jessierose617's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
nerdyrev's review against another edition
4.0
For the last month or so, my reading life has been consumed with one book- Stephen King's It. At just shy of 1500 pages, it took me a long time to read this sucker. It wasn't the page length though, it was the content within. I would get to scenes, read them almost with eyes closed, and then put the book down wishing it were a paperback rather than an ebook, so I could toss it into the fire consuming the horrors within.
You see, I don't really like clowns. Not so much the circus clowns or the religious clowns, but more the killer type clowns. A year ago or so when people were dressing like clowns and just staring at people, I would have been the guy in the newspaper with the headline- Local Man chases after guy in clown outfit screaming. It would not have been pretty.
Due to my dislike of killer clowns, I never read 'It' nor saw the movie, but with a new movie on the horizon and a sort of re-falling in love with Stephen King novels (although I still argue he needs and editor), I picked up 'It' on a whim.
The book was originally published in 1986 and follows the lives of a group of outcast/nerds in Derry, Maine. A horrible tragedy happens to Georgie, Bill's brother. Georgie goes chasing after a boat on a rainy day when the boat washes down the sewer drain. When Georgie goes after it, he finds a man with yellow eyes dressed in a clown suit, who winds up murdering Georgie. This though is not the first murder in Derry.
Years later, the gang is split and are all adults when a call goes out that it is time to come back to Derry. The clown is back and is once again murdering people. So, the story is told from the perspective of the individuals traveling back to Derry, but looking back at the year all the murders happened when they were children. It appears in forms that touch upon a child's inner most fear- a clown, a leper, etc. The now adults know that even though this may be their last trip back, it is time to stop It once and for all.
While I know I am last in the pack to read this, if you haven't read it, know it is a LONG book. Even though this takes place within a few years of these children's lives, it is almost real time. It is also 1500 pages of mostly child torture. It attacks kids and takes the form of what scares them most and keeps reappearing in that form. While Pennywise the clown is the most well known, it was the scene under the porch with the leper that made me want to throw the book in the fire. The victims are children almost exclusively, so expect a lot of scaring of children.
With that written, I have to state the book still works. I am an adult man now and the book still had me squeamish and it is 31 years old at this point. There were a few slang words that didn't quite fit anymore and some may be turned off by homophobia type sentences, but overall, the book still works. It could be written today and it would still scare the pants off of individuals. This is the reason why Stephen King is timeless and the book still sells. It is a good book and a great horror book. There is something visceral about the creature It, so it continues to be scary.
I am glad I read it, but this is one of those cases where I will never, ever unless held at gunpoint will read this book ever again because I simply don't like killer clowns.
I gave this one 4 stars.
You see, I don't really like clowns. Not so much the circus clowns or the religious clowns, but more the killer type clowns. A year ago or so when people were dressing like clowns and just staring at people, I would have been the guy in the newspaper with the headline- Local Man chases after guy in clown outfit screaming. It would not have been pretty.
Due to my dislike of killer clowns, I never read 'It' nor saw the movie, but with a new movie on the horizon and a sort of re-falling in love with Stephen King novels (although I still argue he needs and editor), I picked up 'It' on a whim.
The book was originally published in 1986 and follows the lives of a group of outcast/nerds in Derry, Maine. A horrible tragedy happens to Georgie, Bill's brother. Georgie goes chasing after a boat on a rainy day when the boat washes down the sewer drain. When Georgie goes after it, he finds a man with yellow eyes dressed in a clown suit, who winds up murdering Georgie. This though is not the first murder in Derry.
Years later, the gang is split and are all adults when a call goes out that it is time to come back to Derry. The clown is back and is once again murdering people. So, the story is told from the perspective of the individuals traveling back to Derry, but looking back at the year all the murders happened when they were children. It appears in forms that touch upon a child's inner most fear- a clown, a leper, etc. The now adults know that even though this may be their last trip back, it is time to stop It once and for all.
While I know I am last in the pack to read this, if you haven't read it, know it is a LONG book. Even though this takes place within a few years of these children's lives, it is almost real time. It is also 1500 pages of mostly child torture. It attacks kids and takes the form of what scares them most and keeps reappearing in that form. While Pennywise the clown is the most well known, it was the scene under the porch with the leper that made me want to throw the book in the fire. The victims are children almost exclusively, so expect a lot of scaring of children.
With that written, I have to state the book still works. I am an adult man now and the book still had me squeamish and it is 31 years old at this point. There were a few slang words that didn't quite fit anymore and some may be turned off by homophobia type sentences, but overall, the book still works. It could be written today and it would still scare the pants off of individuals. This is the reason why Stephen King is timeless and the book still sells. It is a good book and a great horror book. There is something visceral about the creature It, so it continues to be scary.
I am glad I read it, but this is one of those cases where I will never, ever unless held at gunpoint will read this book ever again because I simply don't like killer clowns.
I gave this one 4 stars.
hgram's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
stevendemo7's review against another edition
4.0
Finally got to reading IT after putting it off for a while. Strangely happy to report that this is not my favorite King novel. I think IT is probably the scariest of his books so far, there is just a lot wrong with IT that I just cannot look past. Shoutout out to the audiobook narrator, Steven Weber, for having the creepiest pennywise voice- aside from Tim Curry.
Quick summary: We follow a group of friends(losers) as they work together to defeat this evil entity(IT) which is murdering little kids. The story flips between the summer of 1958 and ‘85 as the adult losers recount horrific events from their past. We get detailed descriptions into the characters past and insight into traumatic events endured as kids. Ultimately, the group is bonded over this trauma and an oath keeps them together forever whether they remember or not.
I cannot ignore the fact that IT is very dated and not pleasant to read in many places. I just Cannot get over the derogatory language as I found it excessive and not necessary.
Quick summary: We follow a group of friends(losers) as they work together to defeat this evil entity(IT) which is murdering little kids. The story flips between the summer of 1958 and ‘85 as the adult losers recount horrific events from their past. We get detailed descriptions into the characters past and insight into traumatic events endured as kids. Ultimately, the group is bonded over this trauma and an oath keeps them together forever whether they remember or not.
I cannot ignore the fact that IT is very dated and not pleasant to read in many places. I just Cannot get over the derogatory language as I found it excessive and not necessary.
mysticslibrary's review against another edition
DNF.
Why do I keep trying to read Stephen King's books?
This book started off pretty good, but I got almost halfway through and was just so bored.
I also heard that there are dog killings in this book and some crazy stuff involving the kids at the end, so I decided to nope out.
So far the only book I liked from him is 11/22/63.
Why do I keep trying to read Stephen King's books?
This book started off pretty good, but I got almost halfway through and was just so bored.
I also heard that there are dog killings in this book and some crazy stuff involving the kids at the end, so I decided to nope out.
So far the only book I liked from him is 11/22/63.
martin_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ashhes's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 let me start with saying I enjoyed this book SO much. I could have read 500 more pages. Personally I love the attention given to minor characters and the town itself. I have a weakness for stories about friendship and this is 1k pages of that. If you have the time to read this I very much recommend it. Despite this I can't give it 5 stars. I had to skip over most of the orgy scene. I'm used to reading uncomfortable things but considering it was about children it was WAY too detailed and honestly out of nowhere. I don't think the scene should have been there at all but it was made way worse by the amount of detail and how long it was. Another issue I had was the amount the n word was used. I know it was supposed to show how horrible certain characters were (and it worked) but it was used like 50+ times which was very uncomfortable to read and totally unnecessary. I've always kind of had a love hate relationship with Stephen King because I do enjoy reading his work but geez some of the stuff he writes is too much for me. Overall if you can handle it, then it's worth the read.
laurarosessupposes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Ok, so I didn't love this. Kids banging in sewers is just weird, Stephen, ok. And I don't love how you write women or black people babes. But it is masterfully structured. Genuinely masterful. I give you that. Some cool concepts too. But yeah. Weird and not in a good or sinister way a lot of the time...