Review – Revival by Stephen King

Goodreads Synopsis

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings

My Review

I have read every piece of work written by Stephen King. After reading revival, my top two King novels are still The Stand and It. When he announced that he was retiring in 2002 after his accident in 1999, I was devastated. I enjoyed his work and felt like his lack of writing would be a hole in my life. Then he began writing and wrote some very ambitious and enjoyable works including the concluding volumes of The Dark Tower series, Duma Key, Dr. Sleep (a sequel of sorts to The Shining), Joyland, and Mr. Mercedes.

I can see a distinct difference in these post 2002 books. King has spent more time on developing characters with less emphasis on the gore. Sure, there are still horror and supernatural elements to his writing, but I found myself caring about the characters more than I have in some of his past books.

Revival is no different. Told in first person by his protagonist, Jamie Morton, King follows the character’s memories from the age of 7 over a period of nearly 60 years. The story focuses on Morton’s interaction with a man, Charles “Danny” Jacobs, who is first a minister in his town, then, following a personal tragedy, a carnival huckster, a revival tent preacher, and finally a mad scientist. Jacobs is a Nikola Tesla type of character that is obsessed with electricity. He turns his obsession into a dangerous madness.

The character development is rich. There are twists and unexpected turns to keep you reading. The ultimate resolution of the story is a bit more drawn out than King’s usual work, but it does close the loop on the events within the story. I do like the calls out to Joyland, another recent work.

I am very glad that Mr. King continues to write. His last three novels, in particular, are in the detective/mystery mode which he is masterful at writing. This one is worth reading.

I give it a strong 4 1/2 pizzas.