King Sorrow

《紐約時報》暢銷榜冠軍作家喬．希爾帶來一則令人不寒而慄的故事，揭示現代世界的危險、黑暗學院的秘密，以及復仇意外引發的可怕後果。六名好友涉獵神祕學，並且——令人震驚又恐怖地——成功召喚出一個邪惡實體，該存在每年都要求活人獻祭。

「一則巧妙的浮士德寓言，心胸如龍般宏大，尾巴還藏著令人刺痛的反轉。我一口氣讀完。」——露絲．韋爾，《11號套房的女人》暢銷作者

亞瑟．奧克斯是個愛書、愛做夢的年輕人，就讀於緬因州著名的拉克姆學院，該校以嚴寒的冬季、卓越的圖書館及優美建築聞名。然而，他的理想生活——以及與關．安德福特剛萌芽的戀情——因為一名當地毒販及其同夥的威脅而破滅，他被逼從學院圖書館偷取珍稀古籍，犯下令他無法想像的重罪。

走投無路之際，亞瑟向最親密的朋友們求助。他們共同構思出一個瘋狂又奇幻的計劃，試圖解救亞瑟：富有且難以抗拒的柯林．溫提議使用一本令人不安的《克蘭日誌》（書皮以作者人皮製成），來召喚一頭龍為他們效命。其他人——勇敢美麗的愛莉森．夏納、爭強好勝的雙胞胎唐娜與多諾萬．麥克布萊德，以及聰穎大膽的關——也毫不遲疑地加入，企圖撕裂現實，引入這頭不可能存在的生物。

但與龍打交道絕非易事。他們為了拯救亞瑟而締結的盟約，最終演變成一場駭人的交易——六人必須每年為「悲傷之王」選出新的祭品，否則就將成為他的下一頓餐點。

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, a chilling tale of modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful… calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.

“A brilliantly Faustian fable with a heart as huge as a dragon’s, and a stinging twist in its tail. I devoured it.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Suite 11

Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal.