There are bound to be some lesser-known Stephen King novels out there. Especially when considering there are over seventy of them. For me, Revival is the first King novel on this crazy journey I’m putting myself through that I knew nothing about. For those of you that don’t know, I am reading every Stephen King novel in reverse order of release. Revival sits right between the first and second Mr. Mercedes books. Which I sort of feel is the reason it’s overshadowed. Mr. Mercedes is, of course, one of the few King books that has a sequel (and two at that, making it the ONLY King trilogy). It also has a television adaptation. Making it well-known. But Revival, on the other hand, seems to have slipped through to obscurity.
So, why is Revival not on anybody’s lists when it comes to King? Let’s hop right in and see what happens when I read Stephen King’s mad-scientist novel, Revival.
That’s right, you read that right… Revival is about a mad scientist: a pastor with a fascination with electricity. He experiments between sermons with any form of electricity. He even uses home-made experiments as teaching tools in his church. But then, he discovers something beyond electricity. Something only he knows how to harness. Using this sacred power, he finds that he is able to heal people. But what happens when he is able to show his church that he can literally heal the sick and disabled? Understandably, He develops a sort of Jesus complex and simply cannot stop himself from taking this power further and further.
But then…
One of the people he healed starts to lose her mind. She goes insane and robs a jewelry store. Her family worries as she has seemingly lost any and all control of her actions. Revival dives in to what happens when a man gains too much power and realizes that he can abuse this power to gain everything he wants. He is unable to stop himself, even when confronted with the devastating results of his experiments in the long-term.
The book actually follows Jamie Morton, not the pastor. Jamie is actually one of the pastor’s original experiments. The pastor helped Jamie a long time ago and feels that Jamie owes him a debt. Jamie, on the other hand, has discovered just how shady the pastors experiments have been. He knows about the after-effects and fears that they will happen to him eventually. Jamie hunts down the pastor with plans of revenge. Only to be roped in to the pastor’s last, and most dangerous, experiment. Which finally reveals the true horror of everything the pastor has done.
In summary, Revival is wonderful. Pastor Jacobs is one of the better King villains and fits perfectly in that grey area. He isn’t quite evil, but he is also not following the lessons he teaches in church. He is a perfect villain for this novel and I honestly rank him way up there in terms of King villains. Jamie is also a really interesting and troubled protagonist. The story unfolds very very slowly. I know some people might not like the slow burn, but the payoff is oh so wonderful. Once you realize Pastor Jacobs true intentions, the book really takes off. Again, King is not known for his endings, but Revival is one of the better ones. It has a great payoff and finishes really strong.
I give Revival a 3.5 out of 4. Simply put, this book does not deserve to be overshadowed. I have never heard anyone recommend this book, or even talk about it. It is a fantastic read and might rank up there as one of my favorite King novels. I did not expect this one to hit the way it did. I went in expecting it to be nothing special. I went in expecting the worst. Boy was I wrong. It blew all of my expectations out of the water. I do not think this should be overlooked by any King fans and it certainly deserves some limelight. Honestly give this one a chance. To use a terrible pun, I was shocked by how good this one is. Lord forgive me for what I just wrote.
P.S. There is also some commentary on the mega-churches that rob millions and millions of dollars each year from people looking for salvation. Which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But for people like me, that can’t stand those that prey on people looking for help, it’s a sweet little payoff to see the shady underbelly of religion.
One more book to throw in to the ranking of every Stephen King. This is going to get difficult very soon.
- Revival (yeah… It’s that good. How long can it stay on top?)
- The Institute
- The Outsider
- The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
- Sleeping Beauties
- Elevation