Upon finishing It, I always feel as if I've said goodbye to an old friend, one I only see every few years. I'm a bit sad, but mostly I'm happy that I got to spend what time I did with him (IT). He isn't perfect. He can be quite odd at times, but he's mostly fun to be around. I feel the need to defend him when people start downing on him, and to deride him when I catch him screwing up. I do not condone everything he does, but for the most part, he's a good dude, if a little long winded. I can see why some people can't stand to be around him, yet he reminds me what it was like to be a kid, to be free, to wield that certain magic adults seem to forget how to use. So yes, until next time, I will miss my friend.
I understand why people become upset, and even enraged, at the scene which concludes the children's story of this book. Eleven years old is far too damn young for such activity. I agree. It's hard for even me to read. But, and this is a mighty large "but", I understand the necessity of Bev's actions. To break It's spell on them, the loser's club had to grow up, they had to "come of age" quickly, and the scene goes down the way it does. Like I said, I don't enjoy or condone the scene, but I understand it.
Next, I'm honestly quite shocked that so many people believe that It's final form is a spider. It's stated over and over again that It's final form is actually the deadlights, that cold ball of orange light cast off at the edge of oblivion. The spider is only the form in which It has been caught in. Even in It's final chapter, It thinks about how stupid it was to trap itself in a physical form, and how that action would be its downfall. I don't think that half the people who have reviewed this book on Amazon and Goodreads actually finished the novel. I believe most of them watched the movie and called it enough.
Now on to the last complaint most people have with this book. Itties directly into the Dark Tower series. You have mentions of the Beam and the Wheel, and, of course, you have the Turtle. If you have not read the Dark Tower series, all of this shit will go right over your head. I feel for ya, I do. King's a jerk (a talented jerk, mind you) for doing such. I think Stephen King firmly believes every person who reads his work will either eventually reread every novel, or read them in chronological order.
Final bit of business; conspiracy theory time. As far as I know, no one else has come across these things, so I could be on to something, or completely fucking insane. Dig on this:
Pennywise first introduces himself to Georgie as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, or, if you will, Mr. Bob Gray. The "grays" are King's aliens. The aliens in The Tommyknockers are not called Grays, but we're in the King verse and everything comes together eventually. The Grays are finally called as much inDreamcatcher. In the chapter The Smokehouse in It, Ritchie and Mike see It crash land from somewhere. Not outer space, they feel, but somewhere else. In The Tommyknockers andDreamcatcher, King never tells us where the Grays came from. So here's my theory. The Grays are the Old Ones from the Dark Tower series. King never discusses the Old Ones other than to say that they were a technologically advanced race of beings. Once again, I may be wrong, but it's something worth considering.
(show spoiler)
In summation: It was, is, and probably always will be my favorite Stephen King novel. No matter what problems it may have, it is a terrific accomplishment, and no amount of time will change that. Bill, Ben, Bev, Mike, Ritchie, Eddie, and even you Stan, I miss you already. Beep, beep, losers. Love, E.
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