“A landmark in American literature” (Chicago Sun-Times)—Stephen King’s #1 national bestseller about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled on as teenagers…an evil without a name: It. Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real. They were seven teenagers when …
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.
Readers of Stephen King know that Derry, Maine, is a place with a deep, dark hold on the author. It reappears in many of his books, including Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis, and 11/22/63. But it all starts with It.
“Stephen King’s most mature work” (St. Petersburg Times), “It will overwhelm you… to be read in a well-lit room only” (Los Angeles Times).
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From Misery to Pet Sematary to ’Salem’s Lot, King is the absolute master of scaring the pants off his readers. But It, unlike (in my opinion) most of the rest of King’s works, excels at providing a group of capital-a Amazing characters in The Losers’ Club.
Between Bev, Eddie, Bill, Mike, Ben, Richie, and Stan, the reader can’t help but identify with at least one of these endearing personalities, and King writes them in such a way that it’s difficult to mix characters up, which is a problem I’ve had before in books with a large group of main characters. There’s also something to be said about the skill with which King writes childhood horrors. Everyone is afraid of something, but nothing imaginary (in my experience) can terrify you as an adult the way it did as a kid. King’s characters are strong, memorable, and truly, truly terrified.
Apart from the good guys, Pennywise is one of the best antagonists I’ve ever read in a horror story. It is more than just scary; It is the embodiment of each character’s deepest fear(s). It is also unpredictable, which keeps the reader (and the characters) on their toes.
Really great read.
This book is a must-read before you see the movie! I slept with the lights on for days after reading It. Bravo, Mr. King!
Took me years to gear up to reading this and well worth the wait! A truly special book and one that will define King’s legacy. Pennywise is an iconic creation, although this book is about far more than just a clown. Good to see the recent 2017 movie adaptation seems to have done the Loser’s Club story justice.
Loved it!
I read this for the first time right after it came out and yes, it did keep me up all night. Not only that but when I was able to put it down I had to keep it in my kitchen with something on top of it.
Stephen King once wrote about how the best books open a hole in the page that the reader, or author, falls through. He accomplishes that with much of what he writes and It opens up the world of Derry, Maine, like no other book ever can again.
What do you do when the monster can be whatever will scare it’s victims the most? How do you fight that sort of evil? Go back in time with the people who left Derry in the aftermath of tragedy, live with them as children, and find your own magic again. Just don’t plan on sleeping while you do it!
This has been one of my favorite novels since the first time I read it many years ago. I read it again every two years or so just because I love to connect with the characters again. The story speaks to me not because I was bullied like the kids in the story but because they were brave in the face of something that would make most run screaming.
This book was a beast. So freakin’ long and equally as intense. What took a man five years to write took me five days to read. That doesn’t seem right. Maybe that’s why some titles are deserving of the word ‘classic’. They make the rounds. The first read might be lackadaisical or only read due to a feeling of obligation. But no one reads it a second time unless they want to, which of course I want to. The words are soaking in, the goosebumps are popping up unsolicited, the underlying themes continue to grow with clarity. I’m desperate to find all that I’ve missed during the warm-up run. It is about so much more than a clown. Don’t be fooled. Read it for yourself…if you haven’t already.
My favorite quote:
“Best not to look back. Best to believe there will be happily ever afters all the way around – and so there may be; who is to say there will not be such endings? Not all boats which sail away into darkness never find the sun again, or the hand of another child; if life teaches anything at all, it teaches that there are so many happy endings that the man who believes there is no God needs his rationality called into serious question.”
Clowns used to scare me; now they scare the crap out of me!
Always will be the best book I have ever read. Couldn’t stop, but when I did had to just pick back up again.
I’ve read a lot of Stephen King. I think this is one of his best books (top three!). I’ve limited myself — I’ll only re-read it once every four to five years, so that it’s fresh each time I read it.
The book is a horror story. Children are murdered in terrible ways. But for me, the joy of remembering what is was like being a kid balances the horror of the story. I will always enjoy rereading it.
What is so unique about this book is his descriptions about childhood. The main characters are pre-teens in school. The story occurs just at the end of school, during summer vacation. King captures this short portion of childhood in detail, enough so that I recall bits of my childhood. Kids that are still kids, but old enough to be thinking a tiny bit like adults.
He describes things like a few friends spending an afternoon at one kid’s house during a rainy day, playing board games and being just silly while drinking soda and having cookies. It brings back so many bits of brief memory of being a kid, and by evoking these personal memories of what it was like to be 11 years old. when the horrors occur, it becomes so much more personal. You remember what it’s like to be a kid. How adults *don’t* really see you/pay attention to you. When the horrors happen, knowing that no adult will believe or help you. It’s just up to you to deal with what’s going on around you. That’s what makes this book one of the most horrific books in his library.
This story made me remember two things strongly – being a big kid, and enjoying playing games and having friends that were *just* other kids. No adult worries about sex, drugs, etc. Just being kids. And being a big kid, on the verge of becoming an adult and having to think of adult sort of stuff.
This book is so great, It may be hard to read but I read it when I was 10. I love the movies and the book adds so much to it. To me it was not hard to understand and all of the characters are so badass and amazing. Bev, Stan, Rich, Eddie, Bill, Ben, and Mike are amazing and I love them all so much for different reasons. I highly recomend reading this novel. This is my favorite Stephen King novel by far either this or Cujo. This is what I like to call a twisted coming of age novel filled with emotion.
AWESOME! i highly recommend this book! amazing characters, spooky clown, AND MORE! enjoy this book wile you can!
Always loved Stephen King. I thought this book was one of his greats. Definitely a page turner. If you fear clowns I wouldnt recommend.
This will give you the creeps like nobody’s business. It will probably have you double guessing who may really be behind that clown mask. It’s a super scary, can’t put it down book, can’t go to sleep at night kind of story! Get’s the ole’ ticker in high drive. Who needs cardio workouts when you can read a book by King?
Ok so what is a book worth rereading ? Well seeing as I’ve read IT 3 times now I will vote this one 🙂 Its a fabulous read one of the best written books I’ve ever read and its my Favorite all time book. So yeah I am a little biased when it comes to IT 🙂 The Story in its simplest terms is this childhood friends battle a monster and years later have to come back to battle it again. Now take into account its over 1000 pages long 🙂 and you get the depth of which he delves into all this and into each character as well. Lets just say if you have never read IT before your should at least start it and see if you like it. Its not such much a horror story as it is a great story with some horror aspects to term it simply horror would be a dis-service to the story . There is a new movie coming out next year as well ( better be better then the made for TV one !!! ) so if you want a head start read IT now. OR I guess you could see the movie first then read IT but man I can imagine any movie living up to how great this books is.
This is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it multiple times, and I’ll soon read it again. It is a big part of why I wanted to become an author.
i was told that IT was a good book I was also told that Stephen King was a great writer, so decided to give this book atry. Once I started reading this I could not put the book down. I would take this book to school and read it at lunch while everybody else was talking. I would take this book everyplace with me. Like I said, I could not put this book down. I recommend this book to everyone who loves Stephen King. Though I am only 13 years old I still love this book no matter what Stephen King will always be my favorite. I started getting into Stephen King when I was 9 and now he is my favorite writer ever.
Great movie even better book by Stephen King and is the first book I read by him and the best I will ever read in my time of living. I hope that King keeps making the best books, and the kinglyist books of the all. I do recommend this book for all twisted and action people who enjoy a scare or two.
One of my favorite authors & favorite book…almost don’t want to see the movie because it will not live up to how I related to the book. But, of course, I will see the movie the day it comes out.
Like a lot of millennials, my first exposure to Stephen King’s IT wasn’t through the book itself. It was through the made-for-television film released in 1990, featuring Tim Curry in an iconic performance as the shape-shifting, child-eating clown, Pennywise.
As a kid, I remember being fascinated by the initial premise (you mean IT can be anything you’re afraid of?) and excited by the idea that a group of misfit kids band together to take on such a seemingly unstoppable monster. I was also completely terrified by IT: the now-legendary boat scene with Georgie left me with a lifelong fear of storm drains.
With the latest adaptation set to hit theaters in early September — 27 years after the TV version, to be exact — I decided it was time to revisit this old nightmare, only now, I wanted to experience IT in its original form. Long heralded as one of King’s all-time greatest works, IT doesn’t disappoint. It wasn’t the showdowns between the Loser’s Club and Pennywise that made this such a captivating read though, nor was it reading about Pennywise in all his various incarnations. Instead, it was the slow yet steady way in which King reveals the dark core at the center of this story: the town of Derry itself, a place where violence, racism, child abuse, and other unspeakable evils take root. King builds a rich history for the town and the Losers, which he teases out masterfully.
If you haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favor and move it to the top of your TBR pile. IT has a haunting, lyrical quality that will stay with you long after you finish the final page. And chances are, you’ll never look at a storm drain the same way again, either.
Easily the best horror novel I have ever read.