Revival (novel)
A minister's obsession with the afterlife haunts a man's life.
Stephen King's 2014 horror novel Revival, released by Scribner, centers on a former clergyman driven to uncover what lies beyond death and a childhood acquaintance whose life becomes intertwined with his.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Stephen King
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Horror
- Published
- November 11, 2014
- Publisher
- Scribner
- Format
- Print (Hardcover and paperback)
- Pages
- 405
Facts from the source article.
Background information
King first brought up Revival on June 20, 2013, during a fan video chat for the Under the Dome TV series, noting he was halfway done writing it. The book got its official announcement on February 12, 2014. A sample was included at the back of the paperback Doctor Sleep, released June 10, 2014. In a Rolling Stone interview, King said Revival drew from Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and that the concept had been with him since childhood.
Plot
Charles Jacobs, a new Methodist minister in Harlow, Maine, wins over the town, including young Jamie Morton. Jacobs shares his interest in electricity with children at Ministry Youth Fellowship sessions. When Jamie's brother Conrad loses his voice in a skiing accident, Jacobs uses a low-voltage belt to restore it. Jamie visits him before he leaves, but Jacobs dismisses his help as a placebo. Jamie grows up to become a musician, and after a motorcycle accident becomes addicted to painkillers and heroin. His band abandons him in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At a state fair, he finds Jacobs performing an act called Portraits in Lightning, using a special camera to make photographs from electricity. Jacobs recognizes Jamie, treats his addiction and broken leg with electrotherapy, but Jamie experiences side effects including sleepwalking and jabbing himself with sharp objects.
Reception
Revival received generally positive reviews, with critics noting nods to Frankenstein, The Great God Pan, and H. P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror. Danielle Trussoni of The New York Times called it pure Stephen King, filled with cultural allusions from the Bible to Dan Brown and The X-Files. Elizabeth Hand in The Washington Post praised the ending's blend of contemporary realism and cosmic horror, comparing the relationship between Jamie and Jacobs to an Arthur Miller tragedy. The Guardian's Ben East described the ending as a bit odd, saying the story takes a turn for the ridiculous after the protagonist's childhood, with fantastical elements feeling silly. Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club criticized the slow build as resembling a shaggy-dog story, suggesting it could have been an unnerving short story, though King's fans may enjoy the leisurely pace.
Film adaptation
On February 2, 2016, an adaptation was announced with a script by Josh Boone, written while he worked on adapting The Stand. Universal Pictures considered the script. In December 2016, Boone said Russell Crowe was attached to star. On May 8, 2020, Deadline Hollywood confirmed Mike Flanagan would adapt the novel with Intrepid Pictures. Flanagan completed a first draft that Stephen King approved, but doubted Warner Bros. would greenlight it. On December 23, 2020, Flanagan confirmed the adaptation was no longer in development, citing the same cost issues Boone had faced.
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