A review by christofd
It by Stephen King

4.0

4.50/5 So many different emotions are going through me right now! First off, the characters. Wow! Stephen King is famously known for writing well characters, so after not really connecting with the characters of 11/22/63 (which was my first SK book) I was hoping to see his writing prowess in full force with this 1300 page monster. And he did not disappoint! The characters and their backstories and lives feel real and tangible, and every emotion they experience feels real. I have to say that I enjoyed the 1958 parts of the story more than the 1985 parts.

Next, the antagonist. I was going into this expecting a horror novel about a serial killer terrorising a small town in Maine. I did not know the book was going to take a paranormal turn, which I didn’t like, but could still contend with. The paranormal part of It took a very prominent role in the last 15% or so of the book.

I would also like to mention the scene where the group gangbangs Beverly. Like, what? I get that this was to symbolise them being connected, but couldn’t SK choose something else for them to do to connect?

Next, the ending. I felt the ending was a bit anticlimactic after ~1300 pages of build up. I also read other reviews which mention that Stephen King has said that he often doesn’t know how to end his stories.

Overall, my favourite part of the book was the stories of the lives of the protagonists as children, and my least favourite the ending, by which point I felt ready for the book to be over.