Stephen King's REVIVAL--A Review #revival #stephenking

I knew absolutely nothing about REVIVAL  when my daughter-in-law purchased it for me while I was in the hospital. Since I am a fan of all things Stephen King, I could not wait to get started.  

​The novel

A new preacher comes to town and befriends six year-old Jamie Morton. Reverend Charles Jacobs has a beautiful young wife and son and the three new arrivals warm the hearts of the community. There are things going on behind the scenes that the adults don't know. Their new preacher has an obsession for electricity and can manipulate it in ways Jamie has never imagined. When tragedy strikes the Jacob's family, Reverend Charles goes on a mission to discover who and what is behind the energy that rules the world. 

I hesitate to say more because I don't want to give away the story. But suffice it to say that neither Jamie or Jacobs has an easy go in life and the two of them will cross paths at crucial periods throughout their lives. Tragedy surrounds both characters as is usual in a King novel and the ending, I can promise you, will not be what you expect. There is no answer to life after death and the dimension King imagines is a hostile place. 

The Review

The first few chapters of REVIVAL confused me. I wasn't sure where King was going, but once I got into the third and fourth chapter, I was able to figure out the story. Still, it took some digging and rehashing to bring it all together. I found this surprising with King. Generally, his novels grab my attention from the very beginning. 

REVIVAL is choppy and bounces back and forth between different times in Jamie and Jacobs' life but that didn't take away my fascination with the novel and I did binge read it because King is still King and I knew there had to be some redeeming features. There is a lot of unimportant detail in REVIVAL and while King generally uses that to his advantage, this time it took away from the story. REVIVAL seemed flat in places then overthought in others. It almost seemed as if novel was searching for a meaning then failed at the end. 

However, there is redemption in the story and there are places that shine with King's imagination. Unfortunately, I am glad I didn't not pay for the novel. Otherwise I would have been deeply disappointed.