Book Review: Revival

In a lot of ways Revival by Stephen King is everything I both love and dislike about reading a Stephen King novel. There's no denying that King is a master story-teller. He's written some of my favorite novels of all-time (11-22-63 & The Stand) and even novels that weren't my cup of tea I still enjoyed because of how well he can spin a story together.

Revival is a novel that shows off yet again why Stephen King is the prolific author he is. Revival is about Jamie Morton who we get to see from age 6 all the way to his early 60's. His tale is intertwined with the minister Charles Jacobs and throughout his life you see the changes in both characters quite a bit. This is what Stephen King does really well. He develops characters to a point where you can connect with them even if you aren't necessarily enjoying the core story.

Revival's biggest issue is its ending. I can't really dive into it without spoiling the entire novel but I will just say that it completely botches the landing. The entire novel is building to this climatic conclusion and yet I was left scratching my head wondering how King thought this was a good way to end a novel. I don't need a happy ending. I just need one that makes sense. I enjoyed the ride of Revival but to be honest the journey wasn't as smooth as many of his recent novels.