It is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1986. It is one of his longest at 1138 pages. Like many of his earlier novels it was published by Viking. Considered one of King's most visceral, graphic works, It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, the power of a unified group, childhood trauma and the ugliness lurking behind a happy, small-town façade, and minor themes would include racism and, to a lesser extent, homophobia.
The novel is a story of seven friends from the town of Derry, Maine, and is told with the narrative alternating between two different time periods. The novel's plot involves a the battle between a goru of childhood friends and a monstrous clown named Pennywise that lures children near sewer grates so that he can drag them into the sewer and devour them alive.