It

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Summary: Best Stephen King book yet
Review: The first time I read this book i couldnt bear to go in a bathroom or near a storm gutter. I couldnt put this book down its just so entrancing.I especillaly like all the details that Stephen king puts in his books. When you read the part where there kids it feels like your a kid again he just describes it so well and you really get attached to the charectors.I recomend this to anyone who likes horror books or Stephen King books.

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Summary: King's Masterpiece
Review: The first thing you think when you pick up IT is how am I ever going to read a novel that's over 1000 pages. Then you open up to the first page, and your questions are answered. From the first paragraph, when little Georgie is chasing his paper boat down the street, in the rain, to his undeniable death. And from there, the novel takes off. Broken up into many parts, IT is Stephen King's masterpiece. Strong, powerful stortelling, and without a doubt, his scariest novel. The scene in which Mike is in the library, and Pennywise leaves him the baloon literally made my skin crawl. Equally terrifying is when Ben sees Pennywise down by the icerink in the dead of winter. Scary stuff, man. Pennywise himself is King's most terrifying and best villian. The idea to make a clown a mass murderer is absolutely brilliant. We want Pennywise in every seen, and because he's not, when he shows up, we realize just how scary he is. IT is one of the best novel I've ever read. Stephen King broke barriers with this novel, and when you finish reading it, you'll know why.

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Summary: An interesting take on what growing up means
Review: The first time I read "It," I was maybe 16, and was scared silly by the idea of a monster that feeds on our fears. I was then, and am now, amazed at how much King made me care about his characters, and how fleshed out they were. Then I grew up. Got an education, got married, had kids. Having children was for me, at age 27, a wake-up call to my own mortality, and that our lives are precious and short, and sadly non-magical.

A belief in (metaphorical or real) Magic, like that Our Players use and are manipulated by, is in awfully short supply as we grow older, and the characters struggle to recapture their belief in Magic (Why do you think Harry Potter is so popular amongst adults anyway?).

When I finished the book at age 16, I was relieved that the heroes had whupped It and set things right. At 27, I was struck by a sense of loss, both vicarious and personal. What effect does forgetting our childhood (as many of us do) have on adulthood? King's apparent thesis is that it makes being an adult no damned fun - we become constricted with the obligations of adulthood and lose our sense of wonder and longing, and forget how to dream.

While King challenges us to remember the beauty of childhood, there is a caution as well, as the main characters struggle to conquer the demons of childhood. In a literal sense, It pulls them back for a confrontation with Itself, as well as the evil personage of Henry Bowers. Metaphorically, they must face the scars of their own childhoods which continue to plague them; abuse, emotional coldness, death of a brother, being The Fat Kid, being a hypochondriac weakling, being a target of bigotry - in short, being different. Their success comes at a high price, though.

My only real criticisms of this book are the fact that it is bloody long, and although the adolescent sex scene didn't really offend me, it did confuse me - I'm still not entirely sure of its function in the book, besides as a bookend to Bill and Beverly's shagging. Maybe it's a way of pointing out that when the Magic leaves, all we have left are Love and Desire, and we'd better hold on to those for all we're worth. As adults, it certainly seems that those two things are often all we do have.

Also, I was disappointed that in the end, the characters begin to forget again - it seems to defy King's admonition to remember the magic of childhood. The ending was not entirely satisfactory, but you can't have everything. In Real Life, endings are rarely totally satisfactory, and fiction is not required to differ in that regard.

All told, this is an interesting, emotional, absorbing read, and certainly King's magnum opus. I highly recommend that younger readers (like under 22 or so) wait 6 or 8 years before reading the book again, until they've seen a bit more of life. Doing so will certainly change your perspective on "It".

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Summary: One of the best horror novels ever written
Review: I flew trough this book in less than a week, 200 pages per day, I couldn't put it down, It kept me awake. I believe Pennywise is somesort of cancer in the heart of Derry, what is it, how long has it been there. Slowly, bit by bit the secret reveals. Adrenaline level is enormous.
Read also The Stand and The Dark Tower -series

Rating:
Summary: King employs literary devices...
Review: IT by Stephen King

In Stephen King's IT, seven people recount their childhoods and their own encounters of fear and horror. In the book, IT is an evil with no name, who represents different things for each character. IT is portrayed as a clown that appears to each character in different situations. First, King uses third person omniscient point of view to show the reader the characters' situations through the eyes of another character. Moreover, King uses the symbol of the clown to represent the life experiences of each character and to represent fear and horror in each situation. Furthermore, King employs flashbacks into the story to demonstrate how each event took place, and how the feelings of each character grow from the time they were children. King includes many devices of literature to show how life experiences and feelings of children can grow, and how evil can come in many forms for each person.
First, Stephen King uses third person omniscient point of view to show the reader how events are related through the eyes of another character. In this case, a police officer gives his own account of the murders that occurred in the summer of 1958 in the town of Derry, Maine. His recollection of these events included the murder of Georgie Hanscom, Ben Hanscom's brother, who was found dead in a sewer drain. He remembers the town's response to this mysterious murder, and other murders, that occurred in 1958. He remembers how no one could ever figure out how these things could happen is such a safe, small town. This police officer continues to give his own thoughts about the characters' developments, as well his own accounts of the murders.
Second, King uses the symbol of the clown, referred to as IT, as an evil force in the story. For each character, IT means something different, and represents some kind of fear that is going on internally within each character. For instance, Beverley Marsh's father continuously beats her, and every time he does, the clown appears. Another example is Richie is constantly bullied, and when his bullies show up, the clown is always there laughing at him. The clown in the story does not only represent horror, but fear for each character and their own experiences. King displays this by showing that evil can come in many forms, and fear is always something different for everyone.
Third, King uses the device of flashback to show how people and past events are related. In the beginning of the story, each adult-version of their character remembers the horrific events and murders that happened in their small town. Again, even as adults, they encounter IT through flashbacks. They remember specific events and can piece together a "puzzle" that has haunted them since they were children. They remember the murders of their friend's siblings and even their own friends. In doing this, King shows the reader the fear that goes on in each character's mind, and shows how events fit together, from the past to the present. King shows each character's feelings and remembrances through the device of flashback.

Clearly, King writes to show how fear can come in many forms, and he uses literary devices to show this. King uses third person omniscient point of view to show how events are seen through the eyes of another character. Second, King uses IT to symbolize fear and how it is different for every person. He also uses the device of flashback to show the reader internal conflicts with the character, and how events are related. King employs these devices well and puts them in the book so that the story makes sense. It is a very compelling, interesting, and well-written novel.

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Summary: It, My Favorite Book
Review: Seven friends, one monster in many forms. Have you ever wondered what you're biggest fear is? Once you read It, you'll realize you have many. I started reading King in '96 with The Green Mile. I quickly became an addict and am almost through with all of his books. It is by far the most intriguing and haunting book I have ever read. The reader follows these seven children through things that would make a grown man scream like a little girl. Yet, maybe it is because they are children, they suffer through It not once, but twice. This book is scary and sad and funny. You experience every emotion while reading this and at the end you realize that you have completely fallen in love with Bill, Bevvie, Ben, Stan, Mike, Eddie, and Richie. My personal favorite is Ben. The movie version of this book is also good, but it can never compare to the experience of reading It for the first time. READ THIS BOOK!!!

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Summary: It
Review: All I can say is I couldn't put it down. One of the very best books I have ever read. The story pulled me in and kept me there to the end.

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Summary: You couldn't drop the book
Review: Stephen King wirtes an incredible story with this book.

If you really like the horror, has a taste for the writing style of King, and wants a book that you couldn't any tima, this one it's a MUST HAVE.

All my friends read it, and give the same opinion... when you turn off the lights, you're thinking if PEnnywise could be near you...

For me, really a top 3 in King's novels, only beated by The Shining and Cujo, but it's only in type of reading... if you really like pure terror, you'll love the ending... creepy, hard to read.

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece
Review: A huge, hulking book. Sort of intimidating to look at, but it's worth every second you spend reading it. Lots of scary things, humor from characters that you grew up with, and an ultimately satisfying conclusion. I'll always remember the names of the seven kids who come back to fight the evil after they grow up, and i'll always remember the villain as well. I mean, who hasn't been scared of clowns at some point in their life? This is the book that introduced me to horror fiction, to reading for fun in general. Thank you, Mr. King.

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Summary: As good as The (Unabridged) Stand
Review: Before I say why I love this book so much, a helpful suggestion. Please, if you want to appreciate King's more marketable stories, please read the Dark Tower series. I don't think that I'm giving away anything here, but the sequence in "It" that deals with 'turtles' (those of you who have read the Dark Tower know why I'd focus on this) will take on much more meaning. On to the review. I think that people have a misconception about what makes for effective horror writing. You have to care about the characters for horror to be effective. Otherwise, it's not horror, it's comedy. Think about it: in the span of a few short pages, King makes Georgie a character we care about--that's why you really feel it in the pit of your stomach when Georgie's encounter with Pennywise reaches its conclusion. This book is about normal kids and adults (who happen to be incredibly well-developed characters) finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances..That's why "It" is so effective. Minor complaint: Richie does not ring true as an adult or a child. He's the only character that is not believable..fortuneately, even though he has a tremendous amount of dialogue, he's really not important to the story..he's there for comic relief. Finally, by all means avoid the mini-series. I can't for the life of me understand how anyone who has read the book can stomach it.