Product Description

It was the children who saw - and felt - what made the town so horribly different. In the storm drains and sewers 'It' lurked, taking the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. As the children grow up and move away, the horror of 'It' is buried deep - until they are called back.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16029 in Books
• Published on: 1987-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1120 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Stephen King's idea for It came from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of the Bugs Bunny Show coming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawling Eye, Rodan, It Came from Outer Space.

It is about a group of adults who were once troubled children in the late '50s--"The Losers." One of them is a best selling horror writer much like Stephen King (or his friend and collaborator Peter Straub). In order to defeat the protean "It" that threatens their hometown, they have to go back- -not only to the town itself, but deep into their childhood memories, to regain the talent for magic they once had. King says It is for "the buried child in us, but I'm writing for the grown-up, too. I want grown-ups to look at the child long enough to be able to give him up."

This huge, baggy beast of a novel is a favorite of Stephen King fans--second in popularity only to The Stand. Perhaps longtime fans develop mental filters for King's sloppy storytelling to tune out the repetitions and silliness. King is like the pointillist painter Seurat: if you stand too close to the little dots, the picture falls apart, and it looks meaningless. That's why he makes the storyscape so big--to take you up to that macro-level where you like the book in spite of its flaws. --Fiona Webster

Review
'One of the great storytellers of our time' -- Guardian 'A writer of excellence...King is one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel...brilliantly done' -- The Sunday Times 'His finest to date!Hardly a page is without its shocks and surprises yet King still manages to give us a terrifying climax' -- Yorkshire Post

The Sunday Times
‘A writer of excellence...King is one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel...brilliantly done’

Customer Reviews

Out of the blue and into the black
Where to start? 'It' is King's finest to date. After a shakey start (this book is over 1100 pages, of course it will take a while to get going") this book is a real effort to put down, a rare trait in a book of such a size. The plot is a masterpiece by King seond only to the character development, interwoven between two timelines; now (well 1985) and the summer of 1958. If I tried to explain it the explanation would start something like this: Well there's this murderous monster clown invisible to adults who feeds on children in a small Maine town... So I'll stop now and you'll have to trust me this book is good. Childhood is a recurring theme in all King's work (as it is in Bill Denborough's) and It is no exception, the description of the children's lives is a joy to read even when there are no werewolves or lepers to get in the way. Perhaps the children are a bit too mature for their age but this is easily overlooked, it makes up for all the times they are (wrongly?) potrayed as immature idiots. Suprisingly for a book with so many main characters the reader soon knows all seven's first names, sirnames, parents and interests (and is interested!). There is so much to praise here but this is still really a book for people who like horror. King just can't wait to add in little details about supporting characters somewhere along the lines of: John Smith (who would lose both his legs 5 years later after a motorcycle accident). Then there is the story of Patrick Hockstetter and his fridge; not for the faint hearted. There are many little details that people have picked upon, but very few books are perfect and all the fantastic work makes these very minor indeed. The ending is good but not as good as the rest of the book and I feel that this is the reason it stands out so much. So don't worry you won't be disappointed at the end. So constant reader, enjoy and remember to stock up on light bulbs, your bedside lamp will be on all night. Remember this book is responsible for a global irrational fear of clowns. Head my warning.

By the way look out for a cameo from everyone's favourite shiner Dick Hallorann

Next... Neil Gaiman's American Gods

Do you want a balloon? They float.
This book is just sheer brilliance.
I had watched the film when i was younger and it scared the hell out of me. It has been one of my favourite films ever since. But the book is so much better.
It delves much deeper into the characters and unlike the film it makes you feel as though you know them.
I like the way in which he brings in everyday real life problems and mixes them in with terryfying fiction such as bullying, domestic violence and racism.
You feel so much sorrow for the 'losers' because its like no matter what they do they can't escape the suffering.
Take Bill for instance, not only does he have to put up with his younger brother being murdered, he also has to deal with his ever infuriating stutter and the bullying he recieves as a result of this stutter. All thats bad enough for a kid and that's without mentioning the fact that there is a shape shifting, demonic, child eating clown roaming around town and it's up to him and his friends to stop it.
If you have young teenage children make them read this and suddenly the thought of getting acne won't seem that big a deal to them.
I urge anybody who has'nt read this book to do so, whether you're a king fan or not.
Watch the movie as well, its not as good as the book but superb none the less.
And remember, They all float....

Amazing
This is book is one of the best I have ever read. I always avoided Stephen King books as I feared they would be too gory/slasher like, but I had no idea of the depth of King's skill at bringing characters to life.

It, which tells the story of seven childhood friends who nearly defeat a demon preying on the Children of Derry and then have to return later when it cimes back, is wonderful. The characters are so lifelike, you feel as though they are your friends. I am not ashamed to say that even if it makes me sound pathetic! I was genuinely sad when I had finished reading the book, not becasue of the ending, but becasue I just wanted it to go on and on. I re-read this book last week and it still retains its magic for me!

All I can say, is that even if you have never read A king book before, try this one. It iks astounding and you will weep, you will be scared and you may have to sleep with the lights on. Clowns will never look the same again!