomes a deadly pact that will haunt them forever.
Genres: adventure, mystery, fantasy, horror, thriller, academic
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, summoning
Setting: Rackham College, Maine
896 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: death, violence