Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Se

Idk... some parts were pretty interesting while others were laughable. Stephen King in general doesn't frighten me so most of his books (other than Mr. Mercedes, which i still had problems with) fail to scare me or creep out.

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rooree93's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

Read this when I was about 13 and forgot a lot of the plot, so reading it at 31 and remembering what's going on as the characters remember it was a fun ride. It's a long slog and there's definitely some moments that drag on, but at the same time it's great learning each character intimately, including the setting.
I love all the characters, can see bits of myself in each person, didn't relate too much to any one, but if I had to choose a favourite it would have to be Ben.
Pennywise is such a great villain, utterly evil, no redeeming features at all, but has just enough wackiness included that you're almost looking forward to his next atrocity.
The narrator of the audiobook was absolutely fantastic as well, there was enough subtle differences between each of the characters, that they all felt distinct and made the whole story feel more alive.

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httpscl0d4gh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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louck_hannah's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

First SK book, and I get why people enjoy his horror writing so much. Definitely was written by a white man in the 1980s. My only critique is that Bill didn’t feel like the main/most interesting character till the end. It was clear he was supposed to be but just felt meh about him. I like almost all the other characters more. Also I am a Ben and Beverly truther. Her and Bill could never have what they have. Ending was also a little confusing when he started trying to explain the universe in metaphors and do a weird spin off of indigenous creations stories. At some point it’s better to just leave mystery and fight the “monster”—or, whatever It is!

Letterboxd review coming soon!

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

The only scary thing about this book was the cover. (I’m going to have to find a longer book to read before the end of the year so that I don’t have to look at this cover anytime I revisit my 2024 year in books!).

Book was difficult to read and weird. There were a lot of characters, and time was too fluid. It wasn’t like many books where chapters vacillate between past and present or future. Time actually would switch within the same chapter (at times, even the same paragraph or scene). It made it hard to follow the events.

Also, I failed to see how Beverly’s act of love did anything at all for any of them, especially given how the book ends. And what was up with the Yoda turtle????, especially its explanation of its stomach ache???? Definite two most WtF moments for me.

I kept thinking I was reading an early version of Stranger Things, but Google assured me this book had no contribution to the show, despite a number of similarities.

I’m glad I didn’t DNF it, but neither am I glad I read it.

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tayrod4594's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I completely understand all the reasons people object to this book, in particular with regard to THAT scene. But this book is ultimately a meditation on childhood, specifically that twilight time between childhood and adulthood. It's told in a fantastical way, of course, but it both mourns and celebrates the ability to believe in anything and everything as only kids can do. And it makes it very clear that there is a power in that belief, a great power that can, in this case, quite literally save lives and destroy monsters. Even with that scene, this is King at his best, melding the paranormal horrors of the monsters beneath our beds and the everyday horrors of the world with a masterful touch.

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penguinna's review against another edition

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Note for me: 2/9/6 они сложили все деньги в общий котел. Dnf

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scheierndevin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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