Revival

Published: 2014

Revival (2014) chronicles the five-decade relationship between Jamie Morton and Charles Jacobs, beginning when Jacobs arrives as a charismatic young minister in Jamie's small Maine town. After Jacobs's wife and child die in a gruesome accident, he denounces religion and leaves town. Jamie and Jacobs's paths repeatedly cross over the years as Jamie becomes a rhythm guitarist and heroin addict, while Jacobs transforms into a carnival showman and later a faith healer, both careers exploiting his discoveries about 'secret electricity.' When Jacobs cures Jamie's addiction using this mysterious power, Jamie becomes unwillingly bound to his experiments, which grow increasingly dangerous as Jacobs becomes obsessed with using electricity to glimpse what lies beyond death. The novel builds to a Lovecraftian climax where Jacobs's final experiment reveals the horrifying truth about human existence and the afterlife. King has described Revival as his attempt to write a modern cosmic horror novel in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen, citing their influence on the book's themes and conclusion. Critics praised the novel's slow-building dread and devastating finale, with many considering it among King's darkest works, particularly in its nihilistic view of existence and death. The book performed well commercially, spending several weeks on bestseller lists. Film adaptations have been in development but not produced. For readers, Revival stands as one of King's most philosophically challenging novels, examining faith, obsession, and the human desire for meaning in a potentially meaningless universe. The book's structure—narrated by Jamie looking back on his life—creates a fatalistic tone from the beginning, with an inevitability to the narrator's corruption by Jacobs's influence. The novel's exploration of religion, addiction, and rock music connects to King's recurring interests, while its cosmic horror elements represent some of his most overtly Lovecraftian writing. Revival's bleak conclusion, offering no redemption or meaning to suffering, marks it as perhaps King's most nihilistic work.

Themes

• Religion vs. science
• Faith and disillusionment
• Addiction
• Cosmic horror
• Obsession

Adaptations

Collector Notes

King has cited H.P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen as primary influences on this novel. Contains one of King's bleakest endings, offering a nihilistic vision of the afterlife.