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

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Brooks

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Nov 4, 2014
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The replies in this thread have been great and informative. My question is: was the final experiment on the hill a "catalyst" for the treated individuals by electricity to go nuts and kill their family? Meaning, if the final scene was foiled by Jamie earlier, would the others throughout the world still have killed family and themselves? Thanks.
 

Brooks

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Nov 4, 2014
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Finished Revival a few days ago. I liked it but not loved it. The overall plot flowed well and I admit, I binged at the end being on vacation at the beach. My guess at the end was I thought the Rev was going to try and bring his wife/son back to life (ala Frankenstein) through electricity. I thought the ants were a stretch at the end but hey, SK will keep you on your toes. I'm giving it 3.5 out of 5!
 

EMTP513

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Oct 31, 2012
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Well, although the ending of Revival was already ruined for me by a dastardly newspaper article I absolutely loved this book! The first person narrative worked extremely well here, and Jamie Morton is now amongst my list of great King character crushes (alongside Jake Epping, Scott Landon, and of course Roland!). I was instantly drawn in by the characters and settings. King's description of past decades/eras makes me wish time travel really were possible, just to know if everything looked/tasted/smelled as good as the sensations King creates in my imagination.

The Rev/Preacher/Mister Charles Daniel Jacobs is possibly one of the most pitiful and complex character's King has created in a long time. Wow, I truly pitied him, he wasn't a bad guy and his character made me wonder how much circumstance and life events really can change a person? Had Patsy and Tag-Along-Morrie survived he probably would have lived a happy and fulfilled life. Sure he was already playing with the unknown electricity even at that stage in his life, but it was the accounts of what others saw "behind the door" that spurred him on to go further, all in the hope of discovering what fate had befallen those he loved once they reached the other side.

The religious aspect of the book was also very well written. I appreciated how a man who had once been so devoted to God could turn away from religion after his family had been cruelly ripped away from him in such dreadful circumstances. The physical description of what his family looked like after the crash, and knowing the Rev witnessed them in that condition, would be enough to make most people question their faith, if not drive them slightly insane. And where illegal substances were Jamie's drug of choice in his later years, the Rev's drug was electricity and working with that was his coping mechanism following his family's deaths. Yet the unknown electricity and suggestions of what was really "out there" slowly turned him from an affable character to someone cynical and obsessive in his pursuit of the truth.

The unknown electricity is dark and dangerous, and looking at it from a religious aspect it is probably the work of the devil. The world it exposed was a hellish vision, where good people were beaten upon and tortured...by ants no less! The smallest creatures that as humans we think nothing of stamping upon, so it's quite clever that in this world they tower above humans and beat upon them like they are worthless. Yet it was playing with the unknown electricity that created that world/hell for the Rev and those he healed...so I have no doubt had he left it alone and eventually died a natural death he would have been reunited with his family in another world that represented heaven. Just my opinion folks.

Damnit!! There’s so many aspects of this book I could waffle on about right now, but this post is already far too long...sorry. However, if we could get a discussion going then I'm sure many other aspects will pop up along the way. So come on folks, what did y'all think? :smile2:

I've experienced something similar to what the reverend did; only it wasn't my own child and he was murdered, he didn't die in an accident that resembles manslaughter.
So while he was giving that fiery sermon I was relating to every single word of it. In fact I had a hard time with the people who were becoming angry with him and judging him.
The same type of thing happened to us after the tragedy. If you questioned a God at all you were given verbal razors by most people. Unfortunately that didn't stop the questions from coming into my head; it only barred them from passing out of my mouth.
 

Walter Oobleck

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Mar 6, 2013
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Curious, that it is a failed priest that turns to science. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. King never once uses the word science in the story. Some people want science to do anything. Others are afraid science will do just that. I'd read a McCarthy story just prior to this one...maybe it was Suttree. Curious line in that one about how some people seek only the bad, can only see that the glass is half full or empty or not to their liking. The answer does not compute. Science.
 
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Steffen

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Aug 9, 2015
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I loved this book. Finished it last night, as a matter of fact, and I HAD to talk about it. Which is how I ended up here, after swearing off online forums about 10 years ago cause I didn't have patience with the trolls & flame wars. All I can say is that somebody probably got King a little pissed by suggesting that he's getting soft in his old age, so this book was his response. That ending was a kick in the gut just like Pet Sematary. I actually had to put it aside when I finished the penultimate chapter, and I've NEVER done that with any of his books (bear in mind I've been reading his stuff since I was 11). I actually had to take a breather before finishing the concluding chapter. I like when SK is in HP Lovecraft mode. I also like that even though the book wasn't bloated (at under 400 pages, it is uncommon for King), the story felt lean and tight but still fully fleshed out.
 

AquinasMan

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Aug 9, 2015
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I know what you mean, Steffen. The end of the book reminded me of the end of Lovecraft's novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."
 
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AquinasMan

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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

As I see it, Jamie is the only person that Jacobs healed that Jacobs actually liked. All the rest he treats as either a lab experiment or with contempt (especially those in his "faith healer" days). Jacobs needs a truly personal connection to get his answers.
 

AquinasMan

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Aug 9, 2015
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The replies in this thread have been great and informative. My question is: was the final experiment on the hill a "catalyst" for the treated individuals by electricity to go nuts and kill their family? Meaning, if the final scene was foiled by Jamie earlier, would the others throughout the world still have killed family and themselves? Thanks.

I think it's not the experiment, but the death of Jacobs that triggers the mass killings/suicides. However, if Mr. King should write a sequel, this should be a theme he explores. Jamie needs redemption, big time...
 

Steffen

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I know what you mean, Steffen. The end of the book reminded me of the end of Lovecraft's novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."
As you mention that: I lucked out some time ago and got the entire Lovecraft collection dirt cheap on my Kindle. Gotta dive back into that. Will probably start with "Innsmouth." Thanks for the reminder.
 

AquinasMan

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Aug 9, 2015
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As you mention that: I lucked out some time ago and got the entire Lovecraft collection dirt cheap on my Kindle. Gotta dive back into that. Will probably start with "Innsmouth." Thanks for the reminder.
You won't be disappointed. I'd also recommend Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan, which Mr. King mentions in his dedication. It's a disturbing story and pretty much the precursor to Lovecraft and the rest of that sub-genre of horror literature. If it scares Mr. King, it's worth a look... :)
 

Steffen

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Aug 9, 2015
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You won't be disappointed. I'd also recommend Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan, which Mr. King mentions in his dedication. It's a disturbing story and pretty much the precursor to Lovecraft and the rest of that sub-genre of horror literature. If it scares Mr. King, it's worth a look... :)

Yes, I read 'Pan' and other Machen stories as a teenager. Got a Kindle collection of his stuff too! Ugh - so many books, so little time.
 

AquinasMan

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Aug 9, 2015
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Yes, I read 'Pan' and other Machen stories as a teenager. Got a Kindle collection of his stuff too! Ugh - so many books, so little time.

What else from Machen's do you recommend, Steffen? I've only read The Great God Pan.

As for your final comment, I feel like that myself far too often. I need to make a list and prioritize it...
 

Steffen

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Aug 9, 2015
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What else from Machen's do you recommend, Steffen? I've only read The Great God Pan.

As for your final comment, I feel like that myself far too often. I need to make a list and prioritize it...


There were other stories I liked but I can't recall the names now. However, if you have a Kindle or use the app, I'd encourage you to take a look at a nice collection available on Amazon. I haven't started on it yet, but it is a comprehensive collection of his work. The price has dropped even lower than from when last I purchased it!

On another note, I hope the original poster will forgive me for digressing from his topic :) .

Arthur Machen's Collected Works: The Great God Pan, The Angels of Mons, The Three Impostors, The House of Souls, plus more! ( 30 Short Stories ), Arthur Machen - Amazon.com
 

Judy at SKMB

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Sep 27, 2015
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Did anyone else wonder if author meant to suggest Charlie had a romantic relationship with Jamie's mother, Laura? Jamie noted that it took an hour for his mother to deliver a goodbye cake to Charlie, and at the end, when Jacobs asked Mother about the status of deceased loved ones, he listed Patsy, Maurie and Laura, in so doing suggesting that she played an elevated role in his thoughts. And a neighbor, can't remember name, insisted that Laura be the one to tell Charlie about the deaths of his family - possibly because others in the small town knew of a special relationship between Charlie & Laura Morton. Could Jamie have been Charlie's son? Doubles Charlie's depravity.

Also, wondering if I missed something. Why didn't Jamie ask Jacobs to cure his mother's cancer? He did not yet know about dire consequences of Jacobs treatments and had seen Jacobs cure his brother's vocal problem. Seems like even if he didn't like Jacobs, Jamie would have pulled out all the stops to save his mother. (If he did and I missed it, please forgive. Listened to this on mp3 player and it's painful to find specific passages to do double checks.)

Last. Am I alone in feeling like the first reunion of Jamie and Jacobs was tinged with mutual resentment for no particular reason? At their last meeting they'd had a tender son/surrogate father moment, with expressions of love and hugs. Next time they meet they're cranky with one another almost from the get. They'd each crawled through some life-changing experiences but it seems they would have spent a moment or two on good fellowship before going cranky.
 

Neesy

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May 24, 2012
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Neesy did you NOT read the thread title?!?!
Ha ha - sorry :a11: - I had not read any of these posts previously - I must have just landed on photog girl's post accidentally.

But now that I have finished Revival - it was very good. I am not going to analyze it to death.

It is just another good story in a long line of stories. Thanks be to God that Mr. King is still churning out the tales. He really is the King (to me, anyway) - now I have to move on to the next book - Finder's Keepers.
 

icarus

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Mar 30, 2011
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This is a really good read, yet again King comes through with another good story...when I started reading I thought that Rev Jacobs was going to be some bad nasty guy who torments young Jamie, but I quickly began to like Jacobs and his passion for God....I had a feeling that electricity was going to play a big part in the story...
When Jacobs healed Jamies brother Con...and Jacobs family was killed....I thought he would probably resurrect them from the dead through his electricity....but it was not so...
What was really good and quite scary was that the people who he healed had a reaction afterwards, by going mad, doing crazy stuff, suicide....a way of saying don't mess with fire!!
But the scary thing in the story was that when we do pass on to another after life, it is a nasty horrible place...that gave me nightmares!
 
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