"Revival" by Stephen King – Eternal Bonds

In recent years it seems that with his fans, Stephen King has been delivering largely hit or miss literature, at least if his book reviews are to be trusted.

Fortunately, it seems that he managed to find his footing with his more recent works, and in my opinion Revival is certainly a grand step in the proper direction.

To explain the story as basically as possible, it begins with the introduction of Jamie Morton, a young boy who develops a deep and somewhat dark bond with the Reverend Jacobs who only recently arrived in town. A macabre turn of events pushes Jamie into the arms of tragedy, and the good Reverend to curse the name of God and leave the town forever.

Decades down the line, Jamie, while living the life of a heroin-addicted nomadic musician, crosses paths with Jacobs once again. As you can guess, the road they travel from then on is increasingly addled with dangers, perils, and the kind of decadent evil King has become so deeply-appreciated for.

To start things off, you will notice that contrary to his previous books that were more than 700 pages long and found less success, this one makes for just about 400 pages, and the difference is felt immediately.

It is a thriller which seems to make a step towards returning to King's roots, with the plot moving along quickly and continuously, with there being no overly drawn descriptions or unnecessary expositions.

Virtually everything that happens – from the actions to the characterizations themselves – is in one way or another related to the story, and you never feel as if an abrupt pause has been dropped on your head.

As a matter of fact, the whole thing flows so well together that it turns into a real page-turner, because you know that every couple of pages are going to bring you something new, interesting and exciting.

I found that the characters themselves were also quite an achievement in this book. To begin with, they are portrayed in relatable and realistic ways without going too much into one extreme or the other. In other words, they are human, and prone to making the same mistakes and being subjected to the same emotions as we are.

Even though I will admit that the dialog isn't exactly as sharp or subtle as I would have liked, there is never the feeling that characters jump to conclusions or act in ways inappropriate to them; their conduct is rather believable.

Now, when it comes to the question as to how the horror itself is, (after all, we are talking about the master of horror and the book is advertised as being terrifying) I have to say that it was fantastic and really did keep me on the edge of my seat.

With that being said, there are numerous occasions where the terror went down a notch as King indulged a bit too much in grand and over-the-top descriptions. Basically, it was the classic case of the unknown being, in the end, more frightening than the known. You shouldn't let this concern you too much though, for in the long run it ends up being nothing but an inconvenience.

All things considered, Revival is certainly an inspiring release from Stephen King that should give a lot of hope to his loyal fans who have been disappointed by his recent books.

It's a solid combination of all the necessary elements that make a fantastic horror thriller and shouldn't be overlooked for fans of the author or the genre itself.

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Stephen Edwin King Personal site Here is a man who probably needs no introduction. Stephen King is known by virtually everyone as being the master of horror, coming up with classics such as It and The Shining, but his literary talents to extend beyond that as he delivered plenty of memorable novels in other genres, including 11/22/63 and Under the Dome.