kreglow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Stalking, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Incest, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Torture, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
sav_22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Gun violence, Gore, Gaslighting, Excrement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Torture, Misogyny, Mental illness, Infidelity, Hate crime, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Body shaming, Body horror, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Death, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Incest, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Cursing, and Alcoholism
chaser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
the childhood sex scene, Tom, and some other thingsSpoiler
Eddie and stans death will forever scar me and I think about it non stop cus it's so sadGraphic: Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Rape, Islamophobia, Racism, Homophobia, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicide
bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Hate crime, Grief, Homophobia, Sexism, Bullying, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Sexual violence
cloudbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The bad:
Simply put, it was too long. 500 pages of this could have been cut out completely and it would have been a better story. I couldn't keep all the characters in my head and I lost track of who and where and how.
For a book of over 1000 pages, it spent so long talking about anecdotes, about side characters, about unimportant scenes and in general it does not talk much about the monster. You easily spend 200 pages waiting for the monster. It's not scary. It's just annoying.
Also kids having sex in a sewer as the solution to killing the monster? No thank you. I understand why but I simply didn't like it.
The good:
The monster was terrifying when it was there. The writing is really good too but this is Stephen King. That's to be expected.
I will never touch this book again
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Gore, Child abuse, Bullying, Murder, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Vomit, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Racial slurs
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
rtthalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Suicide, Alcohol, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Abandonment, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence
some_froggish_lad's review against another edition
Graphic: Suicide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Violence, Child death, Homophobia, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Death, Bullying, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Fatphobia, Blood, and Suicide attempt
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
cinderrunner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
There are some good things about this book, but the bad significantly outweigh them. This is one of the most needlessly offensive and problematic books i have ever read. The only thing horrifying about this novel is that King had the audacity to include so much needless hatred and is still being praised for it. The level of racism, sexism, pedophilia/sexualization of minors, anti semitisim, etc is FAR beyond anything that is warranted by the plot and its honestly inexcusable. If you took a shot everytime King used the N word with a hard R, you'd die of alcohol poisoning somewhere between the one third and halfway mark. King is constantly using language and scenarios that sexualize Beverly, constantly mentioning the way her 12 year old body is maturing, painting her as a (and im quoting here) "whore" from almost every chatacters POV. Shes even sexualized in her own POVs.
Spoiler
Bill's catatonic wife is literally likened to a blow up doll at a sex storeSpoiler
the jewish character is the one he kills before they even get together as adultsSpoiler
the black character is the one King cast to stay in Derry and remain poor while the others prosper as adultsIt is also overlong, it could have easily been 400 pages shorter than it was. It dragged on and on. It doesnt genuinely pick up or reach a true climax til around page 950 (in my edition) so like 150 pages away from the end. That's ridiculous. King is constantly overloading the book with lore building and exposition that really isnt needed past a certain point. It took me 4 months of on and off reading to finally get through this thing. Ive never taken more than a month to read a book, even dense ones like the entire Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series, in my adult life.
Most people I have seen, even those who praise this book, don't count this as a book they would ever reread. If that's not a red flag i don't know what is. I cant think of a single book, even thick and complex ones, that i loved and wouldn't pick up again.
PROS: King is a genuinely skilled writer on a technical level and the book is well crafted. There are very thoughtful and interesting themes around childhood vs adulthood, the transition between the two, and the power of faith/belief. It really could have been a gorgeous novel if he leaned more into that earlier in the book and cut down on all the unnecessary bigotry and lore building. I likely would have loved this if it was shorter and less hate filled.
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Cancer, Cannibalism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
The whole book is a trigger warning. It is full of violence, GRAPHIC bigotry, and the sexualization of women and especially minors.jackyjoojoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
ok so the plot is good HOWEVER this book is so deeply flawed, Stephen king using the fact that he has a black character to excessively use the n slur, the 7 page orgy scene of 11 year olds, the low-key romanticisation of abuse and Stephen king's apparent inability to describe a female character without mentioning her tits.
the book is so excessively long for no reason and its obvious just how much cocaine he was on when her wrote it.
just watch the film's I promise this book is not worth it xx
4 months later -
ok so originally i rated this 2.5 stars but in retrospect that was wayyy to generous and honestly this book is literal dog shit,, just watch the films i cannot stress this enough omfg
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault