It

Stephen King

Jan 2016 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.

Readers of Stephen King know that Derry, Maine, is a place with a deep, dark hold on the author. It reappears in many of his books, including Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis, and 11/22/63. But it all starts with It.

“Stephen King’s most mature work” (St. Petersburg Times), “It will overwhelm you…to be read in a well-lit room only” (Los Angeles Times).

Ratings and reviews

It's been said that reading the book is much better than the movie. Books allow the reader to use their imagination, to play their own movie and see it all within their own mind. A good book will also be an avenue for the scariest nightmares one could ever imagine. The Shining is a perfect example of this. If being scared so much you close all the curtains and turn lights on before entering a room, and leaving every light on in the house for weeks after reading it, this book is for you. Mr King did not let us down with this very scary, suspenseful story. The movie couldn't have been better but don't let having seen the movie rob you of the experience of reading the book. This is definitely a classic, one to pull down off the shelf and read again on a snow-stormy night with a fire roaring in front of you. I'd be sure you weren't alone while reading this book or when watching the movie by the same name. If you have any doubts about liking The Shining, I promise you...

First off I just want to start by saying I used to have a BIG fear of clowns. And it was all because of the 1990 IT. I was 6 years old when i first saw that movie and it scared me for life. I had an irrational fear of clowns. When the 2017 and 2019 IT movies came out, it was even worse. It was during Covid that I ordered the book. And after reading it I thought to myself: this is a pretty good book. Stephen King put some much thought into building the characters and the amount of imagery he used amazes me. I actually found myself laughing at some of Pennywise's lines. ( messed up, I know) but the book, goes into so much detail that the movies couldn't. This book is my number one favorite horror book.. Also if you love Pennywise, read some of Stephen Kings other books, there are some crazy references: 11/22/63, Dreamcatcher, The Tommyknockers, etc (Spoiler Alert: those who have read Pet Sematary, then you probably remember Jud and Lewis talking about the children murders in Derry)

Man, I used to love reading Stephen King's books as a kid, but now that I'm a middle-aged adult, his stuff ain't hitting the same. This book was bloated with far too much stuff that has NOTHING to do with the story and add no real depth to the book. This book is way too long. And I gotta say it so you know it. There's a scene later in the book that should've NEVER made it to press ever. I don't want to read a book with anything that mixes kids with adult stuff. Nope! Hard pass.

About the author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.