A review by lisacerezo
Revival by Stephen King

4.0

I was hooked from the first sentence, and ready for the promise of "the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written". Conceptually, yes, I do think the conclusion was terrifying. However, the build-up--particularly in the middle of the book--was on such a slow simmer for so long, that I didn't get a big, visceral reaction like I was hoping for. And honestly, I'm not sure that was even King's intent, really. Instead, this novel played more like an extended character study, with the storyline as a simple framework to thread together the various anecdotal stories King wanted to tell. The beginning was very strong, almost a short story unto itself. And there were plenty of places with a good, deep, emotional resonance. To come from those moments to an eerie, truly visceral conclusion would have been an attempt to tell two different types of tales. And no, this ending didn't keep me up at night like some of his others have. But it has stayed with me, lingering in the back of my mind. Now that I know what kind of book I got myself into, I think this is one I'm going to enjoy re-reading, perhaps even more than the first time.