Status
Checked out
Due 24-04-2022
Call number
Genres
Publication
Hodder & Stoughton (2014), 385 pages
Description
"In a small New England town over half a century ago, a boy is playing with his new toy soldiers in the dirt in front of his house when a shadow falls over him. He looks up to see a striking man, the new minister, Jamie learns later, who with his beautiful wife, will transform the church and the town. The men and boys are a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls, with the Reverend Jacobs--including Jamie's sisters and mother. Then tragedy strikes, and this charismatic preacher curses God, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from age 13, he plays in bands across the country, running from his own family tragedies, losing one job after another when his addictions get the better of him. Decades later, sober and living a decent life, he and Reverend Charles Jacobs meet again in a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and the many terrifying meanings of Revival are revealed. King imbues this spectacularly rich and dark novel with everything he knows about music, addiction, and religious fanaticism, and every nightmare we ever had about death. This is a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe"--… (more)
Media reviews
The last part of the book moves from the raw emotion about family, love, aging and lost opportunity — all of it written with unusual candor, even for Mr. King — to the horror legacy of those names to whom the book is dedicated.
...veteran yarn spinner King continues to point out the unspeakably spooky weirdness that lies on the fringes of ordinary life.
User reviews
LibraryThing member sturlington
Throughout his life, Jamie Morton has repeatedly encountered the Reverend Charles Jacobs and been drawn into his mysterious experiments with electricity, but toward the end of Jacobs' life he coerces Jamie into participating into the ultimate--and most dangerous--of experiments.
Mr. King, you had me
I see many reviews complaining that this book isn't scary enough or that not much happens, but these are the novel's strength. Revival is a slow burn, not a wild ride. King takes his time developing his characters, shadowing Jacobs and Jamie across both their lifetimes. Jamie is a compelling character, a musician who becomes addicted to heroin and then is able to start over again (with the help of Jacobs' healing electricity). Jacobs is more a cipher; we are shown just enough of him to like him, to understand his pain and grief when he experiences a horrific tragedy, and to feel profoundly disturbed by him and his obsessions as he pops up again and again in Jamie's life. Sure, there are no scares and very little gore for the bulk of the novel, but that lead-up only makes the endingeven more powerful a mindfuck .
And if you think this book isn't scary, I can only assume that you haven't spent a lot of time contemplating your own mortality. This book didn't make me jump or want to keep the lights on at night, no. But it really shook me, on an existential level. If the ideas expressed in Revival are the ideas that run through Mr. King's mind when he can't sleep at three in the morning, I can only be glad I'm not him.He's not holding out much hope for a happy ending; the epilogue is positively fatalistic. What are we readers supposed to do with that? The way Revival has infected my brain is much more of an achievement than any cheap scare could ever be.
Finally, I have to congratulate Mr. King on this love letter to his influences in the horror genre. He has paid homage to and built on ideas introduced in Frankenstein, Moby Dick, the stories of Shirley Jackson and H.P. Lovecraft, and The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. All in all, this was a terrific, and profoundly disturbing, read.
Read in 2014.
Mr. King, you had me
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at hello. The opening three paragraphs of Revival are among the best openings to a novel that I have read in a long time, and I was immediately hooked. The book doesn't disappoint. I feel safe in saying that this is the best of King's novels in recent years. At 403 pages, it's also one of his shortest books, and I think the shorter length showcases a maturity of storytelling. I see many reviews complaining that this book isn't scary enough or that not much happens, but these are the novel's strength. Revival is a slow burn, not a wild ride. King takes his time developing his characters, shadowing Jacobs and Jamie across both their lifetimes. Jamie is a compelling character, a musician who becomes addicted to heroin and then is able to start over again (with the help of Jacobs' healing electricity). Jacobs is more a cipher; we are shown just enough of him to like him, to understand his pain and grief when he experiences a horrific tragedy, and to feel profoundly disturbed by him and his obsessions as he pops up again and again in Jamie's life. Sure, there are no scares and very little gore for the bulk of the novel, but that lead-up only makes the ending
And if you think this book isn't scary, I can only assume that you haven't spent a lot of time contemplating your own mortality. This book didn't make me jump or want to keep the lights on at night, no. But it really shook me, on an existential level. If the ideas expressed in Revival are the ideas that run through Mr. King's mind when he can't sleep at three in the morning, I can only be glad I'm not him.
Finally, I have to congratulate Mr. King on this love letter to his influences in the horror genre. He has paid homage to and built on ideas introduced in Frankenstein, Moby Dick, the stories of Shirley Jackson and H.P. Lovecraft, and The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. All in all, this was a terrific, and profoundly disturbing, read.
Read in 2014.
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LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
King went for the slow, literary burn with this one, building to a crescendo in good Gothic horror style. There's a Frankenstein comparison here that makes for a clever thematic misdirect; the Lovecraftian essence to which we should be paying more attention is a persuasive undertow to most of the
The build-up of consequences throughout were creepy as hell, (although I belatedly realised that Jamie Morton's own fugues, in which he declares 'Something happened' were never revisited; that feels like a missed opportunity) but the pay-off of this book is the ending, which got under my skin in ways that nothing has since Gage Creed ran across the lawn… not just the imagery, but the inevitability. The 'After Effects' chapter is really bleak… King has clearly decided his readers have grown up, and so we get the Full Dark, No Stars treatment.
It's both intriguing and frustrating to me that the protagonist and the antagonist only meet five times; each meeting is charged, but the context of Charlie Jacobs' life is left to the reader to decode in between; his character at point A is likeable (if possessed of a foreshadowing intensity)… at point B he has begun his descent into dark obsession, contempt for the faithful, someone who is amenable to harming others if it advances his cause, or at least willing to use false logic to appease his conscience. Point A and point B fascinate me, or at least the journey he underwent between them… yet it is the addiction, downward spiral, recovery and later life of Jamie Morton that we, the reader, follows in detail. And it feels a lot like Dan Torrence's drinking & recovery years from Dr. Sleep - well evoked, but recently visited. Then again, the time spent kicking around Jamie Morton's slightly shaky reality is the perfect counterpoint to Jacobs' undoing of it.
In conclusion: steer clear of the secret electricity, people. That stuff is bad juju.
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book, with King's matter-of-fact melding of the ordinary with the horrifying, as skilful as always. Charlie Jacobs' goal was so much grander than I expected, and realising what he was doing really amplified the madness of his quest.The build-up of consequences throughout were creepy as hell, (although I belatedly realised that Jamie Morton's own fugues, in which he declares 'Something happened' were never revisited; that feels like a missed opportunity) but the pay-off of this book is the ending, which got under my skin in ways that nothing has since Gage Creed ran across the lawn… not just the imagery, but the inevitability. The 'After Effects' chapter is really bleak… King has clearly decided his readers have grown up, and so we get the Full Dark, No Stars treatment.
It's both intriguing and frustrating to me that the protagonist and the antagonist only meet five times; each meeting is charged, but the context of Charlie Jacobs' life is left to the reader to decode in between; his character at point A is likeable (if possessed of a foreshadowing intensity)… at point B he has begun his descent into dark obsession, contempt for the faithful, someone who is amenable to harming others if it advances his cause, or at least willing to use false logic to appease his conscience. Point A and point B fascinate me, or at least the journey he underwent between them… yet it is the addiction, downward spiral, recovery and later life of Jamie Morton that we, the reader, follows in detail. And it feels a lot like Dan Torrence's drinking & recovery years from Dr. Sleep - well evoked, but recently visited. Then again, the time spent kicking around Jamie Morton's slightly shaky reality is the perfect counterpoint to Jacobs' undoing of it.
In conclusion: steer clear of the secret electricity, people. That stuff is bad juju.
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LibraryThing member Edward.Lorn
I'm lost. Destroyed. Utterly exhausted. I don't think a work of fiction has ever affected me so entirely. I was there. And I wish I hadn't been, yet I do not regret reading it.
Forget Cujo and Pet Sematary, or any of his other dark and dreary novels. Revival is Stephen King's bleakest work to date.
The title of this novel is literal in several ways. It's a revival of old school King, the King many of us miss. It's about numerous revivals, but naming those would be spoilers, and I refuse to spoil anything about this book. And, last but not least, It has a tent revival within its pages. But I cannot feel as if something inside me has died. Like a fire has been extinguished. I'm sure this feeling will pass. At least I hope it will.
The mastery of language showcased in Revival is simply breathtaking. There are hundreds of quotable lines herein, but one of my personal favorites is quite simple. "Home is where they want you to stay longer." And it's funny, folks, because, for the first time in my life, I wanted a Stephen King book to be longer, so that quote is damn apt. I wanted more time with Jaime before the final descent into darkness. I wanted him to have more time period. Because I knew something terrible awaited this poor man. I wish Jaime Morton could unsee, could unfeel, everything he goes through. But the damage is irrevocable.
If you have any humanity, the ending of Revival will bother you deeply. It's not the final scene, it's not any one event, it's the concept. The idea. The unflinching finality. It's not an exclamation point or a question mark, but a precise period. Where many authors will leave the afterlife to the reader's imagination, Stephen King delivers on his promise. There is no what-if. He draws the conclusion in black detail, and you can only sit back, mouth agape, and swallow what he feeds you.
In summation: Revival is a creature born of despair. It nests inside you and breeds. It's insidious. I'm glad to be done with it, but wouldn't have missed the journey.
Forget Cujo and Pet Sematary, or any of his other dark and dreary novels. Revival is Stephen King's bleakest work to date.
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Mainly because it gives you hope. So much hope. And then it rips that hope, still beating, from your chest. The title of this novel is literal in several ways. It's a revival of old school King, the King many of us miss. It's about numerous revivals, but naming those would be spoilers, and I refuse to spoil anything about this book. And, last but not least, It has a tent revival within its pages. But I cannot feel as if something inside me has died. Like a fire has been extinguished. I'm sure this feeling will pass. At least I hope it will.
The mastery of language showcased in Revival is simply breathtaking. There are hundreds of quotable lines herein, but one of my personal favorites is quite simple. "Home is where they want you to stay longer." And it's funny, folks, because, for the first time in my life, I wanted a Stephen King book to be longer, so that quote is damn apt. I wanted more time with Jaime before the final descent into darkness. I wanted him to have more time period. Because I knew something terrible awaited this poor man. I wish Jaime Morton could unsee, could unfeel, everything he goes through. But the damage is irrevocable.
If you have any humanity, the ending of Revival will bother you deeply. It's not the final scene, it's not any one event, it's the concept. The idea. The unflinching finality. It's not an exclamation point or a question mark, but a precise period. Where many authors will leave the afterlife to the reader's imagination, Stephen King delivers on his promise. There is no what-if. He draws the conclusion in black detail, and you can only sit back, mouth agape, and swallow what he feeds you.
In summation: Revival is a creature born of despair. It nests inside you and breeds. It's insidious. I'm glad to be done with it, but wouldn't have missed the journey.
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LibraryThing member agarcia85257
Title - Revival
Author - Stephen King
Summary -
A shadow falls over young Jamie Morton as he is in his front yard in a sleepy small New England town. Blocking the sun is the new minister, Charles Jacobs. He is young and vibrant, and along with his wife and son, will change the face of this small New
Jamie, years later finds the banished preacher acting like a carny in a traveling fair. Jacobs is developing a machine, using electricity to heal and take photos of his customers. He soon returns to religion, using people's faith and his devices to perform miracles. But Jamie soon learns that Jacobs is after something altogether different.
But Jamie has his own hell to sort through. Drug addiction and lost love. A failure in life, with a debt owed to Charles Jacobs who cures him of his addiction with one of his devices. But Jamie knows first hand that Rev. Jacobs' miracles come with a price. A toll enacted on those he heals.
"...You can't see it. It's small and covered with ivy. The ivy is dead. She waits on the other side, above the broken city. Above the paper sky.'
Blood can't turn cold, not really, but mine seemed to. Something happened, I thought. Something happened, and Mother will be here soon.
'Who?' Jacobs asked. He took one of her hands. The half-smile was gone. 'Who waits?'
'Yes.' Her eyes stared into his. 'She.'
'Who? Astrid, who?'
She said nothing at first. Then her lips stretched in a terrible grin that showed every tooth in her head. 'Not the one you want..."
Now Jacobs has one last act. One final experiment and Jamie must be there. Because it isn't enough for Rev. Jacobs to heal the sick, now he must do more.
Review -
I came so close to giving Revival 5 stars but in the end I couldn't. Really, ant like creatures herding the dead about in the afterlife? King did much the same with the finale in "It", having a spider creature be the monster in the end. Revival, much like It, builds in suspense and terror until the end and then the payoff doesn't quite do it. But don't let that dissuade you. Because there is something very awesome about Revival. Something that took a few moments to click but once it was there. It was really there.
"...Once I heard him call it a piece of shit, a phrase I treasured then and still use now. When you want to feel better, call something a piece of shit. It usually works..."
There are not a lot of scary moments in Revival. There are not great buckets of blood and dead bodies piling up. No, what King brings here is a sense of unease. An underlying sense of terror that creeps up on through the reading. Like the shadows in the room that keep growing even though you know the light hasn't changed. King builds the character of Jamie Morton, you will live with him in his moments of triumph and his fall into despair. His friendship with the Rev. Jacobs and the realization that his old friend is not what he seems. Jamie sees the truth in the lie of Jacob's faith, the lie he was so ready to accept in his time of need. You will strap yourself to Jamie Morton and you will live his life with him.
"...One night, after some white boy sang something about how his baby left him and he felt so sad. Hector the Barber snorted and said, 'Shit, boys, that ain't the blues.'
'What do you mean, Grampa?' Ronnie asked.
'Blues is mean music. That boy sounded like he just peed the bed and he's afraid his mama might find out..."
Do you see it yet? Okay I'll keep it moving. The story of Jamie Morton is what is first in Revival. Rev. Jacobs, his rise in the church and his fall after the tragic death of his wife and child, his experiments with science and his return as a false minister, are secondary. It is Jamie and the holes in his own life that make him malleable for Jacobs to use when the time comes. It is Morton, his narrative, his fear and his betrayal. Morton, who sees beyond the door and understands that what Rev. Jacobs is trying to do with science, what he could not do with faith, will result in something far more horrifying than any of them can deal with.
Morton who drives the story. Character. Story. The darkness and evil come second to the story.
And just some really good writing.
This is old King. The emperor has tossed his new clothes away and reached deep into his closet for that shirt. You know the one. We all have one. The old torn up shirt. Its comfortable. Its worn. It reminds us of who and what we were. For Stephen King it is story and unpretentious writing.
The writing that made the novellas Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body so good. The writing that made The Stand and Salem's Lot and oh my freakin' God; The Shining the classics of what Horror once was.
Story and good writing. That is what Stephen King and he has returned to it. This is the Blues and its mean, really, really mean. King also adds some clever little moments. One of Jacob's patients, a woman named Mary who had a son called Victor. Mary Shelly and Victor Frankenstein. Cool and smooth and if you blink you will miss it.
Revival is also a tip of the hat and therefore I sort of have to forgive the ant creatures. Revival is an acknowledgement of the master who has gone before. The only one that is better than King at Horror. Better than Poe, better than Straub, just better.
Lovecraft.
The vision of the afterlife in Revival, the ant creatures, Mother, the old Gods; that is Lovecraft. It smells like it and tastes like it. So in that I do have to forgive.
Revival is good. It is very good. And it is my hope that King has returned to the old worn shirt that was true work and has left the emperor's new clothes aside.
A very good read.
Author - Stephen King
Summary -
A shadow falls over young Jamie Morton as he is in his front yard in a sleepy small New England town. Blocking the sun is the new minister, Charles Jacobs. He is young and vibrant, and along with his wife and son, will change the face of this small New
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England town. Everyone loves the new minister and his family. But one day tragedy strikes. A car accident horribly takes the lives of Rev. Charles Jacobs' wife and child. Despondent, he sermonizes, cursing God and mocking religion. The town sends him away.Jamie, years later finds the banished preacher acting like a carny in a traveling fair. Jacobs is developing a machine, using electricity to heal and take photos of his customers. He soon returns to religion, using people's faith and his devices to perform miracles. But Jamie soon learns that Jacobs is after something altogether different.
But Jamie has his own hell to sort through. Drug addiction and lost love. A failure in life, with a debt owed to Charles Jacobs who cures him of his addiction with one of his devices. But Jamie knows first hand that Rev. Jacobs' miracles come with a price. A toll enacted on those he heals.
"...You can't see it. It's small and covered with ivy. The ivy is dead. She waits on the other side, above the broken city. Above the paper sky.'
Blood can't turn cold, not really, but mine seemed to. Something happened, I thought. Something happened, and Mother will be here soon.
'Who?' Jacobs asked. He took one of her hands. The half-smile was gone. 'Who waits?'
'Yes.' Her eyes stared into his. 'She.'
'Who? Astrid, who?'
She said nothing at first. Then her lips stretched in a terrible grin that showed every tooth in her head. 'Not the one you want..."
Now Jacobs has one last act. One final experiment and Jamie must be there. Because it isn't enough for Rev. Jacobs to heal the sick, now he must do more.
Review -
I came so close to giving Revival 5 stars but in the end I couldn't. Really, ant like creatures herding the dead about in the afterlife? King did much the same with the finale in "It", having a spider creature be the monster in the end. Revival, much like It, builds in suspense and terror until the end and then the payoff doesn't quite do it. But don't let that dissuade you. Because there is something very awesome about Revival. Something that took a few moments to click but once it was there. It was really there.
"...Once I heard him call it a piece of shit, a phrase I treasured then and still use now. When you want to feel better, call something a piece of shit. It usually works..."
There are not a lot of scary moments in Revival. There are not great buckets of blood and dead bodies piling up. No, what King brings here is a sense of unease. An underlying sense of terror that creeps up on through the reading. Like the shadows in the room that keep growing even though you know the light hasn't changed. King builds the character of Jamie Morton, you will live with him in his moments of triumph and his fall into despair. His friendship with the Rev. Jacobs and the realization that his old friend is not what he seems. Jamie sees the truth in the lie of Jacob's faith, the lie he was so ready to accept in his time of need. You will strap yourself to Jamie Morton and you will live his life with him.
"...One night, after some white boy sang something about how his baby left him and he felt so sad. Hector the Barber snorted and said, 'Shit, boys, that ain't the blues.'
'What do you mean, Grampa?' Ronnie asked.
'Blues is mean music. That boy sounded like he just peed the bed and he's afraid his mama might find out..."
Do you see it yet? Okay I'll keep it moving. The story of Jamie Morton is what is first in Revival. Rev. Jacobs, his rise in the church and his fall after the tragic death of his wife and child, his experiments with science and his return as a false minister, are secondary. It is Jamie and the holes in his own life that make him malleable for Jacobs to use when the time comes. It is Morton, his narrative, his fear and his betrayal. Morton, who sees beyond the door and understands that what Rev. Jacobs is trying to do with science, what he could not do with faith, will result in something far more horrifying than any of them can deal with.
Morton who drives the story. Character. Story. The darkness and evil come second to the story.
And just some really good writing.
This is old King. The emperor has tossed his new clothes away and reached deep into his closet for that shirt. You know the one. We all have one. The old torn up shirt. Its comfortable. Its worn. It reminds us of who and what we were. For Stephen King it is story and unpretentious writing.
The writing that made the novellas Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body so good. The writing that made The Stand and Salem's Lot and oh my freakin' God; The Shining the classics of what Horror once was.
Story and good writing. That is what Stephen King and he has returned to it. This is the Blues and its mean, really, really mean. King also adds some clever little moments. One of Jacob's patients, a woman named Mary who had a son called Victor. Mary Shelly and Victor Frankenstein. Cool and smooth and if you blink you will miss it.
Revival is also a tip of the hat and therefore I sort of have to forgive the ant creatures. Revival is an acknowledgement of the master who has gone before. The only one that is better than King at Horror. Better than Poe, better than Straub, just better.
Lovecraft.
The vision of the afterlife in Revival, the ant creatures, Mother, the old Gods; that is Lovecraft. It smells like it and tastes like it. So in that I do have to forgive.
Revival is good. It is very good. And it is my hope that King has returned to the old worn shirt that was true work and has left the emperor's new clothes aside.
A very good read.
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LibraryThing member Mary6508
I love all books by Stephen King, so it's no surprise that I loved this one too. A weird twist on revivalist ministers, this kept me entertained all the way through. In true King fashion, it's beautifully written and appropriately scary.
LibraryThing member HungryMonster
This was fantastic and weird and scary (at times) but most of all it was entertaining and well written.
LibraryThing member NewLiz
Stephen King has hit another home run with “Revival”. The story follows Jamie Morton’s relationship with Charles Jacobs. But the story is about much more than their friendship; the story is about other relationships as well. The families and friends of these characters are woven throughout
Revival addresses the age old battle man wages to become God-like. Rather like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” there is a drive to go where only God should be allowed. King even uses Shelley’s catalyst, electricity, to stimulate his characters. Don’t misunderstand; there are no reanimated dead body parts. That would be far too easy for King. He goes a step further and shows the reader a different kind of horror. This is a subtle story where the scares are so underplayed at the beginning I wasn’t sure I should be frightened. However knowing the way King writes I thought I was prepared. I wasn’t.
There is a definite dig at religion in this story. Perhaps the author’s own experiences with religion leak through. I won’t second guess his motivations. I will say it works. Watching the deterioration of characters as they face demons that are overwhelming in their impact certainly gave me pause. What would I do? How would I feel? Of course King is good at putting his readers in the shaky shoes of his characters. He holds up the mirror we look into with trepidation.
Is “Revival” a horror story? Yes, but it is so much more. The characters are rich, the story comfortable except for those warning bumps in the road, and the ending leaves the reader thinking things CAN get worse.
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the tale, each playing a role and setting down a stepping stone to the finale. Even when you think someone has left the story he is apt to turn up again later on; not like “Pet Semetary” but in more concrete ways.Revival addresses the age old battle man wages to become God-like. Rather like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” there is a drive to go where only God should be allowed. King even uses Shelley’s catalyst, electricity, to stimulate his characters. Don’t misunderstand; there are no reanimated dead body parts. That would be far too easy for King. He goes a step further and shows the reader a different kind of horror. This is a subtle story where the scares are so underplayed at the beginning I wasn’t sure I should be frightened. However knowing the way King writes I thought I was prepared. I wasn’t.
There is a definite dig at religion in this story. Perhaps the author’s own experiences with religion leak through. I won’t second guess his motivations. I will say it works. Watching the deterioration of characters as they face demons that are overwhelming in their impact certainly gave me pause. What would I do? How would I feel? Of course King is good at putting his readers in the shaky shoes of his characters. He holds up the mirror we look into with trepidation.
Is “Revival” a horror story? Yes, but it is so much more. The characters are rich, the story comfortable except for those warning bumps in the road, and the ending leaves the reader thinking things CAN get worse.
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LibraryThing member NPJacobsen
I have read a lot of Stephen King novels in my day. I have become accustomed to them starting slowly with his character developments and back stories setting the stage for the meat of the story. Sometimes they seem rather mundane to me, but Mr. King usually rewards the patient reader. In "Revival,"
Documenting his encounters with the Reverend Charles Jacobs, and in doing so telling his life story, Jamie Morton strives to get the story down in his waning years to inform the un-informed (we the constant reader) of things great and small regarding his interactions with the man referred to as his "fifth business." Starting in 1962 at age six, Jamie's dealings with Charles Jacobs are well documented. Along the way, we see Jamie grow through his teenage years, into adulthood, and on to his twilight years, spanning five decades.
Jamie tells of the time when Charles Jacobs was his pastor, Jacob's study of electricity and the healing of Jamie's brother, Jacob's fall from grace with the "terrible sermon," and the pastor's banishment from their church. In a normal life, most people would not have anything else to say about their ex-pastor. Stephen King does not write about normal lives, however. Jacob's pops into and out of Jamie's live several times, each time becoming a more bizarre encounter than the last and covering a good part of the United States. The climax takes place in the same Maine town where it all began, and has haunted Jamie to an extent to encourage him to tell the entire story. But just when I thought the bizarre elements to his story were complete, the ending drops a few more on the reader.
Though I do not agree with the vision of the events depicted in the climax, I realize that is not important in my liking or dis-liking the story. It is, after all, fiction and Stephen King can tell some whoppers. I found the build up to the climax entertaining as well, seeing Jamie as a flawed human being struggling with his demons, only to find worse ones in his final encounter with Pastor Charles. I have enjoyed most of the Stephen King novels I have read, and this is no exception. The ending was meant to shock the reader and had the desired effect on me. If you are a fan of Stephen King, or of the bizarre in general, then I heartily recommend "Revival" to you.
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the whole story might be considered a "back story" as it told as a personal reflection by the main character, Jamie Morton.Documenting his encounters with the Reverend Charles Jacobs, and in doing so telling his life story, Jamie Morton strives to get the story down in his waning years to inform the un-informed (we the constant reader) of things great and small regarding his interactions with the man referred to as his "fifth business." Starting in 1962 at age six, Jamie's dealings with Charles Jacobs are well documented. Along the way, we see Jamie grow through his teenage years, into adulthood, and on to his twilight years, spanning five decades.
Jamie tells of the time when Charles Jacobs was his pastor, Jacob's study of electricity and the healing of Jamie's brother, Jacob's fall from grace with the "terrible sermon," and the pastor's banishment from their church. In a normal life, most people would not have anything else to say about their ex-pastor. Stephen King does not write about normal lives, however. Jacob's pops into and out of Jamie's live several times, each time becoming a more bizarre encounter than the last and covering a good part of the United States. The climax takes place in the same Maine town where it all began, and has haunted Jamie to an extent to encourage him to tell the entire story. But just when I thought the bizarre elements to his story were complete, the ending drops a few more on the reader.
Though I do not agree with the vision of the events depicted in the climax, I realize that is not important in my liking or dis-liking the story. It is, after all, fiction and Stephen King can tell some whoppers. I found the build up to the climax entertaining as well, seeing Jamie as a flawed human being struggling with his demons, only to find worse ones in his final encounter with Pastor Charles. I have enjoyed most of the Stephen King novels I have read, and this is no exception. The ending was meant to shock the reader and had the desired effect on me. If you are a fan of Stephen King, or of the bizarre in general, then I heartily recommend "Revival" to you.
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LibraryThing member Pattymclpn
Who doesn’t like a good Stephen King book. I grew up reading Stephen King. I read Christine, Carrie, Salem’s Lot and Pet Sematary in middle school and high school. The last book I read of his was Under the Dome. It was a little different. I am not really into science fiction, but I like a good
This book is classic Stephen King all the way. I just kept reading and turning the pages. I was totally engrossed through out this one. I think that he definitely has another big winner here!! The way he portrays the characters as boys is so realistic. I feel like I know them. The story keeps building and building up to the climax at the end. The ending is sort of twisted too. It was not what you are expecting and that is the best part!! I loved the title and I think that the cover above is a great representation of the book. It was released with another cover, but I like the one above the best! Is it horrific and does it scare the pants off of you? Maybe not. It is certainly creepy and pretty realistically portrayed. I can imagine this happening. I give this one a strong 5 out of 5 stars.
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horror story. There are still some Stephen King books out there that I have yet to read.This book is classic Stephen King all the way. I just kept reading and turning the pages. I was totally engrossed through out this one. I think that he definitely has another big winner here!! The way he portrays the characters as boys is so realistic. I feel like I know them. The story keeps building and building up to the climax at the end. The ending is sort of twisted too. It was not what you are expecting and that is the best part!! I loved the title and I think that the cover above is a great representation of the book. It was released with another cover, but I like the one above the best! Is it horrific and does it scare the pants off of you? Maybe not. It is certainly creepy and pretty realistically portrayed. I can imagine this happening. I give this one a strong 5 out of 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member Tommie1
This guy is unbelievable!! STILL able to create stories that are as real to me as is the sun rising in the morning.
LibraryThing member JeffV
This is one of the best Stephen King books I've read in a while. Starting out in the early 60's in a small New England town (natch), Jamie Morton is a typical small-town kid in a somewhat pious family. A visit by the new, young pastor, Charles Jacobs, creates a bond with six-year old Jaime. When
For the next few chapters, the story springs ahead on the time line. Jaime finds he has a natural talent for guitar, and starts playing rhythm for a local band. He wins over his high school crush and the sex is glorious. However, you can't have sex and rock'n'roll without the drugs, and this is where Jamie gets tripped up. His girl Astrid moves on, Jamie hooks up with other bands and has a reputation as a solid player. But the drugs catch up to him, and one day in OKC he is fired by his band for reasons relating to his heroin habit. Wandering around the state fair without an idea of what's next, Jaime stumbles upon someone strangely familiar -- a "Pastor Danny" doing some sort of healing act involving electricity. When Jacobs sees what has become of Jaime and offers to cure him of his heroin addiction. With nothing to lose, Jaime agrees. Electricity is applied to his frontal lobe, and, well, something happened. But Jaime indeed was cured.
For awhile, Jaime becomes part of the reverend's road show until one day the father of a girl he "treated" pops Jacobs in the mouth. Turns out his daughter wasn't quite right in the head, and committed a felony robbery. Jaime took notice, and now with the story in the Internet age, along with a young girlfriend he began to find out what had become of some of the miracle cures. The long term prognosis was not good.
The story builds to a suitably horror-inducing climax. Jaime wants to separate from Jacobs permanently, but always the reverend brings him back to perform a service for him. And he knows what buttons to push so Jaime can't say no.
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the pastor seemingly restores Jamie's brother's speech with the application of electricity, Jamie thinks he is a miracle worker (even if doctor's did say it would come back eventually). When Jacob's family is killed in an auto accident, the reverend lashes out in a sermon that calls to question everything churches preach about god (at this point, things started to become interesting, it was admittedly a slow start). Pastor Jacobs is run out of town following his expression of heresy.For the next few chapters, the story springs ahead on the time line. Jaime finds he has a natural talent for guitar, and starts playing rhythm for a local band. He wins over his high school crush and the sex is glorious. However, you can't have sex and rock'n'roll without the drugs, and this is where Jamie gets tripped up. His girl Astrid moves on, Jamie hooks up with other bands and has a reputation as a solid player. But the drugs catch up to him, and one day in OKC he is fired by his band for reasons relating to his heroin habit. Wandering around the state fair without an idea of what's next, Jaime stumbles upon someone strangely familiar -- a "Pastor Danny" doing some sort of healing act involving electricity. When Jacobs sees what has become of Jaime and offers to cure him of his heroin addiction. With nothing to lose, Jaime agrees. Electricity is applied to his frontal lobe, and, well, something happened. But Jaime indeed was cured.
For awhile, Jaime becomes part of the reverend's road show until one day the father of a girl he "treated" pops Jacobs in the mouth. Turns out his daughter wasn't quite right in the head, and committed a felony robbery. Jaime took notice, and now with the story in the Internet age, along with a young girlfriend he began to find out what had become of some of the miracle cures. The long term prognosis was not good.
The story builds to a suitably horror-inducing climax. Jaime wants to separate from Jacobs permanently, but always the reverend brings him back to perform a service for him. And he knows what buttons to push so Jaime can't say no.
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LibraryThing member SheilaDeeth
Stephen King’s Revival offers a cool blend of small town Americana, coming-of-age, rock-star drug-addiction, good church and bad church points of view, plus that slightly mysterious edge of darkness tingling around the edges. A lot of the book is not dark, but rather, sadly human, as real people
A protagonist who’s never quite going to make it, a one-time preacher who seems to have it made in the secular world, and a shadow of eternity, just beyond the drugs and dreams…
I enjoyed the natural sense of time and place, the well-grounded reality beneath odd hints of more—a very dark more—and the slow, comfortable pace of this novel. Imperfect characters collide and separate, while the salesman sells more than secrets.
A vintage Stephen King ending opens doors best left closed, offers scares then quietly retreats from the brink, and leaves a haunting sense of, well, what do you think? Is there a hell? It there an alternative? And who will send us there?
Disclosure: It was a Mother’s Day present.
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struggle through the problems of different lives, a pastor fights against tragedy, a young musician grows older, and mystical power is so nearly ordinary it scarcely seems to warrant a second glance.A protagonist who’s never quite going to make it, a one-time preacher who seems to have it made in the secular world, and a shadow of eternity, just beyond the drugs and dreams…
I enjoyed the natural sense of time and place, the well-grounded reality beneath odd hints of more—a very dark more—and the slow, comfortable pace of this novel. Imperfect characters collide and separate, while the salesman sells more than secrets.
A vintage Stephen King ending opens doors best left closed, offers scares then quietly retreats from the brink, and leaves a haunting sense of, well, what do you think? Is there a hell? It there an alternative? And who will send us there?
Disclosure: It was a Mother’s Day present.
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LibraryThing member NPJacobsen
I have read a lot of Stephen King novels in my day. I have become accustomed to them starting slowly with his character developments and back stories setting the stage for the meat of the story. Sometimes they seem rather mundane to me, but Mr. King usually rewards the patient reader. In "Revival,"
Documenting his encounters with the Reverend Charles Jacobs, and in doing so telling his life story, Jamie Morton strives to get the story down in his waning years to inform the un-informed (we the constant reader) of things great and small regarding his interactions with the man referred to as his "fifth business." Starting in 1962 at age six, Jamie's dealings with Charles Jacobs are well documented. Along the way, we see Jamie grow through his teenage years, into adulthood, and on to his twilight years, spanning five decades.
Jamie tells of the time when Charles Jacobs was his pastor, Jacob's study of electricity and the healing of Jamie's brother, Jacob's fall from grace with the "terrible sermon," and the pastor's banishment from their church. In a normal life, most people would not have anything else to say about their ex-pastor. Stephen King does not write about normal lives, however. Jacob's pops into and out of Jamie's live several times, each time becoming a more bizarre encounter than the last and covering a good part of the United States. The climax takes place in the same Maine town where it all began, and has haunted Jamie to an extent to encourage him to tell the entire story. But just when I thought the bizarre elements to his story were complete, the ending drops a few more on the reader.
Though I do not agree with the vision of the events depicted in the climax, I realize that is not important in my liking or dis-liking the story. It is, after all, fiction and Stephen King can tell some whoppers. I found the build up to the climax entertaining as well, seeing Jamie as a flawed human being struggling with his demons, only to find worse ones in his final encounter with Pastor Charles. I have enjoyed most of the Stephen King novels I have read, and this is no exception. The ending was meant to shock the reader and had the desired effect on me. If you are a fan of Stephen King, or of the bizarre in general, then I heartily recommend "Revival" to you.
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the whole story might be considered a "back story" as it told as a personal reflection by the main character, Jamie Morton.Documenting his encounters with the Reverend Charles Jacobs, and in doing so telling his life story, Jamie Morton strives to get the story down in his waning years to inform the un-informed (we the constant reader) of things great and small regarding his interactions with the man referred to as his "fifth business." Starting in 1962 at age six, Jamie's dealings with Charles Jacobs are well documented. Along the way, we see Jamie grow through his teenage years, into adulthood, and on to his twilight years, spanning five decades.
Jamie tells of the time when Charles Jacobs was his pastor, Jacob's study of electricity and the healing of Jamie's brother, Jacob's fall from grace with the "terrible sermon," and the pastor's banishment from their church. In a normal life, most people would not have anything else to say about their ex-pastor. Stephen King does not write about normal lives, however. Jacob's pops into and out of Jamie's live several times, each time becoming a more bizarre encounter than the last and covering a good part of the United States. The climax takes place in the same Maine town where it all began, and has haunted Jamie to an extent to encourage him to tell the entire story. But just when I thought the bizarre elements to his story were complete, the ending drops a few more on the reader.
Though I do not agree with the vision of the events depicted in the climax, I realize that is not important in my liking or dis-liking the story. It is, after all, fiction and Stephen King can tell some whoppers. I found the build up to the climax entertaining as well, seeing Jamie as a flawed human being struggling with his demons, only to find worse ones in his final encounter with Pastor Charles. I have enjoyed most of the Stephen King novels I have read, and this is no exception. The ending was meant to shock the reader and had the desired effect on me. If you are a fan of Stephen King, or of the bizarre in general, then I heartily recommend "Revival" to you.
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LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Have not read a Stephen King novel in quite some kind and not at all disappointing. Compelling, provocative, and dark.
LibraryThing member rft183
This was a pretty good book. It kept me interested all the way through. Really, it felt like a really long Lovecraft story, which is a good thing!
LibraryThing member earthwindwalker
Disturbing and dark... Old school King. This one could give nightmares to people of a sensitive nature. This has become one of my favorites by King.
LibraryThing member araxhiel
Something Happened...
These words will be in my memory for a long time, haunting me, scaring me. As another user has pointed, what happened was that I completely lost a "normal sleep cycle" mainly because I wanted to advance in this book, to know what happened to Jamie Morton, and what will happen
Since "The Stand" I wasn't so frightened from a book... And that's something that I love it.
On the other hand, I love that "Lovecraftian" feeling on this book, not to mention to the only (subtle) reference (intentional, or not) to our beloved Mid-World.
Certainly this is an impressive novel, and easily it is one of the best novels that I've read from Mr. King.
These words will be in my memory for a long time, haunting me, scaring me. As another user has pointed, what happened was that I completely lost a "normal sleep cycle" mainly because I wanted to advance in this book, to know what happened to Jamie Morton, and what will happen
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with Rev. Jacobs; not to mention that this book being terrorific as hell, certainly I won't have a good sleep from now to a good amount of time... Even less when there were some parts of the book which I felt identified.Since "The Stand" I wasn't so frightened from a book... And that's something that I love it.
On the other hand, I love that "Lovecraftian" feeling on this book, not to mention to the only (subtle) reference (intentional, or not) to our beloved Mid-World.
Certainly this is an impressive novel, and easily it is one of the best novels that I've read from Mr. King.
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LibraryThing member CatherineBurkeHines
I confess to a prejudice in favor of King when his writing is anchored in the real world. That said, this is one of my favorites - a story by the master at the height of his powers, and I'll have nightmares for months.
LibraryThing member jwood652
A minister loses faith after a tragedy and decides to hold old fashioned revivals, including miraculous healings using a secret hidden electricity. Is this real or sham? Is it safe? Are there side effects? Once again the miraculous mind of Stephen King delivers to us a compelling tale!
LibraryThing member decaturmamaof2
Awesome - King just gets better and better.
LibraryThing member williemeikle
I've been a constant reader of the man since CARRIE - over forty years now, and in recent years have found his work a bit hit or miss for me - I loved 11/22/63 for example, but was terribly disappointed in Dr. Sleep. So there was some trepidation when I picked up REVIVAL, having read scathing
I'm glad I ignored them though for, despite being another slow burner, there is much to enjoy in this tale of broken people, redemption and mad science. King references Arthur Machen's THE GREAT GOD PAN but I found echoes of other works here, from Theodore Sturgeon's THE DREAMING JEWELS to Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN, and also B Movie nods to the likes of THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES and even I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF.
As I said, it's a slow burner, and it's only as we approach the climax that all the treads come together and we see why we needed to look so closely at history, family, young-and lost-love and how life changes as the years grow. Then it's a rush riding the lightning to the bitter-sweet end.
Maybe it's because I'm getting on a bit myself now, having been on this journey with the writer since I was 16 myself, but this book spoke to me, and I liked it a lot. It reminded me in style of another much maligned King, FROM A BUICK 8, and, yes, I liked that one too.
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reviews. I'm glad I ignored them though for, despite being another slow burner, there is much to enjoy in this tale of broken people, redemption and mad science. King references Arthur Machen's THE GREAT GOD PAN but I found echoes of other works here, from Theodore Sturgeon's THE DREAMING JEWELS to Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN, and also B Movie nods to the likes of THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES and even I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF.
As I said, it's a slow burner, and it's only as we approach the climax that all the treads come together and we see why we needed to look so closely at history, family, young-and lost-love and how life changes as the years grow. Then it's a rush riding the lightning to the bitter-sweet end.
Maybe it's because I'm getting on a bit myself now, having been on this journey with the writer since I was 16 myself, but this book spoke to me, and I liked it a lot. It reminded me in style of another much maligned King, FROM A BUICK 8, and, yes, I liked that one too.
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LibraryThing member Bonnie.Franks
I'm sure by now you know what this book is about. I certainly did before I read it. I expected that I would find Stephen King's normal genius writing and I did. I enjoyed the book but read it too fast as I normally do his books because I had to see where it was going. Now I have to go back and read
Still not sure who I liked the best. Bad guy or the good guy?
You will enjoy this if you enjoy Stephen King....and who doesn't?
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it again, as slowly as I wanted to the first time.Still not sure who I liked the best. Bad guy or the good guy?
You will enjoy this if you enjoy Stephen King....and who doesn't?
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LibraryThing member Meredy
Six-word review: Predictably weird, adequately entertaining fantasy thriller.
Extended review:
Query for the universe at large: did any work of fiction prior to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (published in 1818) entail the harnessing of lightning in the service of some unnatural goal? Apparently the
The power of electricity and the bending of that power to some hubristic purpose runs like a current through this novel and sparks a climactic scene in which we might--or might not--glimpse a reality beyond reality.
At the age of six the first-person narrator has a fateful encounter with a charismatic pastor, and from then on their lives remain intertwined, through personal crisis and tragedy, upheaval, and radical changes of course. The larger-than-life figure of Charles Jacobs is a compelling portrait of obsession and vaunting ambition. Along the way, King has plenty to show us about how people deal with tragedy, the cascade effects of decisions, the nature of addiction and the price of recovery, and the binding power of love.
Unfortunately, like so many other hefty King narratives, the storyline seems full of plot hooks that King left himself and never used, but didn't go back and clean up later. So there are numerous passages and entire sections that contain a huge amount of information we're never going to need because they don't add anything to the story. They just feel self-indulgent, if not downright sloppy. Stephen King can get away with this sort of thing because he's Stephen King; but I wish he had a fearless editor who would make him take out about 25% of one of these things and then get busy and tighten up the rest.
Nevertheless, we kept reading (it was our read-aloud book for about six weeks), and if I found the payoff a little weak--and one of the plot-driving relationships pretty darned implausible--well, let's say I wasn't shocked.
Extended review:
Query for the universe at large: did any work of fiction prior to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (published in 1818) entail the harnessing of lightning in the service of some unnatural goal? Apparently the
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idea of channeling electrical power to animate a nonliving being had its roots in the eighteenth-century experiments of Luigi Galvani (whence galvanism); but how about its use in fiction? Anybody know?The power of electricity and the bending of that power to some hubristic purpose runs like a current through this novel and sparks a climactic scene in which we might--or might not--glimpse a reality beyond reality.
At the age of six the first-person narrator has a fateful encounter with a charismatic pastor, and from then on their lives remain intertwined, through personal crisis and tragedy, upheaval, and radical changes of course. The larger-than-life figure of Charles Jacobs is a compelling portrait of obsession and vaunting ambition. Along the way, King has plenty to show us about how people deal with tragedy, the cascade effects of decisions, the nature of addiction and the price of recovery, and the binding power of love.
Unfortunately, like so many other hefty King narratives, the storyline seems full of plot hooks that King left himself and never used, but didn't go back and clean up later. So there are numerous passages and entire sections that contain a huge amount of information we're never going to need because they don't add anything to the story. They just feel self-indulgent, if not downright sloppy. Stephen King can get away with this sort of thing because he's Stephen King; but I wish he had a fearless editor who would make him take out about 25% of one of these things and then get busy and tighten up the rest.
Nevertheless, we kept reading (it was our read-aloud book for about six weeks), and if I found the payoff a little weak--and one of the plot-driving relationships pretty darned implausible--well, let's say I wasn't shocked.
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LibraryThing member Hexum2600
I swear, the older he gets the more in love with Lovecraft he becomes.
LibraryThing member musichick52
Mr. King takes on the afterlife and it is a nightmarish view of our future. I loved the contrapuntal treatment of preacher-turned-media evangelist with carnival barker with serious scientist who draws our attention in this story. His experiments with lightning and electrical healing are
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frightening. Do many scientists who are on the brink of a major discovery test their experiments on humans? Do they have any guilt about their failures? I always look for the humor in the stories of Stephan King. It's there and it just kills me how he can spin humor with gruesomeness. It might not be his next box office biggie, but it is a great read. Show Less
Awards
Boston Globe Best Book (Fiction — 2014)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2014)
Language
Original publication date
2014-11-11