Stephen King: Could his new book Later be the next IT?

Stephen King is returning to supernatural crime with his new book, Later which will be released in March of next year. Could this be the next IT for the bestselling author?

Stephen King announced his upcoming book, Later on Twitter yesterday. The tagline for the story, “Only the dead have no secrets,” echoes many past works from the writer.

While the cover art is reminiscent of old pulp fiction paperbacks, the novel from Hard Case Crime is anything but a noir thriller. Later has all the elements that fans have come to expect from a work by King.

His publisher asserts that there are similar notes in the new tale that harken back to one of his top sellers, IT. Here is what we know about the plot, thus far.

• The story centers around a young boy named Jamie Conklin who has psychic abilities that make him different from other children.
• He becomes involved in the pursuit of a murderer when an NYPD detective asks for his help.
• Jamie is confronted by unimaginable evil and has to summon all of his strength to combat the enemy.
• There is a loss of innocence that he can never regain because he has seen too much and experienced more than someone of his age.

It becomes clear that Later contains components from other successful Stephen King stories. Firestarter, The Shining, Doctor Sleep and IT all deal with children that are exceptional and are called upon to defeat dark forces.

As with all King works, it will only be a matter of time after his new novel is released in March 2021, that it will probably be optioned by a production company.

What are some of your favorite Stephen King books? Let us know in the comments.