Revival...do NOT open unless finished book! *SPOILERS*

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Jojo87

Prolific member
Jan 8, 2009
7,468
19,518
37
Finland
I finished Revival today, this time I have to say I was disappointed, I didn't liked to story at all for some reason. Usually I love his
latest books but this time I didn't and it took me 3 months to read it anyway. Sorry Steve but this wasn't my favorite. Not to talk bad
about the whole book there were few good parts that I liked. My thoughts about the book.
 

muskrat

Dis-Member
Nov 8, 2010
4,518
19,564
Under your bed
This was the Master at the top of his game. Loved the ending, loved what a downer it kinda was, reminded me of the early books, how they didn't always turn out all hunky-dorry. And then there was the Frankenstein vibe, always a plus in my book. And somehow--maybe it was all that guitar stuff--this one had me thinkin of ol Johnny Dalglish; he'd have loved this'n.

In the end, it all came down to death. The afterlife, and what we'll find there. And a little rock-n-roll, just fer good measure.

I'll be re-readin this'n by summer, you just wait...
 

leke

Member
Jul 23, 2013
13
35
Just finished the book and I have some questions. So the book chronicles the relationship between the Pastor and Jaime. It seems as though they were destined/linked from the beginning. King sorta explains this in the end with Jaime being the "conduit" to the after world but why Jaime? What was special about him? It's not by pure chance that Jaime encounters Jacobs at carnival, so what drew them together twice after the first encounter?

I liked how King develops Jacobs character drastically. In the beginning he's a young vibrant pastor until the freak accident that killed his wife and son. So the passion of religion transformed that hobby of electricity to an obsession to infinite power to the after world. I knew it would eventually have something to do with his wife and kid in the end.

Curious as to why Jacobs never healed himself after suffering a stroke? You think he knew he would suffer the same fate as those healed at the end with murder suicide side effects?
 

Gadgit

New Member
Apr 2, 2015
3
11
56
A couple of things that I have thought of...
At the start Jamie is playing with the toy soldiers, making them do his bidding. Jacobs come and overshadows this scene.
This is a shadow of the ants (Jamie) marching the people around and mother (Jacobs) overseeing all of this and being the one of manipulate them.

When Con was healed, Pasty was the only one who was not surprised. Claire thought that she caught Jacobs out in a lie about how he had the ENS for over a year. Maybe he had been reading about the secret electricity for quite some time, but built the ENS that afternoon. Pasty had liquor in the glove box when she was killed and later during the autopsy, alcohol was smelt on her 'breath'.
So Pasty wasn't happy at home, possibly with what Jacobs was doing/reading. Maybe he had lost his faith by then, hence a reverends wife could easily turn to drinking. During the terrible sermon it appears that Jacobs knew a about the secret electricity (lightning reference) and also had a idea what was behind the veil of death (dark glass, religion lies, etc).
 

leke

Member
Jul 23, 2013
13
35
A couple of things that I have thought of...
At the start Jamie is playing with the toy soldiers, making them do his bidding. Jacobs come and overshadows this scene.
This is a shadow of the ants (Jamie) marching the people around and mother (Jacobs) overseeing all of this and being the one of manipulate them.

When Con was healed, Pasty was the only one who was not surprised. Claire thought that she caught Jacobs out in a lie about how he had the ENS for over a year. Maybe he had been reading about the secret electricity for quite some time, but built the ENS that afternoon. Pasty had liquor in the glove box when she was killed and later during the autopsy, alcohol was smelt on her 'breath'.
So Pasty wasn't happy at home, possibly with what Jacobs was doing/reading. Maybe he had lost his faith by then, hence a reverends wife could easily turn to drinking. During the terrible sermon it appears that Jacobs knew a about the secret electricity (lightning reference) and also had a idea what was behind the veil of death (dark glass, religion lies, etc).
I think Jacobs may have also healed her at one point and the alcohol was a means to block the images of the ants she may have also seen, dunno just a guess. Could also explain why she was not surprised Con would be healed.
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
This seems funny to me but I finished the book around two months ago and I can barely remember anything at all about it. I'm re-reading this thread and going, "Really? I don't remember any of this whatsoever". I remember not being blown away by it but enjoying it enough to where I wasn't bored reading it. The good news is that in a few years it will be completely new to me again. Some stories resonate and some don't, but that has to be some kind of a record for me.
 

QueenOfHearts

Well-Known Member
Apr 18, 2015
57
315
38
Derry, Maine
I found this book to be absolutely engrossing. From the very beginning I was totally pulled in by what was going to take place. I think that the pace of the book was dead on. It was like a bread crum trail giving you that little bit of goodness to continue to will you forward. I grew up and did all 12 years of school at a catholic private school so I am very aware of the religious significance of all things mentioned and the way that the rev changed from beginning to end. More than anything else, more than what was behind the ivy, what was done to Mary Fay, the ants and the others what truly struck me scared stupid was what happened to Jamie and everyone else who had been healed. Reading how everyone that had been healed had in some sadistic way murdered and maimed the people they loved the most then committed suicide gave me the sickest feeling in my stomach. If that wasn't enough ending the book with Jamie stating that he thinks that happens because "Mother needs sacrifices" will continue to haunt my dreams for YEARS to come... Bravo Stephen anyone who knocks this book just doesn't have the capacity to truly take it what it spells out for us ALL..sinner and saint alike.
 

Waya

Member
May 6, 2015
6
27
Virginia
I "liked" the book, but I didn't "love" it. Felt like it needed another draft to clear up some things, like why the wife was drinking - there was no hint of marriage problems and she seemed like the perfect preacher's wife, but overall she wasn't fleshed out well as a character therefore I didn't really feel the horrible sense of loss that Jacobs experienced. I also really wanted more between Jamie and Jacobs since they seemed drawn to each other from the very beginning. Especially I wanted more of the science and experiments, but I'm a bit of a geek. The end fell flat for me as there just wasn't enough horror there. Yeah, it was an awful place, whether it was "heaven" or a parallel universe, but it wasn't enough of a threat to get me scared. Also couldn't figure out why Jacobs didn't cure himself, and with him so close to death at the end, why was he so crazed to find what happened to his family when he was so close to joining them anyway? Didn't make much sense to me. Would have preferred a more Frankenstein approach with him trying to get them to cross back over into new bodies. That was what I thought King was originally going for.
 

KingAHolic

Banned
Feb 3, 2015
6,926
20,505
Old Dominion
I "liked" the book, but I didn't "love" it. Felt like it needed another draft to clear up some things, like why the wife was drinking - there was no hint of marriage problems and she seemed like the perfect preacher's wife, but overall she wasn't fleshed out well as a character therefore I didn't really feel the horrible sense of loss that Jacobs experienced. I also really wanted more between Jamie and Jacobs since they seemed drawn to each other from the very beginning. Especially I wanted more of the science and experiments, but I'm a bit of a geek. The end fell flat for me as there just wasn't enough horror there. Yeah, it was an awful place, whether it was "heaven" or a parallel universe, but it wasn't enough of a threat to get me scared. Also couldn't figure out why Jacobs didn't cure himself, and with him so close to death at the end, why was he so crazed to find what happened to his family when he was so close to joining them anyway? Didn't make much sense to me. Would have preferred a more Frankenstein approach with him trying to get them to cross back over into new bodies. That was what I thought King was originally going for.

Totally agree with this assessment. Especially about the fleshing out of characters.... and unanswered questions...
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
This seems funny to me but I finished the book around two months ago and I can barely remember anything at all about it. I'm re-reading this thread and going, "Really? I don't remember any of this whatsoever". I remember not being blown away by it but enjoying it enough to where I wasn't bored reading it. The good news is that in a few years it will be completely new to me again. Some stories resonate and some don't, but that has to be some kind of a record for me.
I hear you. For me this was such a throwaway book in that I read it in no time flat and as qucikly as I read it I forgot it. Except of course for

the giant ants! WTF???

But, everyone knows how I feel about that subject!
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
I hear you. For me this was such a throwaway book in that I read it in no time flat and as qucikly as I read it I forgot it. Except of course for

the giant ants! WTF???

But, everyone knows how I feel about that subject!

Lol I forgot all about that part as well. In fact even now that you mention it, I still have zero recollection of it....or of 90% of the book for that matter. There are SK books that I haven't read for 10 years that I remember almost every detail. I read this one 6 months ago and can't remember a lick about it other than the overall theme and a couple of events, but even they are vague.