Chapter 23: Twenty-Two – The Summoning of King Sorrow
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
In Chapter 23, the group—Colin, Van, Allie, Gwen, Donna, and Arthur—discusses Enoch Crane’s summoning of a dragon called King Sorrow. Colin reads from a text explaining that Crane starved himself, ate hallucinogenic cakes, and communicated with his reflection (the Other Face), which taught sorcery. The Cobbett sisters performed their own reality-breaking acts: one carried a dead crow until it flew, another hatched an eyeball from an egg. Crane removed and ate his kidney as an offering. They each broke reality in a personal way, then together summoned King Sorrow. Allie spots a man walking through the backyard late at night. Van proposes they attempt the same summoning. Gwen asks Arthur if he wants to bargain with a dragon.
Key Events
- The group watches Headbangers Ball on MTV after midnight; the room is hazy with smoke.
- Colin reads aloud from a book about Enoch Crane’s magical practices.
- The conversation reveals how Crane and the Cobbett sisters summoned King Sorrow:
- Crane fasted, ate hallucinogenic cakes made from binder weed seeds.
- He spoke to his reflection (the Other Face), learning that reality is a cage separating the Long Dark from the actual world.
- The Cobbett sisters each performed a unique act to “break reality”: one carried a dead crow until it flew; the other described everything to eggs and hatched an eyeball.
- Crane opened his chest, removed a kidney, and ate it as an offering.
- They formed a circle, the world dimmed, and they bargained with King Sorrow.
- Allie, leaning out the window, sees a man crossing the backyard in the middle of a Maine winter night.
- Van proposes they attempt the same summoning ritual themselves.
- Gwen directly asks Arthur if he wants to bargain with a live dragon.
Character Development
- Colin: Exhibits bookish authority and calm; he processes the ritual dispassionately and draws parallels to the group’s earlier “Philip” or “Elwood Hondo” creations.
- Van: Impulsive and eager to act; he pushes the group toward action, first with crude jokes about Crane, then by asking “So are we gonna go for it?”
- Allie: Perceptive and physically oriented; she notices the man outside when others are absorbed in conversation.
- Gwen: Takes a leadership role, reframing the abstract discussion into a direct challenge to Arthur.
- Arthur: Silent throughout most of the exchange; his response to Gwen’s question is not given, leaving his willingness ambiguous.
- Donna: Offers skeptical remarks (“What’s out here to walk to?”) grounding the discussion in practical reality.
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
- Reality as a Cage: The Other Face describes reality as a brightly lit cage with bars that keep the Long Dark’s spirits out. The bars protect humans but also limit them; breaking reality is a transgressive act.
- Personalized Magic: All magic is “particular magic,” unique to each caster. The summoning succeeds only because each participant breaks reality in their own way—a motif underscoring the intimate, idiosyncratic nature of power.
- The Long Dark: An infinite realm beyond reality, full of spirits who envy human actuality. This motif sets up a cosmological conflict between order and chaotic otherness.
- Sacrifice and Consumption: Crane’s act of removing and eating his own kidney literalizes the cost of summoning. The ritual requires a physical offering that changes the caster.
- The Unseen Watcher: The man in the backyard remains unnamed and unexplained, introducing a note of subtle dread and hinting at forces already moving around the group.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 23 functions as a crucial exposition and decision point. It lays out the mechanics and personal cost of summoning King Sorrow, transforming an abstract legend into a replicable procedure. The group’s serious discussion—and Van’s direct proposal—makes the choice to summon imminent. Allie’s notice of a strange figure in the yard injects uncertainty: are they being watched? This chapter bridges the group’s earlier curiosity about magic with a concrete plan that will drive the plot forward.
Study Questions & Answers
1. What did Enoch Crane learn from the Other Face about the nature of reality? Crane’s reflection told him that reality is like a brightly lit cage; the bars are not to imprison humans but to protect them from the spirits in the Long Dark. Those spirits envy human actuality and are drawn to reality. The only way to let them in is to make a magical key unique to each person—a way of “breaking” the bars of one’s own cell.
2. How did each of the three participants “break reality” during the summoning?
- One of the Cobbett sisters carried a dead crow in her arms until it flew again.
- The other sister carried a bonnet full of eggs, described everything she saw to them, then cracked them; the last egg contained an eyeball.
- Enoch Crane opened his chest as if it were a cabinet, removed his own kidney, and ate it as an offering for King Sorrow.
3. What is the significance of Allie’s observation of a man in the backyard? Allie sees someone walking through the yard in the middle of a Maine winter night. The timing (after midnight) and the desolate location make his presence ominous. The others quickly lose interest, but the detail suggests that forces may already be circling the group—perhaps a consequence of their disruptive discussion or a harbinger of the ritual to come.