I would like to open this series of reviews as candidly as possible – I am a big fan of Stephen King. Perhaps not quite on the level of some fans I know, but I do count myself among his army of Constant Readers and, if he decided next week that he despised writing fiction and instead wanted to write about hydroponic gardening, I would follow him into the dark.
So, needless to say, I was expecting great things from this novel, especially because various sources have touted Revival as King’s ‘return to form’ and as his homecoming to horror. I haven’t read a really good pure horror book in a while, and I have been looking for a good one to really scare the pants off me.
As such, I started this chapter feeling extremely excited, and I am pleased to say I was not disappointed from the off. From the dedication to Mary Shelley and the cheesy-spooky first line, I was hooked.
A definite draw so far is Jamie Morton, the main character. Both iterations of him that are present from the beginning are immediately likeable; the six year old boy who cackles maniacally while burying toy Nazis in a muddy avalanche, and the older, adult narrator Jamie looking back with apparent fondness. Six-year-old Jamie is lovable in that special way that only young children who enjoy killing their toys can be, but it does create an overlaying worry regarding the sort of man he will grow up to be.
It also felt important that the first thing Charles Jacobs, now painted as a kind and gentle minister but also explicitly referred to as an antagonist in Jamie’s narration, is portrayed both as a complex and intriguing character. The first action he takes is to block out the Sun and cast a dark shadow over Jamie; the second thing he does is apologise for it. I feel deliciously wary of him, and I cannot wait to find out more about both characters.
Are you reading Revival along with Katy Lees? Join the conversation on Twitter!
