King's IT displays some of finest character development that I've ever seen in any book by any author. If the tale seems overly long to you, this reveals a truth about both your limits and your patience as a reader. And while I have no desire to reread that tale again any time soon, I am glad that I experienced the tale when I did (I was in my late 30s, instead of being in junior high school when most of my other friends were reading the tale and having sleepless nights because of how scary the tale is in certain chapters.)