Reviews with content warning for Excrement - It

I don’t really know how to sum up my feelings on this book. There were some really brilliant aspects of it, but also parts that I utterly hated.

I’ll start off with saying that in my opinion this was far too long. I’m not opposed to lengthy books, often times I prefer them because you get to spend more time with the characters and story, but this took a ridiculous amount of time to get to the point and often felt like the words I was reading were just there to lengthen the book rather than actually tell the story. There were also quite a few scenes that I found completely unnecessary, such as the sewer orgy at the end. That had absolutely no impact on the story and I think was just added as a bit of shock factor.

I did like the main characters most of the time, though Richie did irritate me at times. The characterisation of It was also very interesting and I haven’t seen anything like it before.

I think overall I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone unless they had an interest in reading works that are considered classics in the horror genre. If you’re just looking to get started with horror or want to read this because you enjoyed the movies, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Content Warnings

tayrod4594's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I completely understand all the reasons people object to this book, in particular with regard to THAT scene. But this book is ultimately a meditation on childhood, specifically that twilight time between childhood and adulthood. It's told in a fantastical way, of course, but it both mourns and celebrates the ability to believe in anything and everything as only kids can do. And it makes it very clear that there is a power in that belief, a great power that can, in this case, quite literally save lives and destroy monsters. Even with that scene, this is King at his best, melding the paranormal horrors of the monsters beneath our beds and the everyday horrors of the world with a masterful touch.

Content Warnings

librarianboy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

gizley0420's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

directorpurry's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book is actually immensely sad and I need to lie down for a while. It also could have been shorter and less racist and antisemitic. But it was immensely compelling - there was absolutely no point where I considered putting it down.
I had a really excellent time comparing the overlap of Dark Tower and IT, thinking about all the Easter eggs and crossovers that I've already read about or seen in King books and adaptations. My favorite part of this experience was honestly slotting in a new piece of the SK puzzle.

Content Warnings