Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer By Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer
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on November 11, 2014 at 9:53 AM, updated November 13, 2014 at 3:58 PM
stephenking-revival.jpgRevival, by Stephen King (Scribner, 416 pp., $30), is out Tuesday, November 11. Scribner
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The title of Stephen King's latest book is prophetic -- in more ways than one.
All of the elements that have made King the preeminent American horror author come alive in this ultra-creepy tale of love, loss, evil and electricity. This time, as the title implies, it's evil of a particularly New England, biblical style.
Unlike the hardboiled noir "Mr. Mercedes" (released this summer) or last year's coming-of-age tale "Joyland" and "The Shining" sequel "Doctor Sleep," "Revival" (Scribner, 416 pp., $30) is a return to classic form for the prolific writer. It's set in his home turf of New England, whose small towns and Puritanical characters he knows so well. And it focuses on two very King-like characters, a young, impressionable boy, who grows to middle age as the story progresses, and an older, presumably wiser teacher.
Jamie Morton and the Rev. Charles Jacobs meet one average 1960s Maine day as the chilling tale begins. Jamie's a 6-year-old playing in the dirt with soldiers, Jacobs is an enthusiastic 20-something minister who soon awakens the sleepy town with his electrifying sermons and charismatic way with kids. Their meeting is imbued with ominousness, as the saintly Reverend seems to block out the very sun.
"All of a sudden there were no kids yelling in the backyard, no records playing upstairs, no banging from the garage. Not a single bird singing," writes King.
The people love the minister, especially when he's able to use his gift with electricity for some inexplicable healings that seem almost like miracles.
But one day, Jacobs' sermon goes too far – way too far. Following a horrific tragedy, the Reverend has a crisis of faith and lashes out at the town, the kids and mostly, God. It's hard to not have sympathy for Jacobs – many would feel the same, considering what happened. But the town is shocked, and he's sent packing. He'll never be able to go home again, it seems, a fate that also later befalls Jamie – a common King motif.
It will be many years, what seems like a lifetime, until Jamie and Jacobs meet again. Jamie grows up, becomes a rock star – in a neat nod to King's pop culture passion – and develops some bad rock star habits. He's in a very bad place when he runs into Jacobs again – down and out, dumped by his band at the Tulsa State Fair. The former Reverend is also there – with a traveling carny act in which he uses electricity for large-scale illusions.
But Jacobs' lifelong love of garage electrical experiments has led him to think he can do more. He promises Jamie he can heal him with his homemade gadgets, and he does – with some unintended consequences that Jamie finds out about later. Again, shades of King's classic past are revived in the carny milieu and the crossing over into the supernatural – as are themes of childhood innocence destroyed, faith and doubt.
Jamie is soon recovered and back on track with a music-producing career, but those fateful Tulsa events haunt him – physically and psychically.
He's not the only one. As Jacobs eventually transforms his carny act into a faith-healing ministry, he leaves a trail of damaged, haunted walking dead. Jamie, who's known him since he was an innocent child following a God-fearing minister, feels compelled to try to stop Jacobs' "revivals." Whether or not he can do so with his life and soul intact is the final question in King's riveting book of dread, hope and horror.