Revival by Stephen King... A Review

I cringed... I was hesitant, I was apprehensive, I was frightened when I cracked the spine of Revival... Not because I was scared of the book, but scared that I would be, yet again, disappointed in another "recent" Stephen King novel... BUT I wasn't! I kept reading and kept waiting for the story to fall off the edge and disappear down some secret hidden doorway in the book, but instead I was just on the edge of my seat experiencing the thrill of Stephen King.. the old Stephen King I loved as a young teenager while reading The Shining.

Revival is just that - classic Stephen King horror that innocently starts off on a warm summer day and transforms into nail biting blizzard of terror!

In a small rural town in Maine, the new preacher comes to town. He's young, charismatic, handsome with a beautiful perfect wife and a small cute son. All the boys are in love with the beautiful wife, and all the girls in love with the Reverend Charles Jacobs, a man with an obsessive interest in the power of electricity. Jamie Morton was 6 years old at the time and begins a life long relationship with the Reverend Frankenstein... I mean Jacobs. In the Church youth group, Jacobs teaches the children about God through the power of electricity, where God is infinite, so is the power of electricity. Find the secret to electricity and also find the power of God. Now, the Reverend's theories and interest in electricity seem innocent enough, but when a horrible accident takes his beautiful wife and son from him, the Reverend goes off the deep end and interest turns to obsession.

The story revolves around the reincarnations of the Reverend Jacobs, from a small town preacher to a carnival sideshow huckster, to a faith healer, to mad scientist, with Jamie innocently witnessing these transformations as he navigates his own life over the years. And like a bad penny, Reverend Jacobs keeps popping up in Jamies' life, sometimes in a good way, sometimes bad, but always as though there is this invisible thread that binds the two together. And the ending?! OMG! It's unsettling to say the least, but pure horror at its best.

King's writing is great! The story has great characters that are so well developed. You understand these characters, heck they don't even feel like characters, they feel more like people that you know! And then you start to feel vested in what is happening. Then there is the plot, which is just spot on, especially the way it develops over the course of the book. There are so many great elements in this book (great storytelling, the supernatural, the questioning of man's faith and even a bit of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) that will capture and keep the reader's attention.

I really enjoyed this book! I felt a whole range of emotions as I got lost in the pages - nostalgia, remorse, butterflies, and ultimately horror. Best King I've read in a long, long time. AND best horror story I've read in a long time too. Definitely put this on your TBR list and for any horror fans out there, this would make a great Christmas gift!

This was part of my library loot this month, but I may have to pick up a copy to put on the shelves, so I can reread this sometime!

First Book of The Year 2014...

It's funny sometimes how we bloggers discover books, other blogs, meet new bloggers, meet other readers, new authors, publishers and other bookish people. I was reading a post from Vasilly of 1330v ~ Thoughts of an eclectic reader about her first read of the year and how it could almost set the tone of the whole year. I thought this was interesting as I never really thought about "the first" book of the year.     So, how am I going to set the tone of my reading year? I definitely have plenty of books to read, but now I am feeling the pressure of making the right choice!

All this talk about first books really started when Vasilly visited Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila asked readers on her blog what their first read of the year would be and created a link for everyone to enter their posts or photos of what the book would be…

OK, so I am stepping out of the box just a bit. I'm going to read The Unwelcomed Child by V.C. Andrews. It's a new book coming out by the same author who wrote the horror novel Flowers in The Attic. I remember being being so wrapped up in Flowers in The Attic, and unable to put it down. It has been years, probably over 20 years since I read it and it still stirs up feelings of dread. I am so excited to read an author I haven't read in years and whose books I use to love. It's stepping out of the box a bit because I haven't read any horror in years. This copy of The Unwelcomed Child is a review copy courtesy of Pocket Books, so it's not out on the shelves until Jan. 21, but here's the teaser from the publisher…

My mother had looked into the face of evil so many times she knew what it was. It was me. I was born without a soul. . . .

Elle Edwards grew up believing that because of her mother’s sinful ways she was born without a soul; that’s why she was abandoned and left in the care of Grandmother Myra and Grandfather Prescott, who try to ensure her evil will not infect them—by raising her in a virtual prison. Because her days are occupied with homeschooling, strict religious studies, and vigorous housekeeping in their upstate New York home, Elle knows practically nothing of the outside world, even as she emerges as a young woman with impressive artistic talent. But when she makes a secret, forbidden connection to vacationers at the nearby lake—a handsome boy and his precocious twin sister—Elle’s world will shatter. Will  discovering the truths about her past send her future plummeting to hell?

Hmmm, I wonder what tone I'm setting by reading a horror novel first?! :-) I guess we'll just have to see what the rest of the year brings. In the meantime, I'm going to start to record my "first reads" of the year. I love the idea of putting some thought into picking out the first book you'll read for the year. How about you? What's your first book going to be for the year? Want to participate in The First Book of the Year 2014? Here's the link to the Book Journey and what it's all about.