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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another great character study from King. Jamie is a full-fledged character from start to finish. I had a few minor problems with the ending, but overall a satisfying book.
fast-paced
Loved this book. It was so fascinating and well done until the ending. I felt like the ending jumped the shark a bit and was a stark contrast to the rest of the book. I didn’t love the turn it took and I struggled to follow the plot at points. Still it was interesting to read and kept me wanting to see what happened next.
Classic Stephen King and a poor book to finish before bed.
I think this book will be polarizing, but imo Revival is Stephen King at the height of his powers. It tells the story about Jamie Morton, from his childhood and meeting with the Charles Jacobs the new Methodist minister, to adulthood as a heroin-addicted musician. All the characters are interesting and fleshed out, flawed and real. The story takes a WTF turn at the end; it's very dark, depressing, weighted with dread. It's like looking at something you shouldn't have. I stayed up thinking about it for a long time...
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Method: audiobook
Rating: 3/5 stars
Drama: 4/5
Thoughts: Interesting - I really need to stop listening while at work - I missed a lot - but I also was never really sucked in..this just isn't the genre for me..at least I tried.
Stephen King’s ‘Revival’ is a playful book! How many times and ways does King revive his main character, Jamie Morton? He revives after overindulging in illicit drugs, he revives his employability, he revives relationships! But that is not all! Morton’s antagonist and ‘change agent’, Reverend Charles Jacobs, performs many revivals as well. However, gentle reader, do not be distracted by counting the many forms of revivals Stephen King has constructed into this story of obsession and hope. You know King will mischievously upend every expectation a reader has begun to anticipate! Horror abides....
Reverend Charles Jacobs has an obsession with what he calls ‘secret electricity’. He has been experimenting with secret electricity in his garage, partially in the building of electrical toys. When Jamie meets Charles in 1962, Jamie is six years old and Charles is in his late twenties. Charles is the new minister of a dying rural church called the First Methodist Church of Harlow, which the Morton family attends. Charles uses his electrical toys to illustrate biblical stories, such as Jesus walking on water. He is hoping to revive the interest of the community in God and religion.
Conrad, called Con by his family, who is Jamie’s older brother, suffers an injury to his throat three years after Reverend Jacobs begins preaching. Con loses his voice. Jacobs offers to cure Con through an experimental electrical device he has been hoping would limit pain and stimulate muscles. It works! Con’s voice is revived! The device Reverend Jacobs uses is powered by special batteries Jacobs invented which may or may not be using the ‘secret electricity’.
Con is Jacobs’ first ‘cure’....but unfortunately, one thing Jacobs cannot fix is the unexpected deaths of his loved ones. Are his loved ones with God? Why did they die so horribly? Is the Bible true? Will God save us only after death? Is there a way to pierce the veil of Death? What is the value of being alive? Is it all a con?
Quoted from [b:A Tale of Two Cities|1953|A Tale of Two Cities|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344922523s/1953.jpg|2956372]:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
Despite what I think is the MacGuffin object of Christian faith being used as a thematic third rail in this novel (third-rail systems provide electric power to trains; electrified rails will electrocute anyone wandering or falling onto the tracks), ‘Revival’ is a ultimately a book of horror entertainment (eventually) and King’s usual revived remembrances of his childhood, gentle reader (and perhaps expressing some residual rage). Purely for fun. Right?
For those who have read the novel already, I felt Jacobs’ ‘Terrible Sermon’ rings so true I was pumping my fist and cheering him on, almost dropping the book in my excitement. I re-read it for days.
Reverend Charles Jacobs has an obsession with what he calls ‘secret electricity’. He has been experimenting with secret electricity in his garage, partially in the building of electrical toys. When Jamie meets Charles in 1962, Jamie is six years old and Charles is in his late twenties. Charles is the new minister of a dying rural church called the First Methodist Church of Harlow, which the Morton family attends. Charles uses his electrical toys to illustrate biblical stories, such as Jesus walking on water. He is hoping to revive the interest of the community in God and religion.
Conrad, called Con by his family, who is Jamie’s older brother, suffers an injury to his throat three years after Reverend Jacobs begins preaching. Con loses his voice. Jacobs offers to cure Con through an experimental electrical device he has been hoping would limit pain and stimulate muscles. It works! Con’s voice is revived! The device Reverend Jacobs uses is powered by special batteries Jacobs invented which may or may not be using the ‘secret electricity’.
Con is Jacobs’ first ‘cure’....but unfortunately, one thing Jacobs cannot fix is the unexpected deaths of his loved ones. Are his loved ones with God? Why did they die so horribly? Is the Bible true? Will God save us only after death? Is there a way to pierce the veil of Death? What is the value of being alive? Is it all a con?
Quoted from [b:A Tale of Two Cities|1953|A Tale of Two Cities|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344922523s/1953.jpg|2956372]:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
Despite what I think is the MacGuffin object of Christian faith being used as a thematic third rail in this novel (third-rail systems provide electric power to trains; electrified rails will electrocute anyone wandering or falling onto the tracks), ‘Revival’ is a ultimately a book of horror entertainment (eventually) and King’s usual revived remembrances of his childhood, gentle reader (and perhaps expressing some residual rage). Purely for fun. Right?
For those who have read the novel already, I felt Jacobs’ ‘Terrible Sermon’ rings so true I was pumping my fist and cheering him on, almost dropping the book in my excitement. I re-read it for days.