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Looking back, I can only recall two novels of his that I consider to be worth reading again - "The Stand" and "It". Some of his short story collections are excellent, however.
In the town of Derry in the American state of Maine, something is killing children. George Denbrough, brother ... Read review
Stephen King's idea forItcame from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of theBugs ... more
Bunny Showcoming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawling Eye...
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Stephen King's idea for It came from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of the ... more
Bugs Bunny Show coming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawlin...
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It can be anything. A fanged monster that wont stay on the movie screen. Something ominous ... more
lurking in the basement. No matter what your biggest fear is, no one knows it better than Stephen King.Based on Kings 1986 bestseller, It is a jittery, jolting excursion into personal fear starring Harry Anderson, Annette OToole, John Ritter and Richard Thomas. A malevolent force in a small New England town takes the shape of a clown (Tim Curry), but hes not clowning around. Instead, he terrifies youngsters and brings some to their untimely doom - until some wily kids fight back. The evil resurfaces 30 years later: meaner, angrier, deadlier. And friends who vividly remember youthful terrors reunite to battle It.
Is there anything scarier than clowns? Of course not. And who knows scary better than ... more
Stephen King? You see where we're going.Itputs a malevolent clown (given demented life by a powdered, red-nosed Tim Curry) front and center, as King's fat novel gets the TV-movie treatment. Even at three hours plus, the action is condensed, but an engagingStand by Mevibe prevails for much of the running time. The seven main characters, as adolescents, conquered a force of pure evil in their Maine hometown. Now, the cackling Pennywise is back, and they must come home to fight him--or, should we say, It--again. Admitting the TV-movie trappings and sometimes hysterical performances, this is a genuinely gripping thriller. As so often with King, the basic idea (the bond formed during a childhood trauma) is clean and powerful, a lifeline anchored in reality that leads us to the supernatural. --Robert Horton
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Is there anything scarier than clowns? Of course not. And who knows scary better than ... more
Stephen King? You see where we're going.Itputs a malevolent clown (given demented life by a powdered, red-nosed Tim Curry) front and center, as King's fat novel gets the TV-movie treatment. Even at three hours plus, the action is condensed, but an engagingStand by Mevibe prevails for much of the running time. The seven main characters, as adolescents, conquered a force of pure evil in their Maine hometown. Now, the cackling Pennywise is back, and they must come home to fight him--or, should we say, It--again. Admitting the TV-movie trappings and sometimes hysterical performances, this is a genuinely gripping thriller. As so often with King, the basic idea (the bond formed during a childhood trauma) is clean and powerful, a lifeline anchored in reality that leads us to the supernatural. --Robert Horton
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Good charactization, excellent plot Disadvantages: Overly long, the bloody stuttering
...I still read a lot, it was restricted to books - both fiction and non-fiction. During the Eighties, after watching 'Salems Lot one night on the telly and being totally scared by it, but enjoying it all the same, I decided to see if the book was as good as the film.
Well, it wasn't, but it was quite good, and having run out of authors to read, I decided that this Stephen King bloke would be someone who I could read. So, I read. Lots. ... ...who is killing the kids, it takes the appearance of a clown and hides in the sewers. The adults are unaware of the supernatural nature of these killings, and it's only the kids who understand that the killer is much worse than a psycopath who preys on children.
The story really kicks off at the end of school in the summer of 1958 when Bill Denbrough gets together with other kids, and they find out the true nature of the killer and ... more
When I was a lot younger, I read a lot of books. Quality wasn't important, but reading was, I read everything I could find, even the instructions and ingredients lists off packs of food. My mum tells tales of me being so bored that I would read the boxes which the film for my Dad's camera came in.
When I got a bit older, while I still read a lot, it was restricted to books - both fiction and non-fiction. During the Eighties, after watching 'Salems Lot one night on the telly and being totally scared by it, but enjoying it all the same, I decided to see if the book was as good as the film.
Well, it wasn't, but it was quite good, and having run out of authors to read, I decided that this Stephen King bloke would be someone who I could read. So, I read. Lots. Not because he was an especially good author, but because he wasn't a bad one (in my humble opinion), and with a fairly extensive back catalogue, someone who would keep me occupied for a while.
Looking back, I can only recall two novels of his that I consider to be worth reading again - "The Stand" and "It". Some of his short story collections are excellent, however.
In the town of Derry in the American state of Maine, something is killing children. George Denbrough, brother of Bill is killed during the autumn of 1957 while playing in the aftermath of a heavy rainfall with a homemade boat. Whatever this thing or person is who is killing the kids, it takes the appearance of a clown and hides in the sewers. The adults are unaware of the supernatural nature of these killings, and it's only the kids who understand that the killer is much worse than a psycopath who preys on children.
The story really kicks off at the end of school in the summer of 1958 when Bill Denbrough gets together with other kids, and they find out the true nature of the killer and set out to fight and kill it. The killer is, of course, well aware of their intentions and tries to stop them at any cost using many means at its disposal.
The children find out that this killer is much older than anyone realises and that these killings are all done in cycles of around twenty-eight years. A problem they find is that the adults are all oblivious to all this, and it's only the kids and the most senior of town citizens who know that something is not right in the town. Therefore, they have to battle the killer by themselves.
On top of that, these kids have to deal with their own personal problems - Bill Denbrough has a terrible stutter, Eddie Kaspbrak has terrible asthma (or at least, he thinks he does!), Ben Hanscom has a weight problem, Mike Hanlon is black (in a time where it was still a major problem being a different colour), Beverley Marsh is turning into a young woman with lots of admirers and a father who may or may not be "handy" with his fists, Stan Uris is Jewish and attracts the bullies and Richie Tozier is a boy who cannot control his mouth which often gets him into trouble with both his parents and other kids. On top of all this, the kids have to deal with a group of bullies who are out to get them at every opportunity (including one bully who is probably a psychopath).
Unfortunately, they don't think they succeed - the killer seems to be much too powerful for them, and they make a pact that if they're needed again, they'll all come back to try and finish the job.
The whole story is told mainly during two periods in time - the summer of 1958 where the majority of the story takes place, and a few days during 1985. It's all told in brief bits and pieces with the story at times flitting between 1958 and 1985. This isn't confusing, as each time the plot changes time slots, the author makes a point of telling you the time period that the next part of the story advances.
"It" is one of King?s more interesting books. I like the in depth characterisation of the kids, both "heroes" and "bullies", although sometimes the stuttering was just too much to take. In times when I?m being critical of this book, I do think the book length would have been reduced by about a third had Bill Denbrough not been a stutterer. This is a point that could be levelled at any of King's books where his over-descriptive style does make his books longer than they need be.
While the author does fall into the usual trap of using his one and only plot device ("ordinary hero is given magical power from out of nowhere to help fight the baddie/evil") once again, the story that takes it along to this point is interesting and well told. Even in the middle of winter, when reading this book, I was reminded of my summer holidays as a kid. Not necessarily associated with exact scenes from the book, but more the whole atmosphere where you can't remember the rainy days when you were a kid, you only remember running around with your friends in the sunshine having loads of fun.
It's a fairly long (1110 pages, or thereabouts), but a totally engrossing story that I've read on more than one occasion, and each time I'm get so hooked in that I can barely put the book down until I've finished it.
Even if you're not really a big fan of Stephen King, this is one of his books I would suggest you give a chance, if only for the way he managed to capture the same feelings that I remember having during my summer holidays.
Author: Stephen King ISBN: 0450411435 Publisher: New English Library Price: £7.99
Advantages: All the book is an advantage! Disadvantages: More than 1000 pages... maybe too much if you don´t really like reading
...is “It” really someone? Is it a human being the one lurking through the sewers and pipes, coming out as an apparently harmless clown every 27 years, and seemingly nurturing from the kids’ most hideous fears? In 1958 seven youngsters were gathered together by an unknown force to confront It... 27 years later, all of them grown-ups and having forgotten the horror they lived in Derry, a phone call summons them to fulfil the promise they all made: “if ... ...It again”.
I am writing about which I consider Stephen King’s best book ever. A masterpiece that, after 13 years of having read it for the first time, doesn’t fail to horrify me again and again whenever I dare opening its cover... and that happens once every 6 months or so. There are loads of information that we use to miss the first time we read a novel, either because we are too interested on the main plot (and hence we unnoticedly tend to skip ...
Aurynne 25.01.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of It - Stephen King
Advantages: Ambitious, nostalgic, even touching Disadvantages: May be overwhelming for first-timers and short attention spans; the truly prudish may wish to steer clear of CHAPTER 22, part 12
...stories and dreaming of making it as a big-time writer. Henry Bowers and his friends wore the faces of my own childhood bullies. The trainyards were a couple blocks away from my house. The house on Niebolt Street became an old falling-down warehouse up the street my buddy and I used to play in. The Barrens were an old playground we used to visit that lay just over the tracks in the bad part of town. Keene's was the candy store up on the corner two ... ...parentheticals is left out and it runs into the main text)...and the language of the parts set in 1958, right down to the titles of the programs Ben Hanscom and that creepy little schmuck Patrick Hockstetter watch on TV, is so authentic and seamless that if there are anachronisms, I don't see them.
The only thing I would like to see, perhaps, is the after-story: what happened to the kids after they triumphed over their demonic tormentor in '58...and ...
Doctor_Belch 16.02.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of It - Stephen King
Advantages: Terrifying, charming, utterly real, with a cast of characters ou'll hate saying goodbye to come the novel's end. Disadvantages: It's a biggie - not overwritten at all though, in my opinion. Well-judged, but not a quick read.
...evil and ancient lurks. It takes children for preference, but it's not that picky. It has many forms - sometimes it comes as a clown, sometimes as a thing from your nightmares. Whatever its true form, it's probably worse by far than the masks it wears in public. As children, our intrepid group discover the secret that lives at the heart of Derry's rank heart, and must face the thing they fear the most. As adults, they bring their new neuroses back ... ...the Vampire, the Clown (actually, it could be strongly argued that this was the novel that made the clown a horror icon), and their kin. Playing on what makes each archetype truly frightening to a child, layering that with a palpable sense of mystery and threat, he makes them frightening once again to us as adults. Whether centre stage or in the wings, Pennywise the Clown is the ultimate B-movie amalgamation, and he's frankly terrifying. Read it, ...
RichardW 06.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of It - Stephen King
...the better books out there. It sort of stinks as a whole that everybody doesn't love it.
Everybody should try and obtain this book.
I hope everybody who buys books, will please go out and spend their good money on this one.
This review used to be better. But I cannot write reviews for free.
Come and see my wonderful reviews at Epinions.
the web address is www.Epinions.com
Look for Scapp70
Have a nice day everybody.
Talk to you later.
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Scapp70 12.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of It - Stephen King
Advantages: The Plot And Storyline Is Immense Disadvantages: Complicated In Some Parts - Read Properly If You Want Full Understanding :)
...I persuaded him to buy it for us and my brother to watch (ever do DVD nights? No, neither do we! But I thought it would be a nice change). I liked the film. Not really scary, but I really liked the idea of a killer clown. Imagine my delight when I heard there was a book out which apparently was absolutley brilliant.
The main characters are The "Losers Club" :
Beverly Marsh - The only female of the group.. A fiesty, pretty 11 year old redhead whose ... ...shape-shifting monster referred to as IT is killing innocent children, until seven wily youngsters fight back; The Losers Club. After individual and group encounters with IT - who takes the form of their biggest fears (but mostly as a terrifying clown named Pennywise) - the youngsters decide to destroy the creature. Enter the Ritual Of Chüd, fighting IT down in the sewers. Thinking they have destroyed IT, the 11 and 12 year olds soon go their separate ...
Beautiful69 16.08.2008
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Advantages: A great book, a film based on the book aswell. Disadvantages: None in my opinion but some do not like Kings Style.
StephenKing's - Carrie
This book was published in 1974, and was his first book to be published but the 4th one her wrote; originally it was meant to be a short story but it then evolved into a complete novel.
There is some controversy about this book and in some school readings it was banned because of its themes and features.
The book uses real fiction documents like newspaper reports and other extracts to create the character of Carrie who is a 17-year-old girl from Chamberlain.
She is constantly bullied at school and everything keeps going wrong, when she puts herself out slightly more, someone always does something to ruin it, a chilling horror with many supernatural aspects, when it was created into film it was seen as quite scary and some say that it is still as scary today as it was back then even with the increasing amount ...
Advantages: Hello? It's the King!! Disadvantages: Very very sexist and slightly annoying for it
"Carrie" is the first book King ever published. And it shows. Don't get me wrong, I like it...but only because it's StephenKing. It tells the ever so slightly sexist story (not my words...yep the man himself called it so) of a girl who suddenly becomes able to move things and destroy things with the power of her mind when she reaches puberty. The whole tone of the book is one of religion and the onset of irrationality with menstruation. If that's not misogynist, I don't know what is! However, he has actually realised this now and writes believable and three dimensional female charaters...to see the difference try reading "Carrie" and "Dolores Claiborne" back to back...let me know what you think! ...
Advantages: Very informative and inspiring. A good writers block breaker. Disadvantages: His methods aren't suited for everyone.
This book is works as a mixture between a memoir and a how-to book on writing, written by a man who damned well knows how it's done.
The thing that strikes you most about King is his sense of humour. He tells us about his childhood, how his mother encouraged him to read everything, including trash books, and entertains with anecdotes about babysitters who sat on his face shouting pow!
It also tells you how he came to write his first book, how he got it published, and inspiringly, how many times he got turned down before he made it. Amazing that even StephenKing struggling initially.
He also tells you how he writes, and I know from experience his way isn't great for everyone, me for one, but it's fascinating knowing how the pros do it and King's not preachy about it.
Overall a brilliant book, the most entertaining how to I've ever ...
The writing is taut and effecive, and several stand alone scenes are magnificent. The conclusion, had it been published as a stand alone novella, would have been wonderful.
Nothing happens, and there is some nasty use of forced incest as a means to create a tawdry shock. Oh, and nothing happens. (*)
Stephen King's claim to fame ; Superb atmosphere ; Sublime plot ; A vivid imagination that stretches all supernatural boundaries ; Probably responsible for some of the best horror films of the 70's and 80's
Some unessesary background in the first half ; Kubrik mucked up the story too much ; Could have been much more (*)
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