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Revival -- November 2014

edited August 2014 in General news
During his CBS Q&A, King said that he's halfway through a novel called "Revival"
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  • During his recent event at the Mark Twain House event in Hartford, King had this to say about REVIVAL: "The main character is a kid who learns how to play guitar, and I can relate to this guy because he's not terribly good. He's just good enough to catch on with a number of bands and play for a lot of years. The song that he learns to play first is the song that I learned to play first, which was 'Cherry, Cherry' by Neil Diamond. One of the great rock progressions: E-A-D-A."
  • Revival will be published by Scribner and Hodder & Stoughton on November 11, 2014.

    In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

    Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of 13, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.
  • I'm looking forward to Mr. Mercedes but the synopsis for this one is much more my type of jam!

    Sounds awesome.
  • This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It’s a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.
  • edited March 2014
    image
  • =D>

    Pretty generic book cover though.
  • The paperback of Doctor Sleep--officially out Tuesday, but I saw it today--has a chapter from Revival at the back.
  • Starting November 11th, Stephen will embark on a six-city book tour to promote the release of Revival. The tour begins in New York City and continues through Washington DC, Kansas City, Wichita, Austin and South Portland. Further details regarding the itinerary will be posted on September 15th. Be sure to check back then for updated information regarding the events, venues and times.

    November 11, 2014: New York City
    November 12, 2014: Washington, DC
    November 13, 2014: Kansas City, MO
    November 14, 2014: Wichita, KS
    November 15, 2014: Austin, TX
    November 17, 2014: South Portland, ME
  • Simon & Schuster Audio has announced the unabridged audiobook edition of Revival will be read by veteran actor David Morse.
  • Awesome!

    He would have be my choice to play Hank's role in The Green Mile. Very under-rated actor.

    I'll definitely check out the audio book.
  • Did you see him in House, when he was the cop?
  • edited September 2014
    It's time for some reviews.  Here are the first two, and they both appear positive.  SPOILERS, of course.

    From Publishers Weekly and Booklist, respectively:

    This spellbinding supernatural
    thriller from MWA Grand Master King chronicles one man's efforts to, as narrator
    Jamie Morton phrases it, "tap into the secrets of the universe."
    Charles Jacobs, a Methodist minister in rural Harlow, Maine, loses his faith
    when his wife and child die in a hideous car accident, but not his obsessive
    interest in electricity. Over the next 50 years, Jamie—a devoted congregant of
    Jacobs's when young, but a wary skeptic as he matures—crosses paths with his
    friend as the constantly experimenting Jacobs graduates from carnival huckster,
    to faith healer, and finally to mad scientist convinced that he can harness a
    "secret electricity" to get a glimpse of "some unknown existence
    beyond our lives." King (Mr. Mercedes) is a master at invoking the
    supernatural through the powerful emotions of his characters, and his depiction
    of Jacobs as a man unhinged by grief but driven by insatiable scientific
    curiosity is as believable as it is frightening. The novel's ending—one of
    King's best—stuns like lightning. Agent: Chuck Verrill, Darhansoff &
    Verrill Literary Agents. (Nov.)

    [Page ]. Copyright 2014 PWxyz LLC


    Saying that this is one of King's most harrowing, most fatalistic works should
    only endear it to his base—this is horror, after all; we're not here for the
    positive vibes. In the kind of loose, garrulous voice that has marked his last
    decade, King spins the yarn of Jamie Morton and Reverend Charles Jacobs, whose
    lives wretchedly intertwine for 50 years. Jamie is six when he meets the
    wholesome preacher whose hobby, electronics, makes him a hit with the Methodist
    youth. A tragic accident leads to Jacobs' loss of faith—readers will also be
    scarred—but only increases his devotion to electrical experimentation: one of
    God's doorways to the infinite. Jamie grows up to be a drug-addicted rhythm
    guitarist, but a reunion at Jacobs' electricity-based carnival act proves the
    curative potential of secret electricity . . . despite unsettling side effects.
    Frankenstein is a touchstone here, but more so is Lovecraft, as King edges ever
    closer to the madness of the unknowable and eventually, to his courageous
    credit, stares directly at it. Though narrative wheels spin in place on
    occasion, the book's engine is powered by high-octane dread, and few fuels run
    stronger. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This is old-school, capital-H horror the likes
    of Thinner, Pet Sematary, and The Shining. Readers will be up for the endurance
    test. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews
  • Check out his new look for the Revival tour

    image
  • 'Did you see him in House, when he was the cop?'

    Yep.  He was excellent.
  • KIRKUS REVIEW






    In his second novel of 2014 (the other being Mr.
    Mercedes
    ), veteran yarn spinner King continues to point out the unspeakably
    spooky weirdness that lies on the fringes of ordinary life. 

    Think of two central meanings of the title—a religious awakening
    and bringing someone back to life—and you’ll have King’s latest in a nuthouse.
    Beg pardon, nutshell, though of course it’s madness that motivates all his most
    memorable characters. In this instance, a preacher arrives in a small New
    England town—always a small New England town—with an attractive wife and small
    child. Soon enough, bad things happen: “The woman had a dripping bundle clasped
    to her breast with one arm. One arm was all Patsy Jacobs could use, because the
    other had been torn off at the elbow.” And soon enough, the good reverend,
    broken by life, is off to other things, while our protagonist drinks deep of
    the choppy waters of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. “My belief had ended,” Jamie
    Morton says, simply—that is, until Rev. Jacobs turns up in his life again,
    after having spent time at the horrifying North Carolina amusement park that is
    Joyland (for which see King’s 2013 novel of the same name) and mastered not
    just the carney’s trade, but also the mysterious workings of “secret
    electricity.” Well, as Victor Frankenstein learned, electricity can sometimes
    get away from a fellow, and though young Jamie pleads with the bereaved pastor
    to get himself back on the good foot (“The newspapers would call you Josef
    Mengele.” “Does anyone call a neurosurgeon Josef Mengele just because he
    loses some of his patients?”), once it sets to crackling, the secret
    electricity can’t be put back into the bottle. Faith healing run amok: It’s a
    theme that’s exercised King since Carrie, and though this latest is
    less outright scary and more talky than that early touchstone, it compares
    well.  





    No one does psychological terror better than King. Another
    spine-tingling pleasure for his fans.

  • edited October 2014


    Lastly, from Library Journal:

    King's latest (after Doctor Sleep)
    is narrated by Jamie Morton, who is six years old when he meets Rev. Charles
    Jacobs. New to Harlow, ME, Jacobs, along with his pretty young wife and
    toddler, quickly become the local attraction. Jamie and his family discover
    that Jacobs has a love of electricity and is quite ingenious with his
    inventions. Soon, though, tragedy strikes the reverend, and the losses he
    endures cause him to give a sermon that gets him fired from the ministry and
    banished from town. Years later, Jamie, now in his 30s and addicted to heroin,
    meets Jacobs again. Noticing how Jacobs has changed, Jamie worries about the
    man's constant tinkering with what Jacobs calls "secret electricity."
    Jacobs begins to heal people using his knowledge of electricity, but Jamie
    finds that there are terrible side effects. VERDICT King (The Stand) fans will
    rejoice that the horror master is back in fine form. While there are fewer
    characters than in many of his other tomes, each character is well drawn and
    worth following. The ending is exquisitely horrific and will leave the reader
    hoping this is only a work of fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 5/19/14.]—Jason L. Steagall,
    Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

  • A new excerpt at Rolling Stone:
  • I'm staying clear of all excerpts for this one.  Going in clean. Less than a week to go now!
  • edited November 2014
    Interviews:
    • Bangor Daily News: Master of horror Stephen King talks baseball, his latest book ‘Revival’ and how he’s not done yet
    • GoodreadsInterview with Stephen King
  • Look forward to reading it.

    After I finish the book myself.
  • edited November 2014
    Amazon says Revival is the 6th best book of the year.  (Also a link to USA Today's 4 star review of the book in the story)

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2014/11/10/amazon-reveals-its-best-books-of-2014/18796437/

    Seattle Times review:

    http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2024958339_revivalstephenkingxml.html
  • Brian Freeman's new LetterPress Publications is doing a Deluxe Special Edition of Revival. I wrote a "Historical Context" essay for the book, called "A Nasty, Dark Piece of Work"
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