Stephen King Releases Dark New Novel ‘Revival’ (Review)

Yes, the new Stephen King book is very, very good, if quite a bit on the dark side.

Funny, but anytime anyone dwells on serious and weighty matters, they are usually lumped in with this notion of being "dark," somehow. Of course, in Stephen King's case, he has been known to dwell on dark matters for quite some time now. No real secret there.

Now, I do not want to repeat myself, so I will not simply write similar things to what I have already written in the review (see link below).

However, since this is not the Guardian Liberty Voice, I will say this much: I really, really enjoyed this book as a fan of Stephen King. Yes, I have said that before, and reviewed his books on this blog before, as well.

The last few books have been particularly enjoyable. I am not entirely sure what it is, but that is just how I feel. I almost feel like laughing when there have been discussions with fans of "old" Stephen King, who say that they enjoyed some of his earlier works, but do not so much enjoy his recent works. There was even one guy who asked me, point blank, what quality stuff King has written after 1989 or so (if memory serves correctly, he may have mentioned It as the novel that he cited as the example of when King's talents evidently dried up, which means that he was also off by a few years).

Just speaking from the perspective of a fan, here, but I actually think that his writing has improved, if anything, over the course of time. To truly appreciate his works, it is important to take a step back and understand what it is that you are appreciating. Some people are simply into him as fans of the horror genre, and that is fine.

But to me, what I most appreciate about his books is the way that his style in writing them. He has an easy to read style, true, but that is a testament of his writing abilities. In the review below, I mentioned that when King writes about childhood, you feel like you, as the reader, are stepping back through time, somehow, and reliving your own childhood. In fact, he delves so deeply into his characters, that it really feels a bit like a vacation from yourself. I don't know about you, but in my case, that can be a refreshing change, for sure!

His books as a whole lately have felt particularly enjoyable. Books such as Under the Dome, 11/22/63, Joyland, Doctor Sleep, and Mr Mercedes were all very enjoyable books to read. Admittedly, I did not expect much from Under the Dome, because it seemed so far-fetched, so damn implausible!

But I was wrong, and had somehow underestimated King's writing abilities (which I rarely do). Not only did Stephen King make it work, it wound up being one of the most pleasant Stephen King books that I have ever read. Give King the room to work on his characters, and he will get you attached to them, and I think that he made many subtle points in between the lines in Under the Dome. I really, really enjoyed that one! Same with the others that I just mentioned.

So it is that this one, as well, is particularly enjoyable. It was really enjoyable to read of the childhood of a kid from the sixties, growing up in a very different, and much more idealistic, version of the United States than has ever existed in my own lifetime!

I really enjoyed the Pastor Jacobs, as well. What I did not write in the review with the Guardian Liberty Voice was that he seemed to represent the country as a whole. He goes from an idealistic young man of solid standing and repute in the town, and a man of seemingly unshakable faith, to becoming almost like a swindler, an insurance salesman or car dealer. Then, he becomes bigger still,and I do not think that it would be a stretch to compare Jacobs towards the end to Greg Stillson, the corrupt politician in The Dead Zone that, ultimately, poses a kind of a threat towards becoming the next Hitler.

Somehow, King makes this difficult transition work. Somehow, you see the transition and believe it. You see some strange things, some peculiar things, about the pastor early on, and when he goes through an enormous change (I don't want to give anything away, but it comes early in the book), he changes. He is not a monster, but a part of him really is monstrous!

This book deals in dark matters, but not in the horror genre manner that King obviously has employed before. King talks quite a lot about weighty matters, including religion and loss of faith, loss of loved ones, and especially aging! While this was not designed to scare the reader in quite the same manner as some of his other works that feature vampires, werewolves, or other monstrous threats, King succeeds in making this, nonetheless, one of his scariest books to date. It was truly reminiscent of a modern day kind of Frankenstein, complete with experiments with electricity and people that are a few breaths away from dead (maybe they could be called "The Walking Dead", ha-ha) being placed under the care of a mad scientist, which Jacobs increasingly looks like as the book goes along. Again, it becomes a real page turner, and the best compliment that I can say about this book is that you really do not want to go to bed yet while reading it, even if you are damn tired, and it is getting late, and the only reasonable thing left to do is to go to bed and try to rest up for the next day.

I could go on, but the best thing to recommend is to pick up the book for yourself and start turning the pages! It might make you think, and surely, you'll enjoy the read!


Stephen King Releases Dark New Novel ‘Revival’ (Review)