There’s a secret hidden under the town of Derry—a horrible monster witnessed by a few and most only in their last moments of life. Appearing as a nightmarish creature, he is most commonly recognised in the form of the clown, Pennywise. Derry is where he haunts; Derry is what he keeps, and even those that leave return to him. 

There’s a secret hidden under the town of Derry—a horrible monster witnessed by a few and most only in their last moments of life. Appearing as a nightmarish creature, he is most commonly recognised in the form of the clown, Pennywise. Derry is where he haunts; Derry is what he keeps, and even those that leave return to him. 

In 1957, George Denbrough is viciously murdered—soon after, seven children find themselves haunted by their killer. The ghost of his dead brother haunts Bill Denbrough. Ben Hanscom is chased by a mummy. A diseased pedophilic hobo chases Eddie Kaspbrak. Beverly Marsh hears voices from her drain where blood bubbles up to drench her. A giant bird chases Mike Hanlon. Stan Uris is chased by drowned children, and Ritchie is pulled into haunting images of the past. 

The Losers Club forms a group to defeat Pennywise. Twenty-seven years later, they return when the monster, believed to have been vanquished in their forgotten childhood, returns. Working together across past and present, these heroes must combat a force as menacing as a demon who controls Derry like a god. 

Only they can beat Pennywise. But their victory will be costly, and not all will escape the sewers beneath Derry. Some will float down there forever. Some will never leave. They all float down there. 

It is my first real foray into the world of literary horror, and it was a privilege to take these first steps into unexplored literature through the writings of Stephen King, who truly is a master of horror. There were so many times during my reading of this book that I would go to bed, and be terrified of waking up to see the face of a grinning cannibalistic clown in the dark (thankfully, I was mainly woken up by Wig-Wam’s ‘Do You Want to Taste It’, which is my alarm sound). 

In terms of providing ambience, King excels at making me feel the fear and terror of children, later adults, trapped in a nightmare of slaughter and bullying. Every time one of The Losers had an encounter with Pennywise, I felt my heart start to race, and King builds tension. The Master of Modern Horror makes each encounter feel like a semi-lucent dream, where your actions are slow and the terror haunting you has all the speed, strength, and brutality you find lacking. 

Truly, King proved to me in a single novel that he was well deserving of his title—The Master of Horror. 

Knowing that King based much of Derry on his trips to the city, close to where he lives in Bangor, Maine, made the author’s vision of the small town feel so real and actual. Few authors have managed to demonstrate their vision of their world holistically through words alone. King easily makes that cut. 

From the green fields and hidden base of The Losers in The Barrens to The Canal to the Gravel Pits, it may be partly based in reality, but King turns his words into a living world where each corner feels real and populated. When the children return as adults, there is also a fantastic sense of growth and change reflected in how America slowly became more commercialised in that period. So does Derry reflect that change in attitude as commercialism takes over the States and the world? 

King clearly cares about crafting the world; not only do his settings feel real, but his characters do, too. The Losers vividly reflects this vision of the late 1950s and post-segregation racism. Mike Hanlon, in particular, is given a fantastic story of growth, going from the bullied black kid loathed by the ignorant lot of Henry Bowers and his gang of bullies to the very heart and soul of The Losers Club. 

The steady integration of open queerness in America and the low-level hostility presented to that community, which feels marvelously done. I feel as though King is not just a master of Horror but also a master of Hate, for he so easily creates characters full of vile bigotry. 

King’s fundamental failings for me come in the format of his story. Whilst the parallels between the modern and past iterations of The Losers Club might be enjoyed by some, I was not one of them. This only served to draw out the story and lessen the impact of the 1957 narrative. Within the first 100 pages, we know perfectly well which Losers were alive in 1985 and which were not. There are also several smaller reveals about their early encounters with Penntwise, which removes some of the tension from the scenes. 

By dividing the narrative, King gives characters a level of plot armour so we know who will survive Pennywise and who won’t. The idea of The Losers having lost their memory after leaving Derry makes for an interesting concept. Still, it does little to build on their characters since they seem to immediately inhabit the same roles they had in  ’57, barring a few minor changes. 

Above all, my chief complaint against the novel is King’s treatment of women- particularly Beverly. I was not a fan of how King constantly made her a victim, placing her in positions where she was the victim of abuse. This is even though she faces off with Pennywise the same as the others – she is no less brave, but she is discriminated against due to her sex. 

Some of you may have heard of a particular scene later in the book – for those who haven’t looked it up, it makes no sense. 

King’s weakness seems to be making strong women who haven’t suffered some form of abuse. Even his side characters, who are women, are either characters who are completely dismised, grossly incompetent, or downright dislikeable. Perhaps it’s more reflective of the times King was writing than King himself as a writer, but I felt this was an overwhelming failure for the novel. 

Overall, this is an enjoyable read if you’re searching for horror. I might recommend looking elsewhere if you’re searching for something more profound. King’s writing is enchanting, but his limitations curse him as much as any author. I hope, as I continue down this road of reading King, I will see the author’s change in perspective on women and those not of a heterosexual nature. I’ll be honest, I have more hope in this than having an end to nightmares about ghoulish clowns. 

It is a terrifying tale of child dismemberment which will leave you terrified of falling asleep or walking too close to a drain. For those in need of a good scare, this it It!

8.5 out of 10.