Young Bill Denbrough first becomes aware of the strange creature that is "It" when he loses his little brother Georgie in 1958. Bill sent Georgie out to play in the rain with a wax-sealed paper boat he made for him, but Georgie never makes it back home. "It" tricked the little boy, appearing at first as a friendly clown, Pennywise. Bill knows something isn't right about his brother's death.

That summer, he and his school friends hang out in The Barrens, a marshy area near the river that runs through town. His friends start to notice the strange disappearances of other children in town, too. The seven pals swear to help Bill avenge his brother's death. Being eleven, though, they don't have much idea how to do this, but they know It is evil and must be stopped.

It seems to know something is afoot, too, because each of the children sees It, but never the same way. It tries to get to them one by one, to protect itself and to break up their powerful circle of seven, that good ole magical number. To Bevvie, the only girl, It attacks her in the form of her abusive father. To the others, it appears in turn as a creepy leper, a mummy, a giant eye from a B movie, a werewolf, etc. -- whatever each child is most afraid of at the time.

While It is going about It's business, life goes on in Derry, Maine. Bullies bother our heroes, known as The Losers. Eddie has to deal with his hypochondriac mother and learns that adults don't always tell the truth. Bill has to deal with his parents' coldness towards him since Georgie's death. Bevvie has to come home to face a crazy father and an indifferent mother. Ben is overweight and wears heavy, baggy clothes to hide it, even in the heat of summer. Mikey is black and still facing prejudice in the local community. Stan is a quieter boy, content to study birds for his scout group most of the time.

Eventually the children come up with a plan, and go after It. But did they conquer the beast at last, and save Derry from this cycle of murder that repeats itself every 30 years or so? Even they are not sure. Memories fade with time.

Fast forward with Stephen King to 1985, when Mikey, the only Loser to stay in Derry, phones each of his old friends one at a time, telling them that indeed that old killing spree has begun again. He found a photo of Georgie at the scene of the last death! Oddly, the friends had pretty much forgotten everything, including each other. Only Mike, who stayed local, remembers it all, has written it all down for posterity. He reminds them all of their oath to avenge Georgie. Will they come back to Derry and fulfill that sworn vow?

It's a timeless battle of good versus evil, and the themes that run throughout the book apply to all of us. The hard lessons of growing up, that magic can work if you believe hard enough that it will (for instance, Eddie's asthma aspirator becomes battery acid when battling Richie's evil eye monster), that friendship bonds seem so tight when you're a kid but tend to fall away as you get older.

As if the beginning of the story wasn't sci-fi & horror themed enough for you, the end certainly takes it a step further. You will read things you can't find in the film version of the story, that's for sure! Four years in the making (1981-1985), King has crafted a book that will still be talked about generations from now. Pick up a copy to see if the circle of seven friends gets back together, and if the monstrosity in the sewers of Derry is once and for all finished off. Then again, as King's fans know well, it's never really over in Derry, Maine!

Recommended: Yes