Killer Clowns (It - Stephen King)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	It - Stephen King
Date:	16/09/01 (263 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decent story

Disadvantages: Lapses into "same old King"

When I was a lot younger, I read a lot of books. Quality wasn’t important, but reading was, I read everything (even instructions!). My mum tells tales of me being so bored that I would read the backs of Frosties packets.

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.

But, I’m waffling, let’s get back to “It”.

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.

Of course, there’s a problem. The problem is that practically all the adults in the town are unaware of this – they know that something is killing the kids, but they are seemingly oblivious to the strange methods by which these children are dying.

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 tru
e 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 different), 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 and 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, however, 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’s one of King’s more interesting books. I like the in depth characterisation of the kids, both “her
oes” 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.

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, you’ll start remembering your summer holidays as a kid.

It’s a fairly long (1110 pages, or thereabouts), but engrossing story that I’ve read on more than one occasion, and each time I’m 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

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