Rating: Summary: One of his most enjoyable books. Review: Stephen King writes, as he admits, pretty much trash reading--and does so very well. This book is enjoyable, and is certainly worth reading when one has the time, and wishes to just forget anything real. The book is set in the little town of Derry, Main. The characters are actually fairly belivable, and well drawn. The story starts when they're young children--one stutterer, one rather weak-willed asthmatic, one black in a very white community, one girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and one really fat kid--outcast. Thing is, despite the fact they're nearly stock characters, they have enough vitality and variety that they come across as 3D characters--they're not totally over the top or anything like that. The kids are friends going into the book, and one of their brothers is killed. A series of events, some cliched, some not, lead to them doing battle with the villian--which is a UFO born evil-older-than-time thing. It's kinda bizzare--a shapeshifter which assumes the shape of one's fears that must be killed by laughter (all right, maybe some serious albiet trite commentary is to be found in this book). Despite the length, it's not all that hard of a read, and does't take too long. Overall, it's enjoyable--it was written before he hit the slump (Dreamcatcher anyone?), and avoids too much self importance/seriousness. Still, it benefits from his strenghts--decent characters and a good writing style, and well, plain oddness. Again, the length means you'll spend some time, but it's well written recreational reading, and on par with his best works.
Rating: Summary: INCREDIBLY DISSAPOINTING, BUT WORTH READING Review: I read the book when I was younge,r and although i got interested in it and finsihed it, i relaly didnt have very much idea of what it was about. so thne of course i saw the movie, (whihc i recomend doing before reading)and that cleared things up. Let me say thta if you are looking to be scared, i doubt IT will scare you, because I have read muhc of his novels and been scared and this one, wel, I guess I wasnt even scared a little bit. This book, to me at least, is a bit hard to understand and WOWZERS! SEX! lots of sex, so if you dont like sex, i dont recomend this book to you. of course reading any of Kings novels is always great, and I dont mena to say that this books bad,I'm jsut saying you may be disspointed. But, its worth reading! ;)
Rating: Summary: one of his best Review: this is one of stephen king's best books. i love how he intertwined the past and the future. i loved the scenes at school because i could relate to many of them while i was reading this book way back then in those seemingly interminable high school days.
Rating: Summary: What Is "It"? Review: It's greatest curse is its length - the thing is worse than the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going, and going, and going - and an ill-defined villain. It also suffers from unbelievable (though admittedly appealing) characters, and stock King situations.The villainous "It" of the title is a God-Knows-What - an unexplained shapeshifting Something - that is inconsistent and incomprehensible, making it hard for the reader to get a handle on. Its limitations are unclear, so the hapless band of heroes' eventual dispatch of the thing doesn't make much sense...or if it does, that sense isn't explained sufficiently for the reader to understand. In common with some of Dean Koontz's less believable efforts, King's characters in this piece suffer from Cinderella Syndrome - i.e., just how many people from one small, backward town can grow up to become nationally rich and famous? One is a famous author, another a stand-up comedian who regularly appears on The Tonight Show, etc. These kind of characters are manipulatively contrived to appeal to a Yuppie audience, and even they should have a hard time believing them. Despite these drawbacks, It is at least a good read. The horror goes way over-the-top, far worse even than most of the author's efforts, but there are many very well-written individual scenes. The characters are likeable and fully drawn, which goes a long way toward burying the book's other sins. The plot is lengthy and involving, spanning generations, and as usual King's attention to detail is pretty thorough. Not the author's best, and not the best piece of his to start out on if you're a new reader. But worthwhile if you're a fan, or just want to kill a lot of time in fairly enjoyable fashion. (A LOT of time.) The miniseries, if you're interested, is a faithful adaptation.
Rating: Summary: i will never look at a clown the same way again Review: dang and i thought tolkein was good, but this is great. It has a mood in every character, the way King wrote It.But I wish King would have written a better ending.Hey I'm writin a book, and so far it is 108 pages and 16 chapters and I am getting it published.I will never go to a circus again and look at the clowns.Man, I was blew away at the feeling of the book. It even was an intellegent creature. I thought it to be another brainless monster.if you are a very heavy reader i suggest this book to you, heck even if you aren't GET THIS BOOK!
Rating: Summary: Haunting but uplifting Review: A haunting but equally uplifting novel, 'It' has long been regarded as one of Stephen King's finest and rightfully so, and in terms of complexity and ambition, it is without equal. The story centres around the experiences of a group of friends quest to destroy an evil in their home town, spanning over a quarter of a century. Like most of King's novels, although it is a supernatural story the characters are so well developed and realistic it makes the story instanly believable. The novel begins in the 1950's and slowly moves on to the group's experiences in the 80's. It becomes more and more interwoven as the story gains pace until at the final stages the time changes take place within a matter of pages, achieving a very satisfying effect. Although it is over a seemingly daunting thousand pages, the style is so readable that it's suprising how quickly you finish it. The story of friendship, hope and of course horror contains as many uplifting moments as it does shocking. Perhaps this is not the best choice for those who are new to King but it is an excellent read nonetheless.
Rating: Summary: Genius Review: Never have a I read a book that was so...real. King proves himself a master storyteller with "It", and upon reading the first few pages of "After the Storm" in the bookstore, I was hooked. Getting back to the realism factor, he weaves this story so seamlessly, creating charactors so real it seems as if your reading about yourself. What makes this story so haunting is not Georgies death within the first few pages, the final chapter "Ritual of Chud", or any other of Pennywise's occurences, but the way he writes the book. It is so involved and thorough and realistic and complete and wonderful, (as if these four terms could not be stressed enough). Words cannot do justice, do yourself a favor and pick it up, or dust off a copy of an old copy you might have.
Rating: Summary: King Is A Master! Review: IT is not a scary book, but then, Steven King does not write scary books. He does however, write entertaining books, and this one is a page-turner. King really is a master storyteller, and can make a story that seems silly or uninteresting into something quite intriguing. I was not exactly engaged at the idea of a killer clown, but picked the book up because there is really very little good horror out there and because of the strengths of King's other works. The book has a Lovecraftian feel, both because of the pervasive nature of the madness that afflicts the town and it's obvious origin 'somewhere else'. I am also no fan of 'cute kids' in movies or books, but King draws them so faithfully and gives enough dimension to make them both admirable and believable. King switches back and forth between the kid story (in the fifties) and the story of the grown ups (in the eighties). The device is very useful because each time he switches you are dying to know what is about to happen and wishing that he wouldn't switch each time he does it. This makes the book quite addictive. The story is also very surprising. My favorite bits were the tales of yesteryear that Mike discovers when researching the history of IT, the long history of terror and discovery of it by a main character are part and parcel of the Lovecraftian style. All in all, highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: The best book ever Review: This is the best book I have ever read. It took me three days to read it, I could not put it down! I have now read it five times, and everything is still scary. It just gets better and better each time I read it. Its exactly 1093 pages long, so if your not a fan of reading, then I suggest you see the movie. Stephen King (My favorite author!) is brilliant. I don't give the book 5 stars, I give it all the stars in the sky.
Rating: Summary: Best book by King. Best horror book. Best book. Period. Review: Simply fantastic. This has to be my favorite King book, and one of my favorite books I have ever read. IT is a fantastic villain, and was sinister and brutal. The kids themselves were well developed, and despite that they sometimes swear, were very realistic. Every character, from Ben Hanscom to Henry Bowers was well crafted. What can I say? On a 1 to 5 scale, it is a 20. I am not exaggerating. Go pick it up and see for yourself.
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