Revival discussion thread *SPOILERS*

[Rahfa]

I've read a lot of books this year and I'm not sure it would make the top 10 - but it's a good one.

It's certainly my favorite SK book in a long time...I liked 11/22/63 but it was SO long. And I couldn't stand Dr. Sleep. And Under the Dome was good but sort of goofy. I really liked Full Dark, No Stars, though - so I guess it's my favorite since FDNS.

My review on Amazon is the "most helpful!" Haha

[WeDealInLead]

Has anyone finished it yet?

I'll have to take some notes and gather my thoughts for a cohesive review but for now I'll say I dug it. Things King knows about from experience are always my favourite parts to read: addiction, reflections on boyhood, being a rhythm guitarist (I can relate) etc.

It's not top tier King but overall it's a solid 4 out 5. I liked it more than Mr. Mercedes and Doctor Sleep, and just a touch less than Joyland.

[biomieg]

I'm not one to write extensive reviews but I liked it a lot. Great nostalgic storytelling and some good old Lovecraftian horror. Not the nihilism of Pet Sematary but more reminiscent of IT (although much smaller in scope, of course).

[Bev Vincent]

My review written a couple of months ago: http://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/stephen-king-news-from-the-dead-zone-174-revival/

[cowboy_ed]

Just finished. Intense ending, wow.

[WeDealInLead]

This probably slipped through the cracks in the copyediting process but it's not a 'bar' chord, it's a barre chord. The context King used it in made it obvious so maybe it was the spellchecker. The sentence is "...mastered a bar E, that was." It should be either "...mastered a barred E, that was." or "...mastered the barre E chord."

Even that is a little iffy because the E King keeps mentioning throughout the book is E Major (all that shit starts in E), which is the lowest note on a guitar in the standard E tuning. The only way to play a barre E is the one higher on the scale (A string, 7th fret root note*) and that is the E all that shit definitely doesn't start in. Barre chord is a family of chords that are all shaped the same that utilize all four fingers and hit all 6 strings at the same time. The shape is the 'major' note with an index finger pressing down on other 3 strings. You can get to barre F and after that it's E major. You don't need the index finger-you hold the major shape but 3 strings are now open. So yes, still the same family of notes, still the same shape but it's not a barre, just a simple E major.

Confused much? OK, in short: King's "bar E" should be "E Barre" and that is just E major.

* you could play a barre E on the 12th E string but that is the same note as A 7th string, an octave higher and a barre on 12th string sounds terrible.

[Bev Vincent]

Bar chord is an accepted alternate spelling. http://www.guitarlessonworld.com/lessons/bar-chords.htm

[WeDealInLead]

That's good to know. No sarcasm. I've been playing for twenty years and have never encountered a single guitarist who spelled it "bar" in real life. Oh well.

This picture from the link you posted is what I meant. That's a barre F. As low as you can get. "Bar E" King mentions is still incorrect, slide one position lower and it's E Major.

[WeDealInLead]

http://www.guitarlessonworld.com/lessons/images/bar-chords-f-major-photo.jpg

[cowboy_ed]

Maybe he means bar E as in an E typically heard in bars...

Finished the book yesterday, still wrapping my head around it, but it was a lot of fun. Different. Shorter and brisker than I expected.

[Cordial Jim]

I'm only about 100 pages in, but I have a question that I can't get out of my head.... What other stories has Harlow appeared in?? I can only think of one: Riding the Bullet. But I feel like it's been in at least a few more. Also, it's really neat to see Gates Falls again! Maine Street Horror, I love it!

[cowboy_ed]

It's mentioned in Under the Dome, I believe

[mae]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2014/1112/Stephen-King-s-new-novel-Revival-is-garnering-strong-reviews-with-a-few-exceptions

Stephen King’s new novel “Revival” is receiving mostly positive reviews.

The new book by the legendary author, which was released on Nov. 11, centers on Jamie Morton, who first meets Methodist minister Charles Jacobs as a child. After Charles’s family is affected by tragedy, Charles says he no longer believes in God and is forced to leave town. But Jamie encounters Charles again years later.

Monitor critic Erik Spanberg wrote that he thinks the work compares unfavorably to the author’s recent book “Mr. Mercedes” although he still finds it satisfying.

“This book isn’t as much fun as ‘Mr. Mercedes,’” he wrote. “But King fans won’t lose any faith in his powers while breezing through “Revival.”

Meanwhile, Amazon named the title as one of its best books of November.

“He's such a great storyteller," Amazon editorial director Sara Nelson said of the book. "[There are] universal themes of good and evil and 'Is there a God?’”

Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, calling it a “spellbinding supernatural thriller.”

“King (‘Mr. Mercedes’) is a master at invoking the supernatural through the powerful emotions of his characters, and his depiction of Jacobs as a man unhinged by grief but driven by insatiable scientific curiosity is as believable as it is frightening,” PW wrote. “The novel’s ending – one of King’s best – stuns like lightning.”

Washington Post critic Elizabeth Hand called the new book “splendid" saying that it "offers the atavistic pleasure of drawing closer to a campfire in the dark to hear a tale recounted by someone who knows exactly how to make every listener’s flesh crawl.” Brian Truitt of USA Today predicted that "Revival" will have readers “singing King’s praises.”

“Worshippers at the Universal Church of Stephen King have a lot to rejoice about with his latest literary sermon,” he wrote. “Revival is a dark and haunting tale…. At the same time it's an emotional and spectacular coming-of-age tale.”

However, James Kidd of The Independent had problems with the book’s ending.

“Where 'Revival' falls down, if not quite apart, is in its climax,” he wrote. “But after Revival’s finely judged first 5/6ths, the conclusion feels rushed and unbalanced…. 'Revival' is fine if not vintage King, but that still makes it tastier than most bestsellers out there.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/books/stephen-kings-revival.html?_r=0

You can fall down a very deep rabbit hole just pondering the list of names to whom Stephen King dedicates “Revival,” his second skin-crawler published this year. (“Mr. Mercedes” arrived in June.) Some, like Bram Stoker and H. P. Lovecraft, are familiar. Others, like August Derleth, the author of more than 100 books that Mr. King must have devoured as a boy and a seminal figure in the creation of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos horror genre, are so far out of the mainstream that they can prompt long, dreamy voyages of discovery.

By all means look up Robert Bloch or Derleth if you’d like to have more insight into what shaped Mr. King’s young imagination. But don’t do it until his new book, tenderly realistic despite its roots in horror and science fiction, has had its way with you. And steer clear of the ageless 1890 short novel that Mr. King says inspired “Revival” if you don’t want to kill its chances of scaring the hell out of you.

Mr. King has the wind at his back again. He hit the doldrums with “Doctor Sleep” (2013), his sequel to “The Shining.” And “Duma Key” (2008) seemed to have more to do with his spending time in the part of Florida the book describes than with any burning need to tell a story. But the trifecta of “Joyland” (2013), “Mr. Mercedes” and now “Revival,” the best of the bunch, finds him writing with the infectious glee that has always been at the heart of his popular success. How many writers have a biography that can begin something like this: “Stephen King is the author of more than 50 books, all of them worldwide best sellers.”?

Happily, he no longer confuses big books with long ones. He does not ramble on, as he did with “Dreamcatcher” and “Duma Key,” which at 600-plus pages each both seemed endless. “Under the Dome,” his best behemoth of recent years, might have been 1,074 pages, but each one was worth it. “Revival” is much shorter, but it, too, is a well-built book that unfolds on a big canvas. It spans much of the lifetime of Jamie Morton, a Maine boy who is roughly Mr. King’s contemporary. It has a small cast of characters and a length to suit that. The book begins by comparing a person’s life to a movie, so that the leading characters are family and friends; supporting players are neighbors and acquaintances; bit players are walk-ons. But there are also wild cards. And they break all the rules.

“Revival” begins so benignly that Mr. King must warn the reader to watch out for Jamie’s perpetual nemesis, a kindly clergyman calling himself the Rev. Charles Jacobs. The year is 1962. Jamie is 6, playing with soldier toys during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Reverend stops by to introduce himself. He invites Jamie’s family to attend his Methodist church and also has Jamie visit his garage to see the toys he has been inventing. The Reverend loves electricity. Using a photoelectric cell, he’s built a model of what he calls Peaceable Lake and a miniature Jesus who can walk on water.

Jamie is smitten; so is the Reverend, who is madly in love with his beautiful wife and little son. But three years later there is trouble in paradise: the Reverend’s experiments have taken a turn toward miracle cures, and he dares to suggest that electricity is more powerful than God. The Mortons adore him for having restored the voice of Jamie’s older brother after a terrible accident involving a ski pole — but nobody knows exactly what happens over the long run to people cured by the Reverend after he has run electrical currents through them. And then, the worst possible bolt from the blue: A terrible accident takes the Reverend’s wife and child from him and turns him into a different man.

Raging and heartbroken, he gives a blasphemous but honest sermon that shakes the faith of all who hear it. And then he vanishes. Years go by; Jamie becomes a teenager in love, a rock musician and a drug addict. In a section of the book that seems written from intact and swooningly romantic memory, Mr. King summons the sensations of first sexual lightning that will never leave the heart and soul. Charles Jacobs is gone, and yet weirdly present, since Jamie and his teenage lover meet for trysts on the mountaintop most likely to be hit by electrical storms.

In the 1990s, their paths cross when Jacobs crops up in Tulsa with a new name, Dan Jacobs, new cynicism and new occupation: flimflam man at state fairs. He cons audiences with electricity-based magic tricks, and he’s figured out that this is a good way to continue his scientific experiments. Since Jamie is by now a raging addict and Dan is able to cure him, Jamie is forever in the debt of someone he knows to be a man of bad faith. Jamie, like Mr. King (as he has said in recent interviews), wants to believe in a higher power, especially as an ex-addict who could not conquer drugs without that higher power’s help.

It all gets worse. Jacobs’s next incarnation is that of a tent-show preacher doling out miracle cures — and soaking the gullible for so much money that he has become a very rich and creepy recluse. The only person in the world about whom he seems to care is Jamie, and he weaves an elaborate spider’s web to draw Jamie back into his world. 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. And if you have read this far, you may as well know that Arthur Machen’s short novel “The Great God Pan,” which Mr. King says “has haunted me all my life,” inspires a nightmare of a finale.

“Revival” winds up with the idea that to be human, you must know what it is to be inhuman — and to know that only this thin partition separates that horror from ordinary life. So it’s not just a book that delivers its share of jolts and then lets the reader walk away unscathed. Older and wiser each time he writes, Mr. King has moved on from the physical fear that haunted him after he was struck by a van while out walking to a more metaphysical, universal terror. He writes about things so inevitable that he speaks to us all.

[Ben Mears]

.... What other stories has Harlow appeared in?? I can only think of one: Riding the Bullet.

Rage
The Body
Nona
Uncle Otto's Truck
The Dark Half
Gerald's Game
Bag Of Bones
Blaze
Under The Dome (mentioned previously)

It was nice to see Jerusalem's Lot make a cameo and I thoroughly enjoyed SK's reference to my favorite band, Slade, when describing the Chrome Roses sound during their gig at the Gates High gymnasium.

[Bev Vincent]

Y'all recognize Nederland, CO, too, right?

[jhanic]

http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2014/11/stephen_kings_revival_is_a_hor.html#incart_river


Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer By Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer
Email the author
on November 11, 2014 at 9:53 AM, updated November 13, 2014 at 3:58 PM

stephenking-revival.jpgRevival, by Stephen King (Scribner, 416 pp., $30), is out Tuesday, November 11. Scribner

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The title of Stephen King's latest book is prophetic -- in more ways than one.

All of the elements that have made King the preeminent American horror author come alive in this ultra-creepy tale of love, loss, evil and electricity. This time, as the title implies, it's evil of a particularly New England, biblical style.

Unlike the hardboiled noir "Mr. Mercedes" (released this summer) or last year's coming-of-age tale "Joyland" and "The Shining" sequel "Doctor Sleep," "Revival" (Scribner, 416 pp., $30) is a return to classic form for the prolific writer. It's set in his home turf of New England, whose small towns and Puritanical characters he knows so well. And it focuses on two very King-like characters, a young, impressionable boy, who grows to middle age as the story progresses, and an older, presumably wiser teacher.

Jamie Morton and the Rev. Charles Jacobs meet one average 1960s Maine day as the chilling tale begins. Jamie's a 6-year-old playing in the dirt with soldiers, Jacobs is an enthusiastic 20-something minister who soon awakens the sleepy town with his electrifying sermons and charismatic way with kids. Their meeting is imbued with ominousness, as the saintly Reverend seems to block out the very sun.

"All of a sudden there were no kids yelling in the backyard, no records playing upstairs, no banging from the garage. Not a single bird singing," writes King.

The people love the minister, especially when he's able to use his gift with electricity for some inexplicable healings that seem almost like miracles.

But one day, Jacobs' sermon goes too far – way too far. Following a horrific tragedy, the Reverend has a crisis of faith and lashes out at the town, the kids and mostly, God. It's hard to not have sympathy for Jacobs – many would feel the same, considering what happened. But the town is shocked, and he's sent packing. He'll never be able to go home again, it seems, a fate that also later befalls Jamie – a common King motif.

It will be many years, what seems like a lifetime, until Jamie and Jacobs meet again. Jamie grows up, becomes a rock star – in a neat nod to King's pop culture passion – and develops some bad rock star habits. He's in a very bad place when he runs into Jacobs again – down and out, dumped by his band at the Tulsa State Fair. The former Reverend is also there – with a traveling carny act in which he uses electricity for large-scale illusions.

But Jacobs' lifelong love of garage electrical experiments has led him to think he can do more. He promises Jamie he can heal him with his homemade gadgets, and he does – with some unintended consequences that Jamie finds out about later. Again, shades of King's classic past are revived in the carny milieu and the crossing over into the supernatural – as are themes of childhood innocence destroyed, faith and doubt.

Jamie is soon recovered and back on track with a music-producing career, but those fateful Tulsa events haunt him – physically and psychically.

He's not the only one. As Jacobs eventually transforms his carny act into a faith-healing ministry, he leaves a trail of damaged, haunted walking dead. Jamie, who's known him since he was an innocent child following a God-fearing minister, feels compelled to try to stop Jacobs' "revivals." Whether or not he can do so with his life and soul intact is the final question in King's riveting book of dread, hope and horror.



John

[cowboy_ed]

Colorado Kid's home town!

[coderedx]

I just finished. I must admit: I was not that impressed by the book. It might be my least favorite King book I've read.

As The Guardian's review said, the book might have the best opening Stephen King has ever written. I was enamored for the first 50-60 pages. But things fell off quickly, and the story became rambling. The end was billed as "the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written," but that isn't even close to true. I found the ending absurd, not terrifying. The end seemed very Dan Brown (a name that was even mentioned in the story).

[WeDealInLead]

I'd rank it somewhere between 20th to 25th. I liked the book more before it became a corny Lovecraft riff at the end.

Here's my spoiler-free review: Revival (https://nottooterrible.wordpress.com/)

4/5

[mikeC]

I'm a 100 pages in and I was really excited Steve could actually write a way for someone to die without it being alcohol being related.....wah wahhh....20 pages later that is a no.
I'll have to send him some ideas.

[CyberGhostface]

Since we're discussing spoilers...

Overall I thought it was a good novel. I thought the beginning with Jamie as a kid with Charles was particularly strong.

I do think it was a pretty slow novel after that. Not bad, but kind of like "Where are we going with this?" I kind of expected some sort of Frankenstein resurrection and I would have established at least the idea of "what's on the other side" earlier on. If they had been building up to that as opposed to introducing it near the end I think it could have been a bit more suspenseful.

I did find the ending with the afterlife being some sort of Lovecraftian hell to be very effective though and it's been on my mind for a while now. Not wanting to get into a debate on religion, but Bryant Brunette wrote on his blog that the novel reads like it was written by someone who doesn't believe in God and that's the impression I'd have gotten if I hadn't known that King does believe in him. Very nihilistic.

[jhanic]

This book makes me wonder what King's daughter (a minister) thinks of it.

John

[RichardX]

Finished this one and it is a bit of a dud. The first half of the book is decent but the ending feels rushed and contrived. I give it a C-. The third disappointing book in a row. King's strength has always been in character development and story. Both fail him miserably in this book. There are a few passages in the book that are wonderfully written but the story is uneven and forced. And then it suffers from the ultimate King shortcoming with a disappointing end.

[Kingfan24]

Finished this one and it is a bit of a dud. The first half of the book is decent but the ending feels rushed and contrived. I give it a C-. The third disappointing book in a row. King's strength has always been in character development and story. Both fail him miserably in this book. There are a few passages in the book that are wonderfully written but the story is uneven and forced. And then it suffers from the ultimate King shortcoming with a disappointing end.

I have to say I was pretty disappointed and even plain out confused at all that crap at the end.

[Kingfan24]

Probably one of my least favorite endings to a king novel ever.

[jhanic]

Probably one of my least favorite endings to a king novel ever.

For me, that "honor" goes to Cell.

John

[CyberGhostface]

I guess one question I have is if this ending applies to the rest of the SK universe.

Because in The Stand and Desperation at least there appears to be, if not God himself, then at minimum some sort of benevolent force guiding the universe and intervening directly or indirectly to stop evil forces.

Whereas Revival says "There is no god, just some Lovecraftian abomination that enslaves humanity via giant ants."

[divemaster]

James Kidd of The Independent had problems with the book’s ending.

“Where 'Revival' falls down, if not quite apart, is in its climax,” he wrote. “But after Revival’s finely judged first 5/6ths, the conclusion feels rushed and unbalanced…. 'Revival' is fine if not vintage King, but that still makes it tastier than most bestsellers out there.”


The first half of the book is decent but the ending feels rushed and contrived.


I have to say I was pretty disappointed and even plain out confused at all that crap at the end. ... Probably one of my least favorite endings to a king novel ever.

I just finished Revival and am sad to say I didn't like it much. However, I seem to be on the opposite pole as most folks here with criticism. I thought the ending was by far the best part of the book. It was the first 5/6th that went nowhere for me. I didn't feel any real connection to the main character (Jamie) and the antagonist was really weak. This surprises me, as King is usually so good at developing his characters. Not only the "good guys," but also the "baddie" (whether that be a supernatural entity such as a possessed car, evil clown-thing, a haunted hotel, dark man; or just a bad dude such as Rose Madder's ex), as well as his supporting characters (Wireman, anyone?). I didn't dislike Jamie, he just never clicked for me. Maybe it's because we see him at three stages of his life and don't really get a chance to know him at any of them (especially the first two).

And the Jacobs character? Very weak. He's not evil or even really bad. And his obsession didn't instill any kind of horror, unease, or foreboding throughout the book at all. I actually kindof liked the guy.

Now, the climax and ending *did* click with me. As a huge fan of Lovecraft, I really appreciated the homage to the "Cyclopean landscapes" and "Old Ones," etc. "Mother" would have made a great antagonist, but we only get a few pages of all that.

So, this doesn't go into my worst-King pile, but it goes into my "read it once and have no interest in ever reading it again" pile.

Which is disappointing because much of King's recent work has been so very very good.

[SystemCrashOverRide]

I will say, that for whatever reason the "something happened" mantra really stuck in my head. I found it creepy the first time it happened to Jamie, and every time it was uttered afterwards. Something something something happened happened happened. Creepy.

The ants were also a nice touch, but I agree with others that Jacobs didn't really seem that evil, even at his utmost "mad scientist" he just seemed a bit excited and insistent.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Overall, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I didnt really dislike the book, but I had such high hopes for it. When being compared to Pet Semetary as his scariest book, with his darkest ending to date, I managed to convince myself that this book would be a return to form for King, possible harkening back to the Bachman days. It fell short. I thought the first half or so was a good coming of age story with a great fall from innocence story entwined. As a guitar player for over 20 years, I could really identify with those parts relating to Jamie's life as a musician and enjoyed that aspect of the book. However, I felt like the book lost its bearings about 2/3 of the way through, and never fully recovered. I thought there was going to be some kind of Frankenstein ending, and too an extent there was, but it did not resonate with me. I love Lovecraft, and while I get the nod to one of King's major influences, I felt that it was trying too hard to be a nod to Lovecraft. The ending felt like fanfiction, something I never want to see from SK. All in all, it was a decent book, by no means bottom tier for King, but it was certainly not top shelf.

[mikeC]

Oh boy. Just finished, now have to go to the puppy kitten sunshine store.

[stephenkingcast]

I really enjoyed Revival for what it was, and I was re-reading Pet Sematary the day before I bought it, so the parallels were fully on display for me. While it may not be as scary as Pet Sematary (when people compare the two, I don't think that's what they're comparing), as an exploration on death, it makes for a perfect companion piece. If anyone's interested, I have a podcast review available on www.stephenkingcast.podbean.com

[stephenkingcast]

I think that you're supposed to like Jacobs. At least, you're not supposed to hate him or fear him. He's a different type of villain. He isn't a Jack Torrance, pennywise, or Flagg. By establishing him first as a genuinely good man who suffered a horrifying loss (that cost him both his family and his soul), he always remains somewhat of a sympathetic character. Even in the end, he's still the man who was set down on this road with the death of his wife and child. ("Where is my little boy's face ?" is one of the most horrific things King has put to paper)

[jhanic]

I think that you're supposed to like Jacobs. At least, you're not supposed to hate him or fear him. He's a different type of villain. He isn't a Jack Torrance, pennywise, or Flagg. By establishing him first as a genuinely good man who suffered a horrifying loss (that cost him both his family and his soul), he always remains somewhat of a sympathetic character. Even in the end, he's still the man who was set down on this road with the death of his wife and child. ("Where is my little boy's face ?" is one of the most horrific things King has put to paper)

I agree. Jacobs seems one of the most sympathetic villains King has done. It's virtually impossible to hate him.

John

[Erin]

Just finished reading it last night. While I did thing the ending was a bit rushed, after I finished reading (at nearly 2am because I couldn't stop at that point), I sat there seriously creeped out for a bit before I went to sleep. I also really liked the character of Jamie and felt quite connected to him. Overall, I felt like it was pretty good, but not one of his best.

[Cordial Jim]

I really enjoyed Revival. It's not one of his best (I'd put it in that 30-35 slot range), but it's King so it's pretty darn good. Lots of memorable scenes and quotes. I really liked the characters of Jamie Morton and Charles Jacobs. As a rock-n-roll guy, I absolutely adored all the music references and scenes. The scenes with Chrome Roses gigging were glorious! Best band name ever. I also really liked how the narrative covered a time period of over 50 years. The ending was a little bit of a let down for me, but it still built a heck of a lot of suspense. It was creepy and it made you think (which is always a good thing). Add Charles Jacobs to the list of particularly memorable SK characters. A man on a mission. Clinical trials be damned! :)

[Merlin1958]

I thoroughly enjoyed it, but agree it's not his best work. The ending concept was very creepy and well written, but my first thought upon completion was, "This is basically a short story that got away from him".

[Ben Staad]

Finally finished this up last night and enjoyed the book. Following a character throughout stages of their life worked for me and I almost wondered if the author was reminiscing slightly about his own life and seriously contemplating the big mystery of the after life when creating this story.

[mikeC]

I've never seen this Saul Bass movie but I wonder if it was a subliminal inspiration for Steve:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_IV

Is Steve trying to say something about human nature/fleetingness of life/live life to the fullest with this book? If the ending weren't so silly I would say maybe he is. I kind of want to be completely dismissive about this book but I want to give Steve the benefit of doubt. He's never been one to write allegories (besides the addiction AA stuff) before or maybe I just never noticed.

[Roland of Gilead 33]

Phase IV i have seen that film. man is that a shitty film. anyways i got this for X-mas and it's nice to be on here. i got a new puter early this year. and i kept forgetting to add this on the new puter. anyways i'm only on Chapter 2 so i dunno what to think of it just yet.

[webstar1000]

I LOVES this book. It was really nostalgic and I loved the villain in many ways. Great King book and very happy with it!

[Ricky]

Finished it last night. Like some others said, I really liked the first 50-60 pages and thought it was a great intro. From there, though, it just seemed to go on and on without anything really exciting happening. It's almost as if SK was writing the story just to get to the few pages in the climax (which, while exciting, was kind of a disappointment after reading so many reviews and marketing materials that kept saying how dark it was). I kept thinking that Jacobs was going to try and resurrect Patsy and Morrie (now that would have been dark) rather than just wanting to glimpse what was after death.

Also, what are everyone's opinions on the "afterlife" that Jamie and Jacobs saw? To me it seems like it was a version of an afterlife, not the afterlife. Maybe a version of Hell? It would make sense, especially since Jacobs didn't really know what was behind the door he was opening. Maybe there are many doors and he just picked the wrong one to open.

[Bev Vincent]

Boy, does this book ever do well on a second reading. There is a lot of subtle foreshadowing that makes sense once you know what is going to happen at the end. Many, many mentions of ants and the evil female presence beyond (which is reminiscent of the Other from Bag of Bones). You have to realize that Jamie Morton is telling this story after his final encounter with Charlie Jacobs, so he knows where the story's headed from page 1.

I'm listening to the audio version. David Morse is a great narrator.

[mikeC]

David Morse is a great narrator.
Yes. Hope he does more.

[Girlystevedave]

*I've scrolled through this thread since I know there are spoilers abound.

I'm halfway through and I'm really enjoying it. I've just read the part where Jamie and Hugh are swapping stories about their experiences with being "healed". I must say, the part with Jamie waking up in the field behind the hotel, jabbing the fork into his arm, and repeatedly saying "Something Happened" was very eerie. I'm obviously dying to know just what in the hell happened while he was undergoing the shock treatment.
Also, I never get tired of King making reference to his other works in his stories; the former name of the band Jamie was in being called The Gunslingers, Rev. Jacobs mentioning working at Joyland, the number 19 being mentioned, etc.

:)

[bdwyer19]

Finished it last night. Like some others said, I really liked the first 50-60 pages and thought it was a great intro. From there, though, it just seemed to go on and on without anything really exciting happening. It's almost as if SK was writing the story just to get to the few pages in the climax (which, while exciting, was kind of a disappointment after reading so many reviews and marketing materials that kept saying how dark it was). I kept thinking that Jacobs was going to try and resurrect Patsy and Morrie (now that would have been dark) rather than just wanting to glimpse what was after death.

Also, what are everyone's opinions on the "afterlife" that Jamie and Jacobs saw? To me it seems like it was a version of an afterlife, not the afterlife. Maybe a version of Hell? It would make sense, especially since Jacobs didn't really know what was behind the door he was opening. Maybe there are many doors and he just picked the wrong one to open.

I just finished reading if last night. I thought the same thing about the afterlife. Jacobs had done so many twisted things throughout the years, that we were catching a glimpse of his Hell. Unfortunately, he was taking all of those he cured with him. I would think his wife and son, along with Jamie's sister ended up in a more peaceful place.

Still, reading the last 50 pages right before bed was not smart! Very creepy ending!!

[Jon]

Ultimately mediocre. I found the first 50 or 60 pages slow and the total mediocre... not just for King. It had some potential points. Had King explored the lightning and the particular pole...but he did not.

On to the next book hoping for more.

[Jon]

and I loved the villain in many ways.


I MUST say that I can see this as a TV series with Anthony Michael Hall as Jacobs.

I don't see a series often at all so that IS saying something! I think it could be done.

[Merlin1958]

and I loved the villain in many ways.


I MUST say that I can see this as a TV series with Anthony Michael Hall as Jacobs.

I don't see a series often at all so that IS saying something! I think it could be done.

I would think more like, John Boy. Richard Thomas?

[Girlystevedave]

I finished this the other day. I hate to say it, but I wasn't too happy with the ending. The story was great, but seemed to build and build up to nothing. As Ricky mentioned in his post, I was really expecting to find out that Jacobs was going to attempt to resurrect his wife and son. That would have been much darker (as reviews all over the place have implied that the ending was) than huge ants running some version of hell or purgatory or whatever it was.

[Ricky]

huge ants running some version of hell or purgatory or whatever it was.

:lol:

[webstar1000]

Probably one of my least favorite endings to a king novel ever.

Totally disagree. This was a good King novel. But everyone has an opinion of course

[Merlin1958]

I finished this the other day. I hate to say it, but I wasn't too happy with the ending. The story was great, but seemed to build and build up to nothing. As Ricky mentioned in his post, I was really expecting to find out that Jacobs was going to attempt to resurrect his wife and son. That would have been much darker (as reviews all over the place have implied that the ending was) than huge ants running some version of hell or purgatory or whatever it was.

With all due respect, I think you need to go back and re-read the last chapter. That was extremely horrifying in its bleakness for the after life. JMHO of course.

[bdwyer19]

I finished this the other day. I hate to say it, but I wasn't too happy with the ending. The story was great, but seemed to build and build up to nothing. As Ricky mentioned in his post, I was really expecting to find out that Jacobs was going to attempt to resurrect his wife and son. That would have been much darker (as reviews all over the place have implied that the ending was) than huge ants running some version of hell or purgatory or whatever it was.

With all due respect, I think you need to go back and re-read the last chapter. That was extremely horrifying in its bleakness for the after life. JMHO of course.

That's exactly how I felt. The ending seriously freaked me out! I made the mistake of finishing the book right before going to bed. It was awhile before I had that image of the afterlife out of my head.

[WeDealInLead]

Yeah I don't see what's so bleak about that ending. All I know is that, according to King at least, my neighbour with "Christians aren't perfect-just saved" bumper sticker is sorely mistaken.

Dunno, pick a random Brian Hodge (from his "The Misbegotten" mythos) or any Laird Barron story if you truly want bleak, unnerving and terrorizing. And they don't even show you the monster or the afterlife. Maybe I just built up an immunity after those two.

[Merlin1958]

Yeah I don't see what's so bleak about that ending. All I know is that, according to King at least, my neighbour with "Christians aren't perfect-just saved" bumper sticker is sorely mistaken.

Dunno, pick a random Brian Hodge (from his "The Misbegotten" mythos) or any Laird Barron story if you truly want bleak, unnerving and terrorizing. And they don't even show you the monster or the afterlife. Maybe I just built up an immunity after those two.

IDK I guess it's just a matter of personal opinion.

[Girlystevedave]

I finished this the other day. I hate to say it, but I wasn't too happy with the ending. The story was great, but seemed to build and build up to nothing. As Ricky mentioned in his post, I was really expecting to find out that Jacobs was going to attempt to resurrect his wife and son. That would have been much darker (as reviews all over the place have implied that the ending was) than huge ants running some version of hell or purgatory or whatever it was.

With all due respect, I think you need to go back and re-read the last chapter. That was extremely horrifying in its bleakness for the after life. JMHO of course.

Now, don't get me wrong. Should I get to the after life one day only to discover that it is just like the version in Revival, I'll scream in agony "No, they were right! This is horrifying."
But, as far as being the ending to a really good book, it just didn't do it for me. And it pains me to say that about a King novel. <_<

[Ricky]

Yeah, the version of the afterlife that King created was pretty dark and depressing. But as the climax of the entire novel? It was kind of like, "that's it?" It would have been different if he had done something more with it other than just showing it to us.

[Girlystevedave]

It would have been different if he had done something more with it other than just showing it to us.

Exactly. It seemed so short and vague for it to be the climax of the story.

[Merlin1958]

Fair points

[Heather19]

Just finished reading this one the other day. I'll restate which a lot of you have already said. The beginning of the book was wonderful, probably one of my favorites. The story did slow ever so slightly as Jamie got older, but I was still completely captivated by it. I would have put the book in my top 10 King books easily, until that is we got to the ending.



I have to say I was pretty disappointed and even plain out confused at all that crap at the end.


Probably one of my least favorite endings to a king novel ever.

I agree. The ending was horrible! I was so disappointed with it. It was just absurd and not even scary in the least. And it took me right out of the story.



Finished it last night. Like some others said, I really liked the first 50-60 pages and thought it was a great intro. From there, though, it just seemed to go on and on without anything really exciting happening. It's almost as if SK was writing the story just to get to the few pages in the climax (which, while exciting, was kind of a disappointment after reading so many reviews and marketing materials that kept saying how dark it was). I kept thinking that Jacobs was going to try and resurrect Patsy and Morrie (now that would have been dark) rather than just wanting to glimpse what was after death.

Also, what are everyone's opinions on the "afterlife" that Jamie and Jacobs saw? To me it seems like it was a version of an afterlife, not the afterlife. Maybe a version of Hell? It would make sense, especially since Jacobs didn't really know what was behind the door he was opening. Maybe there are many doors and he just picked the wrong one to open.

I thought it was going to end with a Frankenstein type ending as well, and that he was going to try to resurrect his dead wife or son. That would have been so much better. Or even if he went with something like he did, but giant ants... :doh:

You do make a good point though Ricky, which I hadn't thought of. In that maybe that was one option for the beyond but not the only one. That thought sits a little better with me. But why then is he taking everyone he cures with him. I could see him, since he's experimenting with things he shouldn't be, but those that he's healed were innocent bystanders.

[Ricky]

but giant ants... :doh:

:lol:


But why then is he taking everyone he cures with him. I could see him, since he's experimenting with things he shouldn't be, but those that he's healed were innocent bystanders.

I think that maybe they weren't really Patsy and Morrie and all the innocents; they could've been projections, like a type of "trick" by the giant ants/gods/whatever just to torment Jacobs for his own personal Hell. If that's the case though, I don't know why Jamie would've seen them, too.

[Heather19]

but giant ants... :doh:

:lol:


But why then is he taking everyone he cures with him. I could see him, since he's experimenting with things he shouldn't be, but those that he's healed were innocent bystanders.

I think that maybe they weren't really Patsy and Morrie and all the innocents; they could've been projections, like a type of "trick" by the giant ants/gods/whatever just to torment Jacobs for his own personal Hell. If that's the case though, I don't know why Jamie would've seen them, too.

That's what I was referring to, not the projections he saw, but the people he cured who went crazy. Like Hugh seeing the giant ants, or the little boy that ended up in a mental institution. And not to mention the mass suicides after Jacob's last experiment.

[jsweet]

Late coming to this, as I just got around to reading it. The ending did stay with me. I'd put it somewhere in the middle of his books, just OK.

Interesting note (to me, at least): as I was reading it, I kept thinking it was a bizarro version of William Kent Krueger's "Ordinary Grace." Maybe because they both featured the same era and similar locales for a significant portion of the story, both involved a minister and the loss of a child, and some other similar themes. The stories are very, very different, but that idea really stuck with me throughout the whole time I was reading it. I'm not saying it was intentional, probably just what I brought to the party.

[mattgreenbean]

I think that if you put this story along side From A Buick 8 you can see a commonality between them.
They both span over a long time.
Electrical storm is used to peer into another world.
Alien creatures.

I could see him writing more stories that deal with the "Secret Electricity" and hopefully spending more time in that strange world. I say strange world because I don't think they were peering into the afterlife or Hell. "Go then, there are other worlds than these." ~ King

I envisioned Mother as being a relative to the Crimson King or Pennywise.

Also, if you were expecting a Frankenstein ending and didn't get that, then I think King did well of surprising the reader with something unexpected.

[sssfryan]

I definitely thought he was going to use the bodies of Mary and Victor to resurrect Patsy and Morrie, and maybe use Jamie's body for himself so he could have a new life with them (he was Charlie's destiny after all) and he brought Mother into the world instead.

To the user of how this fits into Kings universe and pantheon, I guessed that the world he saw in that vision was some corner of the Todash Space. In the Dark Tower they talked about the Crimson King throwing people in and when the Beams collapse, them falling into the Todash. Maybe it is the afterlife for all of those touched by the 'secret electricity' since it seems to come from the Great Ones and then lingers with those it touches so that when their souls leave their bodies, they go back to the secret electricity's source.

Overall I thought it was great. It reminded me of what would happen if John Updike and H.P. Lovecraft decided to write Frankenstein

[Jon]

Like many of King's books of late, I see much potential but fall flat at the end. I was really anticipating something about the pole getting struck by lighting over the years. I mean some kind of Ghostbusters-type Ectoplasm shooting out or something. Just watch any porn with a big pole!
Perhaps I digress. No...I DO digress!
My point is that I feel there was a lot left just as I feel there was a lot left in UTD. I mean, in this case, it could have gone in the direction of the pole...maybe the pole sent a signal to..whom ever or some such but maybe it had nothing to do with the pole. The point is...it fell flat...IMO.

[Jimimck]

I read it about a week or so ago and enjoyed it. I thought the ending was rather horrific with its glimpse in to that world. It made me think of the short story N, and I wonder if they are connected in anyway and if we will be given more glimpses in to that world in any future stories. I hope so.

[Bev Vincent]

I can see the connection to N, which is inspired by the Arthur Machen story "The Great God Pan." It's not a huge leap from Machen to Lovecraft, who is the inspiration for the end of Revival.

[smargavio]

Seems a lot of people are very torn on this book. Personally, it goes up there as one of my favorite King books of all time. It is definitely his most "literary" and reflective on growing old. Those parts were beautifuL, I thought. On the ending, though, I agree I thought he was going to try and resurrect his family, but with the condition they were in after the wreck I doubt that would have been reasonable. It seemed to me Jacobs was more concerned with seeing if there was anything to even bring his family back from. A door for him to walk through and see them again. Could be way off, but I loved everything about Revival :)

[smargavio]

This has become one of my favorite King works. Certainly his most "literary" novel, in my opinion. I was under the assumption Jacobs would go to try and bring his family back, but it made sense that he was more interested in seeing if that door even existed. He seemed much more objective in his pursuits by the end. Subconsciously, he might have been trying to find them, but I think the quest had taken their place at that point.

[webstar1000]

I agree. This was a wonderful book... killed it in like 3 days.

[Jon]

Does the big pole getting electrified by lightning give you ideas for a new porn? Or is it just me?

[mtdman]

I waited a year on this book. I originally didn't want to do it at all, because going off of his recent track record, I was dreading King's treatment of religion in this book. But I heard some good things about it, and after sitting on my ipod for a year I finally broke down and listened to it this week.

First off, David Morse reads this book. He's a veteran of a couple of King's movies, and overall an underrated actor. I've liked him since his St Elsewhere days. He was a great narrator, and I believe his narration helped draw me in to the book.

I believe this is his best book since 11/22/63, and one of his best books in many years. It's old school King, 70s vintage. He spends most of the book just telling the story of Jamie's life, and really works on sucking you in and getting you to empathize with not only Jamie, but for at least half the book Charlie. I thought he did a great job developing the character of Jamie, and a good job in telling the story of Charles' fall from grace and his development from simple small town pastor to a carney huckster, to a national preacher, to misguided genius, to madman. Whoever said there was no character development is crazy. That's all there is in this book.

Now, for the big climax and reveal. It wasn't scary, per se, but it was disturbing as hell. This book is still messing with my head. It's very upsetting, very disturbing, and it set my anxieties off big time. Maybe it's because I am older and have dealt with my own mortality recently. Maybe it's because I have religious predispositions and a belief in God and the afterlife. Maybe it's because I can relate to old fashioned small time nuclear family, growing up in a religious house, and then falling away as I grew into an adult. Maybe I just got very attached and empathized with the characters in this book. But when that reveal happened, it really freaked me out. And I'm still thinking about it. And it's still messing with my head. Just considering that happening in the afterlife is down right frightening and disturbing.

My only real problem is with how exactly that whole thing worked with Jamie being the link between the dead chick and the lightning post. I'm not real sure how that worked and he kinda glossed right through that one. The other thing is, why did Charles have to know what was on the other side at that point in his life? The dude was months away from kicking the bucket himself. You'd think at that point he'd just give it up and wait to find out when he died. But I guess he was obsessed. In general I would have liked to have know a bit more about what Charles D Jacobs was doing with his electricity experiments.

Overall, great book, imo. I really enjoyed it and I thought King did a good job writing this book without injecting a lot of personal political or religious views like he has with most of the books he has written in the last 5 years. It is really a throw back to the kind of stuff he wrote in the 70s ('Salem's Lot and The Shining).

[jhanic]

A nice analysis. Thanks!

John

[goheat]

Yes, great analysis, I just finished Revival yesterday! I got the impression that Jacobs didn't just want to find out about the other side, he wanted to try to control it while still alive, and that's why he was so obsessed(?)

[jhanic]

Yes, great analysis, I just finished Revival yesterday! I got the impression that Jacobs didn't just want to find out about the other side, he wanted to try to control it while still alive, and that's why he was so obsessed(?)

I think the possibility of seeing his wife and child again also had something to do with it.

John

[Ben Staad]

I think there certainly was a concept of lost time and wanting a chance to, at the least, make reprimands for not taking advantage of the time we have on earth.



Yes, great analysis, I just finished Revival yesterday! I got the impression that Jacobs didn't just want to find out about the other side, he wanted to try to control it while still alive, and that's why he was so obsessed(?)

I think the possibility of seeing his wife and child again also had something to do with it.

John

[mtdman]

I think he wanted to find out what happened to his wife and child, but at the same time he was arrogant and thought he could control the 'secret lightning' and control the afterlife. He thought he was smarter than everyone else, and equal to God.

[yellow_201]

I think we are missing a very important thing about the ending: Charles Jacobs cured Jamie´s brother at the beginning of the story, and at the end, he was part of the suicidal command that was ´cured´ by the electrical (dark) force. That means that Charles Jacobs had that evil curiosity even before his family died (He used Jamie´s brother as guinea pig. He was evil from the beginning).

[sucrukihoj@housat.com]

It should be either "...mastered a barred E, that was it." or "...mastered the barre E chord."

I think there is a mistake from the King himself. Maybe he's not a guitar player? Jamie says several times in the book that rock is based on bar e, but that's idiotic. You could say it's based on p o w e r - e, ie. e5. Misunderstanding in research perhaps?

A lot of rock is in e and a lot of rock is played with power chords. And once you can do power e and power a, and b,
you can do a simple rock groove (and blues as well). But to say that you have rock covered by learning b a r r e - e, that's very strange. It's of course possible but who does that?

[mtdman]

So I recently did a re-listen to this book. I have to reiterate how much I like 99% of this book and the wonderful character development and telling Jamie's life story.

As far as the ending goes, after really pondering it and thinking on this, I do believe he missed the mark with the ending. Originally it really disturbed me. But being able to put some time between the first reveal and now that changed.

I think there was real promise in the idea of a door between the two that was locked, and should stay locked. And opening that door let Mother into our world. Almost a "Pet Semetary" kind of thing where the person coming through wasn't an angel, but a demon and a big baddie. Instead of getting a glimpse into the afterlife through the key hole, Mother could have come through with the promise of an apocalypse. Maybe.

But the actual reveal of giant ants and crazy colors and enslaved humans kinda went over the top. It was too much Freddy Kruger, and not enough Omen. :D

Still a fantastic novel, imo. I always find these books/movies/tv shows that cover long periods of a person's life very interesting and they tend to make me introspective on my own life.

[Girlystevedave]

I agree with you on that ending. I remember finishing it and thinking "what the fuck is up with the giant ants?!" It seemed out of place somehow.

[Heather19]

I agree. I really loved the book up until the ending. It was just so different from the rest of the book, and seemed out of place to me.

[Ricky]

I agree with you on that ending. I remember finishing it and thinking "what the fuck is up with the giant ants?!" It seemed out of place somehow.

Amanda. :lol:

But I agree with you all. The end was definitely creepy, but a little jarring in that it was so different than the rest of the book. Plus, if I'm remembering right, the ending with the reveal you mentioned wasn't ver long. Just a handful of pages. I think it would've been better had King expanded on it a little more.

[Girlystevedave]

Look, with all the King books we've read, if we finish a story and think it's weird, then it's weird. :lol: