Reviews

Revival by Stephen King

effaly's review against another edition

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3.0

Das zweite Buch von Herrn King, das ich dieses Jahr gelesen habe, und das zweite das mich nicht vom Hocker haute, wie es seine Bücher sonst tun. Zum Glück war es aber nicht so schlimm wie Todesmarsch.

Revival war für mich die reinste Achterbahnfahrt. Es fängt langsam und gemütlich an, plötzlich, aus dem nichts, kommt der erste Lifthill, der einem den Atem raubt und einen Vorgeschmack gibt, was die restlich Fahrt bereit hält. Danach wird es erst Mal wieder gemütlich. Dann noch ein Lifthill, gemütlich, Lifthill gemütlich, und kurz vor dem Ende kommt die Mauskurve, mit der man schon fast gerechnet hat, aber einem dennoch den Atem raubt. Am Ende der Fahrt fragt man sich, ob es das nun sein Geld wert war, kommt aber zu dem Schluss, zufrieden zu sein, diese Erfahrung gemacht zu haben. Aber egal wie toll es war, es war nicht gut genug um lange in den Erinnerungen zu bleiben, und bereits nach der ersten Nacht, verblassen die Erinnerungen.

Wenn ich sage es fängt langsam und gemütlich an, meine ich wirklich seeeehr langsam. Normalerweise mag ich es, wie King langsam seinen Geschichten aufbaut, und man die Charaktere erst einmal kennen lernt, aber nicht wenn es gut 40% des Buches einnimmt. Bis auf 2 Vorkommnisse, die innerhalb weniger Seiten abgehandelt sind, passiert nämlich so gut wie nichts.

Die Tatsache dass ich alle vorgestellten Charaktere – einschließlich Jamie – entweder nicht mochte, oder einfach keine Verbindung mit ihnen aufbauen konnte, hat es nur noch schlimmer gemacht.

Nachdem man sich dann endlich durch die Kindheit von Jamie, dem Protagonisten, gelesen hat, nimmt der Plot Gott sei Dank (

tamracielle's review against another edition

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4.0

Even a "bad" Stephen King novel is generally a pretty decent read. And this is not a bad Stephen King novel. The man is a natural story teller. But the story is not what I expected. Reading the book jacket and critical reviews prepared me for a story of an Elmer Gantry style charlatan, a preacher man who is not what he seems. I have realized in recent years that I prefer King’s non-horror novels; i.e., 11/22/63 was one of my recent favorites. But Revival tricks you. Perhaps that is the point. There is very little in the way of supernatural or “scary” elements throughout most of the book. But those last 50 or so pages…look out! This is one of King’s creepiest, most unsettling stories in recent years. Be prepared for some nightmares afterwards!

mssunnyskies's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

drblump's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nichole1988's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

biostrings's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

tregina's review against another edition

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3.0

God damn, that last part is going to haunt me. I haven't read new Stephen King in a long time, and this reminds me what a hell of a storyteller he is. I deliberately saved the last forty pages or so for the light of day instead of finishing it last night, because this is one of those things that is virtually certain to give me nightmares.

voidpod's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.0

threegoodrats's review against another edition

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4.0

My review is here.

lpickett47's review against another edition

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5.0

Phenomenal book by King. Highly recommended. I love Lovecraftian horror so this book was right up my alley, but I do admit that there were some slow parts. However, the payoff at the end is worth the read alone and this is the only King book I have read that actually made me think about it for a while after finishing it. I'm usually not scared by his books, but this one definitely made me feel uneasy.