From the Bookshelf of 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]…

Revival

Stephen King

Start date: May 4, 2015

Discussion: . Week 16: Favorite Author

Why we're reading this: Love Stephen King!
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. Week 16: Favorite Author

* Week 16: Introduction
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 4 posts · 133 views

last updated Feb 23, 2015 09:29AM

* Week 16: Progress Post
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 17 posts · 69 views

last updated Dec 13, 2015 12:00PM

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What Members Thought

Nov 01, 2014 Jason Pellegrini rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audible, 2023

What a great read to start of the year!! Couldn't put this down... Even during the 'slow parts'.

This novel is certainly a slow burn, as far as storytelling goes. I've seen some people even complain on here about getting so fat in the book, and not being able to explain what it is about. I think it's worth the trip though. You can't understand the characters without learning their rich history first. King is called a master storyteller, and this story proves exactly why... Like I said, you start ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Jimmie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: stephen-king, 2015-reading-challenge-group

This was an entertaining book. I enjoyed going through the life span of the main character and seeing how he progressed past difficulties in his life. Mr. King has a great knack for developing believable characters. I also enjoyed the technical aspects in Revival.

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Aug 27, 2014 Vince rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Stephen King’s Revival makes a bold promise even before the reader turns to the first page. Stamped to the cover of the book is the assertion that Revival offers “the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written.” Those are some mighty strong words. But are they true words?

Revival, like most of King’s works, is a strong character study. Our narrator and protagonist is Jamie Morton. We follow his journey from his childhood in Maine in the 1960s, through his drug-addled middle years, t Stephen King’s Revival makes a bold promise even before the reader turns to the first page. Stamped to the cover of the book is the assertion that Revival offers “the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written.” Those are some mighty strong words. But are they true words?

Revival, like most of King’s works, is a strong character study. Our narrator and protagonist is Jamie Morton. We follow his journey from his childhood in Maine in the 1960s, through his drug-addled middle years, to his life as an adult in Colorado. Throughout his life, the shadow of Charles Jacobs hovers over him (sometimes, as the opening pages show us, quite literally). Jacobs starts Revival as a young minister with a wife and child. His journey, which is often aligned with Jamie’s, is a dark one that the book illuminates with quick bursts, much like the lightning that graces the cover of Revival. Both characters are well drawn, relatable, real, flawed. If there’s one thing King can do in his sleep, its write good characters.

The story itself moves at a slower pace than some King fans may be expecting. And certain areas of the tale that one might expect King to tease out a little more (Jamie’s addiction, for example, which is an issue with which King is personally acquainted) are introduced and brushed aside with broad strokes. But King knows what he is doing. As the pages of the book begin to pass the halfway point, a sense of dread enters the story. It does not come with a crack of lightning, but seeps in slowly. By time it’s fully recognizable, it’s clear that King has subtly brought his reader to the point of no return.

So what of this “most terrifying conclusion?” On the surface, the climax at the end of the novel may not seem like much, especially for fans of King. The actions that occur are not ones I would call “terrifying.” But those actions are only one piece of the puzzle. What lies beneath is indeed terrifying. One moves through the final pages of Revival waiting for King to pull the punch and offer up an ounce of hope. He does not.

King has written a book that tackles some big ideas – religion, grief, faith, death. Revival asks big, universal questions. And King has answers to those questions. But those answers are not the answers one might expect. And they are not the answers one wants to hear. And that is what makes Revival a truly terrifying novel, one that will stick with this Constant Reader for a long time to come.

Revival was read as part of my 2015 Reading Challenge.
Category: A Book From An Author You Love That You Haven’t Read Yet
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Dec 14, 2014 Nicole rated it liked it

Shelves: our-personal-library, fiction, read-in-2014, horror

I'm an acknowledged Stephen King superfan ... and for the first time, I'm actually kind of ambivalent about one of his books. For the first 3/4's of the book, I wasn't very into it. I foresaw a 2-star review in my future. Then, the ending happened, and I LOVED it. As soon as I finished last night, I jumped onto GR and gave it four stars in a rush of ending-fueled adrenaline. Today, while discussing the book with a friend and fellow King fan, I realized that with the initial flush of the finale g ...more

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Nov 25, 2014 Casey O'connell rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2014

I felt like I was on a roller coaster going straight up a huge hill while reading the first 90% of this book. The cart crested the hill, tripped, and plunged two inches into a tub of non-fat plain yogurt. It could have been amazing, but it kind of scrapped out on me. In terms of King' s recent work, this is more "Lisey' s Story" than "11/22/63." ...more

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Dec 20, 2014 Kathi rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-book-challenge

Week 16 of 2015 Reading Challenge - A book from an author you love but haven't read yet. I have been saving this one just for this week!

Stephen King does not disappoint - a good read as always! ...more

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