My Reservation about It

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HollyGolightly

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
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Heart of the South
I remember feeling that way long ago back in 1987 when I first read IT. But after reading many, many other Stephen King novels, I feel like this is his way. And it's no longer surprising to me that he often leans towards SciFi-ish stuff. That ending left more open for later novels, and it really made sense to me, after some years of thought. But I get where you're coming from. And I agree with Autumn - I could read about those characters everyday and not get bored. Loved them all.
 

Robert Gray

Well-Known Member
Don't get me wrong - I like It a great deal. It's a fabulous ride. But am I alone in thinking the destination is a bit rubbish?
A cosmic spider?
Come on, Uncle Steve!

I don't know if you are alone, but I doubt there are very many of you. I don't think the end is rubbish at all. You do know that it isn't actually a
spider
either right? All forms that It takes are drawn from the minds of those that view it. That was merely the closest shape the Losers could envision.
 

Neil W

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2008
1,203
2,592
Isle of Wight UK
Pennywise
the
clown
was terrifying, but even though I'm
an arachnophobe
, and even though I understand that the
cosmic spider
is merely
the nearest approximation to an entity which only partially exists in our reality
, I still found it a bit lame. Loved getting to that point, though, and also what followed.

Playing with spoilertags is fun, too...
 

Robert Gray

Well-Known Member
I still found it a bit lame. Loved getting to that point, though, and also what followed. Playing with spoilertags is fun, too...

Different strokes for different folks I guess. What, pray tell, would you have had It be in the final confrontation? Since you don't comment on the Deadlights or the Turtle, I take it you don't have a problem with the cosmic scale of things. It sounds like you just aren't scared of the final physical form the monster takes. Or is it the entire metaphysical aspect of the story that seems "lame" to you? I am not attacking you personally. Rather, I am seeking clarification. A critique should be specific and supported. There is a difference between a critique and a heckle. A critic states his/her opinion and supports it. A heckler just shouts insults from the cheap seats. Saying it is "lame" doesn't tell us anything other than you didn't like it. If you don't have anything to support why you don't like that ending, can you tell us why we should consider you important enough that your preference matters?

I often come off hard on critics. This isn't a defensive or knee-jerk response. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think if you take the time to show us the "color of your thoughts" as Sai King would say, there should be some meat and potatoes to them. Critics must stand ready to get a critique or two themselves. We live by the commentary and die by the commentary. For my own part, I loved every part of the novel. It is an uplifting story which reintroduces the reader to childhood in a very visceral and honest way. The cosmic aspect of the tale had to be in there. Sai King has never taken the easy way out. He shows you the monster behind the door. Some authors merely let you hear it scratching and howling beyond (the easy way out), some crack the door just enough to give you a peek (a little bolder), and some fling that door open wide. Even if you personally just don't find the final, physical form that scary, you have to respect the sincerity and courage in the writing.
 

Neil W

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2008
1,203
2,592
Isle of Wight UK
It is perhaps easier to explain what I mean by saying what it isn't (or what it appeared to me that it wasn't).

It never struck me as horrifying. It was malicious, murderous, and generally ill-disposed to us ordinary folks, but I never found it even slightly horrifying (as opposed to the horrific drain-dwelling manifestation as embodied on screen by Tim Curry) perhaps because, as delivered on the page, it was altogether too
alien
and remote for me to identify with it as a threat. There seemed to be an absence of physicality in the final manifestation, which meant that it wan't visceral.
 

prufrock21

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2011
2,956
12,657
The Caribbean
Different strokes for different folks I guess. What, pray tell, would you have had It be in the final confrontation? Since you don't comment on the Deadlights or the Turtle, I take it you don't have a problem with the cosmic scale of things. It sounds like you just aren't scared of the final physical form the monster takes. Or is it the entire metaphysical aspect of the story that seems "lame" to you? I am not attacking you personally. Rather, I am seeking clarification. A critique should be specific and supported. There is a difference between a critique and a heckle. A critic states his/her opinion and supports it. A heckler just shouts insults from the cheap seats. Saying it is "lame" doesn't tell us anything other than you didn't like it. If you don't have anything to support why you don't like that ending, can you tell us why we should consider you important enough that your preference matters.

No doubt the time that hecklers will spend in Clive Barker's charnel house will be a lengthy one.
 
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Neil W

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2008
1,203
2,592
Isle of Wight UK
you tell us why we should consider you important enough that your preference matters?
I missed this. "Important" is a difficult one to justify, and I had no idea I would ever be called to account as regards my importance. I suppose I'm not important at all, although my family, friends, work colleagues and various others might disagree to greater or lesser extents. How do you measure importance? If you measure it by what you leave behind, I will leave 2 kids who have grown up into fine adults, assorted fiction (none published), assorted plays (3 performed), assorted paintings and drawings (some of which hang on walls), assorted songs (some of which are tolerable demos). The paintings are amateurish, the writing and songs (though not my performance of the latter) are sometimes quite good. I've done a bit of charitable work here and there - both work-wise (audit/accounts for various local charities on a pro-bono basis) and on stage (fund raisers for local theatre, medical charity etc.) Oh - and, I hope, I will leave happy memories with those who know me.

But I haven't affected global economies or committed mass murders or sold out worldwide concert tours or discovered a cure for the common cold so I guess, in the overall scheme of things, I'm forced to admit that I am, indeed, not important at all. Any more than any of us is.

But thank you for raising the matter so gracefully.