IT by Stephen King

It by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - dipped in and out over 6 days

Pages - 912

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Blurb from Amazon

To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It is the children who see - and feel - what makes the small town of Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurks, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reaches up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .

Time passes and the children grow up, move away and forget. Until they are called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirs and coils in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.


My Review

This is a re read for me, I read it as a kid (yes I had no place reading such a book at a young age but it began my love of reading and horror), re read it seven years ago and again in prep for the new movie. There is a killer in Derry Main, supernatural and targeting kids, killing them in vicious and terrifying ways. With the killing of young Georgie it kicks starts something IT (the monster) could never have foreseen. Georgie's brother Bill and his friends go on a journey of terror and with a beautiful childlike innocence to confront IT and make a pact for the future, if IT comes back they will too.

The book is split over two timelines, back in the 50s when it all first happens and in the 80s (present day) where the group are now adults and called upon from their pact they made when kids. The killer takes the form of many, Pennywise the clown being one of the most that we readers and fans of the movie know best. But IT has many forms and has gone unchallenged for a long long time. Bill, Ben, Eddie, Bev, Stan, Mike & Ritchie are brought together in friendship and fear to form the Losers Club, they are uniting against the local thug and unknowingly IT. A tale that covers so so much, yes it is a horror and yes there are some claustrophobic gut churning moments of absolute terror but there is also so much more. Friendship, loyalty, innocence, love, racism, marriage, violence, abuse, supernatural and that is just scratching the surface. I loved this book as a kid although I was caught up in the horror side of it. As an adult the other themes really stand out, the racism is horrific and really strong through a huge portion of the book.

I only got to read this in snippets as I have had work and other things on, but I found myself sitting at 3am not realizing how many hours had passed as you just get absorbed into the story. I know some folk have mixed views on how the book turns and wraps up, I think because this was pretty much one of the first books I ever read it will always have that power for me. Clowns are particularly frightening for so many folk, I never had issues with them but Pennywise is indeed something else. I have this book in hardback and ebook and it is absolutely a keeper for me, master King has long been one of my favourite authors and I still have a few of his I haven't gotten to yet. 5/5 for me this time, absolutely not for the faint hearted of easily offended and it is a huge book at almost 1000 pages, if you like King or horror I think you will love this one!

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They Move Below by Karl Drinkwater

They Move Below: & Other Dark Tales by Karl Drinkwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 398

Publisher - Organic Apocalypse

Blurb from Goodreads

Horror lives in the shadows.

It exists under the earth’s surface in ancient caves; below the vast sea’s undulating waves; under dense forest cover; within a storm’s thick, rolling clouds; downstairs in our homes, when we hear the knife drawer rattle in the night. Even our minds and bodies harbour the alien under the skin, the childhood nightmares in our subconscious.

In this collection of sixteen tales Karl Drinkwater sews flesh onto the bones of our worst fears whilst revisiting some of horror’s classic settings, such as the teen party, the boat in trouble, the thing in the cellar, the haunted museum, the ghost in the machine, and the urban legends that come true. No-one is safe. Darkness hides things, no matter how much we strain our eyes. And sometimes those things are looking back at us.


My Review

I never pick up short stories as a first choice, it is very rare I like them although master King is always the exception. However, I read a Drinkwater novella before, a few years ago, and as he is horror/spooky this collection fits perfectly for my October reads so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Sixteen creepy short stories that will have the hair on the back of your neck standing, holding your breath and listening out for things that go bump in the night. I didn't love all sixteen, one or two I found only ok however the majority of them left me creeped out and back to how I felt back in the days when I first read horror. I love when an author recommends or mentions another author's work within a story, he did this with Koontz and I bought the book as I want to know the rest of the tale.

I would be had pushed to pick a favourite however of the lot I think "Just Telling Stories" two 'friends' in a hotel room freaking each other with scary tales which is something we used to do as kids. And "Claws Truth Forebear" a story that will have you feeling claustrophobic whilst the characters struggle through enclosed spaces and examining the consequences of ones actions. Some of the others are quite dark too but these two stuck out for me.

Drinkwater has the knack of creating a tense and terrifying atmosphere that draws in the readers and creeps them out almost from the get go. Some of the stories are only a handful of pages long whilst others have a bit more meat. I have read this author before and I will read him again, if you like a bit of freak and a good scare this is the book for you, 4/5 for me this time.

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Possession by Peter James

Possession by Peter James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 290

Publisher - Orion

Blurb from Goodreads

Fabian's mother doesn't believe the police when they inform her that he died in a car crash. She keeps seeing him. Desperately she consults a medium who freezes into petrified silence because it's not her imagination. Fabian really wants to return.


My review

The tale opens with Fabian and his friends packing up the car and a fairly descriptive capture of the lead up to and the actual crash. Then the story's main character is Alex, Fabians mother who is sure the police have it wrong, her son isn't dead, she saw him that morning. But as the days go on, Alex knows that Fabian has died but he is still here. In the house, around Alex, making his presence known, Alex needs to find out how to make it stop or help her son.

This is a spooky wee book, Alex's friend is bizarre to say the least and adds to the spooky feel of the book. The mediums in the book only add to the spooky feel & the more Alexs pursues the more she realises she didn't really know her son at all.

A dark tale of one mothers loss, a haunting, possession and the occult. It is spooky and draws you in, you want to know is Fabian really haunting his mother and just how much did mum actually know her son. There are a lot of questions left hanging I thought and it ended fairly suddenly, I have read this author before and will read him again 3/5 for me.

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ARR - A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - WYR WhereverYouRoam Publishing

Pages - 306

Blurb from Goodreads

Take a journey into Perfect, a town that is anything but...

Violet Brown didn’t want to live in a place that was perfect. How would she ever survive? She’d have to be neat and tidy, would definitely have to brush her hair. She’d have to be perfect and that was boring.

But when her dad is offered the best job an optician can get, to fix a strange problem in this odd little town, Violet has to obey. That’s the thing with parents, they only ever did what they wanted!

From the beginning Violet hates her new home, it’s too clean, the people are too friendly, everything is just too nice...

When her Mam begins to act a little strange, her Dad disappears on a mysterious business trip without telling a soul, she almost gets expelled from school for picking up a pencil without permission and starts hearing voices in her head, Violet thinks she’s going mad.

Until one day she meets BOY..



My Review


Violet is not happy, she is 10 years old and moving to a new town, a new home and new friends. Like any other young girl, she has decided she will hate it. However once she gets there the town is perfect, the people are perfect and soon she notices her parents are changing. Soon Violet is getting into trouble at school, her dad has mysteriously disappeared on a trip and something about this town is just too perfect. Violet meets a new friend called Boy who actually seems to understand Violet and together they are going to find out whats really happening in Perfect!

I wasn't too sure how I would feel about this story as the main character is a pre teen and it is seemingly at a younger audience. However there is much about this story adults can enjoy and although some of it is sweet and innocent there is some dark, scary moments dotted throughout. It is a nice read, goes at a good pace and as we are introduced to more of the characters and happenings of Perfect the adventure draws you in. There are moments of suspense, mild horror, and a few moments I actually held my breath and had to keep reading to find out what happens next.

I found it hard to put the book down, it reminded me of when I was a kid and discovering Roald Dahl and The BFG, not in content but in the way it is written and captures your imagination. Definitely a recommended read for those among us who are still kids at heart, likes fantasy, crime and adventure and just wanting to read something a bit different. 4/5 for me this time and I would definitely read this author again. Thank you so much to Helena for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. And for letting me enjoy a story in a way I haven't done since I was a youngster.

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