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[close] Revival by Stephen King
4★

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

It was well written in Stephen King's usual style but it lacked that "King" feeling that we fans have come to expect and associate with his books. The element of evil...supernatural suspense...something lurking in the background...those things that have always been found just wasn't there. The story was really about Jamie and the minister, who had more interest in electricity and it's powers than he did God. The story covers many, many years of Jamie and the preachers lives and you just keep reading waiting for "IT", (no pun intended), to happen. It kinda did toward the end of the book but we had waited 450 pages. So I have to say good story...but not his best work .