"Revival" by Stephen King

I've been reading Stephen King since I was 18 - that would be since 1982, if anyone is counting.  To me,  Mr. King's work has gone through phases over the years.  I loved his early work - "The Dead Zone", "The Shining", "Carrie", "Firestarter", and of course "The Stand" (one of very few books I've read twice).  Then came "Cujo", "Christine", and others from that timeframe that didn't seem to be of the same quality.  Was he trying too hard?  Stretching thin ideas into 400+ pages?   Some of the work of the next period were, for me, unmemorable ("The Talisman", co-authored with Peter Straub) or unfinishable ("The Tommyknockers").

Over the years I kept reading Stephen King's work here and there.  I always enjoyed his story collections.  Several books were great reads for 80% of the book, followed by a flat ending ("It", "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon", "Needful Things").  Some works were good.  Many are still on my shelf still to be read.

With "Doctor Sleep" in 2014, Stephen King returned to top form.  Revisiting the story started decades earlier in "The Shining", "Doctor Sleep" was tight, tense, exciting, and a perfect continuation of the original.  It was hard to put down each night until I finished it.  A great return to form.  But I'm not here to talk about "Doctor Sleep".

"Revival", also released in 2014, is, in my opinion, one of Mr. King's best works, a top 10 selection alongside "The Stand" and "Salem's Lot".   "Revival" spans many years in the life of Jamie Morton and his relationship with enigmatic preacher Charles Jacobs, who conducts bizarre experiments with electricity.  Jacobs' and Morton's paths cross many times through the years, from the earliest when Jacobs comes to town as a local church minister, through a renewal encounter on the carnival circuit, to Jacobs' later years as a television evangelist.

There are two points I want to make about "Revival".  First, the plot is exceptional.  It is fast-paced, it is engaging, it is full of points that make you think you know what is coming next, only to be taken a different direction.  It's a superb, great story.  Second - this is the scariest plot climax King has ever written.  No details from this reviewer - no spoilers - but the unveiling of the secret behind Jacobs' electricity is the most terrifying imagery ever to come from Mr. King.  It ranks alongside Bram Stoker's description of Count Dracula scaling down the side of the castle tower,

"Revival" is one of King's, heck, Top 5, maybe Top 3.  Get it, read it, get scared.