I read the book a few months before the new movie came out. It pushed me to read the book because how terrible the new movie looked. It looked like the same old generic Hollywood horror movie we've all seen before and how terrible it was going to be. It even had the director from Mama, this critically panned movie. So I gave the book a go since everyone said this book is great, one of King's best. Well, after reading the long 1100 pages, I was truly disappointed. But this isn't a disappointing book that is still quite good, no, it is just bad.

Let's start off with the pro's of the book (this will be the shortest of the lot though).

Halfway through the book, there is quite good tension. The mystery of IT and the power he has creates this fear in the story and in the characters, this was delivered very well in the first half. The main characters, when they were children, are developed very well and it makes you care about them, they have personality. Georgie meeting Pennywise in the beginning is by far the best chapter in the entire book because the dialogue, the scenery, the characters and atmosphere is just great. Pennywise trying to lure Georgie closer to the drain before he rips off his arm and leaves him to bleed out is brilliant. But after this, the book just falls apart.

The con's. There's a lot to go through.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown is probably the dumbest villain I have ever read in any book. He's so incompetent to kill our main characters when given the opportunity to do so. When he understands the Loser's are a threat, he doesn't go out his way to kill them. In one part of the book, he literally breaks into someone's home, drowned a baby and escaped through the toilet. If he can do that, then he can go in and kill the Loser's in their own bloody home! He also says the dumbest or cringest lines ever. When that kid with asthma walks pass a hobo with leprosy, the hobo asks him "do you want a blow job". Besides from that being weird, Pennywise takes the form of a clown with leprosy, which sounds creepy but he comes off laughable when he asks for a blow job, twice! Once when the boy was a kid and an adult. It's not even creepy or scary, it just sounds dumb.



When the Loser's return to Derry, they go around town to remember things they've forgotten (I have no idea why they forgot almost everything, it's never explained), Pennywise 'tries' to kill them and fails! At the end of the book, when the Loser's confront him, again, in his lair under the town, again, and he takes the form of a giant spider, again. Seriously, it feels absolutely lazy to kill him in the exact same way, other than ripping his heart out. The Loser's don't bring guns, or knifes or any weapon with them to kill IT. They kill IT by beating the shit out of him, trust me, it sounds that stupid. "Oh no, you found my only weakness, physical abuse"!

What I don't understand is why does he take the form of a giant spider? The Loser's never feared a spider and he can take the shape of what they fear most, so why a spider? I guess he breaks his own rules. How about turn into fucking superman, kill the Loser's, destroy Derry, blow the planet up and fuck off.

There are pointless chapters in this book. The feels dragged out, pointless things being spoken about but fine, George RR Martin does this but he keeps it entertaining and keeps the story going. One of the interludes, Mike's journals of the events leading to the final confrontation of IT, is completely useless. At this point, we understand about the influence IT has upon the people of Derry and how he can sort-of manipulate them. Well, since we already know this and seen it in action, you know what King does? Hammers the point and does a stupid fifth interlude of a guy walking into a bar and murdering a bunch of others guys because they killed his friend. Pennywise of course, caused him to do this but we already know that Pennywise can do this, why do we need to know this?

The next pointless chapter is when we find out that Eddie (I just looked his name up) never really had asthma. His insane doctor said it's all in his head and put water in his aspirator. Fuck off Stephen King, you don't get asthma because you think it, it happens because of genetics (not sure if he believes the nonsense he wrote down but whatever). I honestly have no idea what purpose it served in the book. If it was talking about if they imagine anything, they can harm IT like with the battery acid crap Eddie sprayed at the IT spider. Well, this was already established early on when they fought IT in Niebolt street when Beverly flung silver at his eye, believing it would harm him!

There's a lot to cover so I'll end it with the dumbest shit I ever read. I'm not even exaggerating, the thing I'll be talking about is the dumbest crap I have ever read in my life. It is dumber than the article that feminist deleted saying "you're a sexist if" where she gives dumb reasons for men are sexist like if they are sexually attracted to women. The thing I am talking about is the child orgy. Yes, a child orgy at the end of the book. Beverly believes the only way to escape the sewers after they killed Pennywise is to have sex, keep in mind they're only 12. And it goes into detail about the sex and it is just cringy. It is nonsensical. All they had to do is go back the way they came. What the hell!

I am surprised how this book gets a lot of praise when it is complete garbage. I mean, the people who genuinely love this book, good for you enjoying something I can't but I'm curious how anyone thinks this book is any good? The people who also think this book sucks have also made the same criticism as me.

Well, this books serves as a important lesson in writing. Don't write when doing drugs.

I actually liked the new movie. However, after learning about the fucked up scene in the sewers, I don't think I can look at it the same.

@Wertologist I also hated the movie too after seeing it. The mini-series is quite bad as well. But none of them are nearly as bad as the book. I'm not shitting on Stephen King, he clearly is a good writer, I've read Carrie and it's good, the book IT was just terrible.

RangerGUN wrote:

@Wertologist I also hated the movie too after seeing it. The mini-series is quite bad as well. But none of them are nearly as bad as the book. I'm not shitting on Stephen King, he clearly is a good writer, I've read Carrie and it's good, the book IT was just terrible.

I didn't hate it though. You misread my post. I actually liked the new movie. It's just that after I heard about the sewer scene in the book that it just made me uncomfortable with It in all forms.

I know you liked the movie. I can see where you thought I misread your post " I also hated the movie too after seeing it". I should have typed it differently. Lol.

I just want to say something: Pennywise doesn't suck, it is awesome. Stephen King uses Pennywise, the evil fucked up clown to push us into his characters psychology, their reactions, emotions, thoughts and most deep fears (IT adopts the form of a clown cause most people and children fear them). Oh, and most important, it's the perfect excuse to talk about childhood. IT is one of my favorite books, imo it is perfectly narrated and structuraded... Tho, i really enjoy when someone criticise and talks shit about something almost everyone else likes, it's fun, and it's even more fun that i read this while being high, and the part where you describe the orgy maked laugh alot . That kind of ending is quiet unique, only something Stephen's mind can come up with.

Torsorapgirl wrote:

I just want to say something: Pennywise doesn't suck, it is awesome. Stephen King uses Pennywise, the evil fucked up clown to push us into his characters psychology, their reactions, emotions, thoughts and most deep fears (IT adopts the form of a clown cause most people and children fear them). Oh, and most important, it's the perfect excuse to talk about childhood. IT is one of my favorite books, imo it is perfectly narrated and structuraded... Tho, i really enjoy when someone criticise and talks shit about something almost everyone else likes, it's fun, and it's even more fun that i read this while being high, and the part where you describe the orgy maked laugh alot . That kind of ending is quiet unique, only something Stephen's mind can come up with.

See that orgy part is what bothered me. The part that it was a bunch of 11 year old kids and King went into some pretty descriptive detail is what bothered me. If they were adults, I wouldn't have cared as much. It's just really out of place considering they were lost in the sewers while chasing It and decided "hey, lets gangbang the only chick here! That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do with the murderous clown trying to eat us around the corner!". It was so out of place that it felt like he put it in for other reasons rather than story telling. Again, I wouldn't care much if it took place after all of it was done and they weren't 11 year old kids, but it just seriously didn't belong there at all.

@Torsorapgirl As I said before, I'm happy for people to like this book when I can't. You don't think Pennywise sucks, that's fine. But he does non-sensical things like not walking into the Loser's home and murdering them in their own sleep when he clearly did that before to a baby. I see Pennywise has a psychological effect on the Loser's but King doesn't do a good job of this. The Lord of the Rings, while it's not really a psychological book, the One Ring of Power truly has a psychological effect on the characters. They can be corrupted or turned against each other and Sauron will use this to return to Middle-Earth and conquer the world. This tension works so well in the book, in IT it's more a fart in the wind, there but gone quite soon.

There are other issues with the book as well that would have made this post too long like how bad the pacing is, the retarded ending of how Bill got his wife's sanity back, the way they're still going to forget everything after killing Pennywise once and for all, etc.

@Wertologist

It is if you look it that way, but if you try to look it the fun way it's pretty hilarious and mindfucker how Stephen King creates a children orgy out of nowhere.  But what you say couldn't be more true, that part was pointless and very disgusting to imagine. I mean, i get thats Stephen King's unique way of saying that sex is like a mystical experience, a way to make us closer to the group. He even describes that part with style and if it was poetry of some sort... but i can deal more with the idea of a transdimensional spider demon who stalks a little town than a bunch of 11 year old kids having sex in a sewer.  I mean, they where like a 1000 options from him to make it weird,  like writing "Okay guys, each of us will put one hand inside our mouths so we can all throw up. I believe the vomit will flow thru the sewer leading us to the exit" but an orgy? Just no. Many would try to explain that part in different ways, but for me it's just gross and out of place, and thats why i rather look a it the fun way like "Okay guy, Pennywise is dead. All of you should fuck me so we can get out of here (clearly thats just an excuse. Just fuck me already ) and that Stephen was on some serious acid trip while writing that part