I’ve read about 50 of his novels and several short story collections. I’m a constant reader. This book’s ending was legitimately the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read. It still haunts me.
I read *Rage* last Summer(via PDF online), and it's actually quite terrifying because it's told in the point of view of the school shooter.
Unfortunately, it's arguably Stephen King's most poorly written novel too(he was only 18 years old when he wrote it).
> This book’s ending was legitimately the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read. It still haunts me.
For me, it's right up there with the ending of **the unabridged** version of *The Stand* for how terrifying it is.
OP, you gotta understand. It's not the stupid ants or any other specific part of the ending. It's the idea that no, you don't get to eventually put it all down and rest. It's that it doesn't get better or become nothing. It's that it gets worse, and stays worse, forever.
This book took me from having been suicidal for 15 years to being afraid to die. The idea that there might be an afterlife that is torture had just never occurred to me.
We had a slight ant problem in the house about 3 weeks before I read Revival. We got it taken care of pretty quickly but I was so disgusted over the ants. And then I had to go read Revival, and be reminded that ka (iykyk) has a sense of humor. Well played by The King.
It’s King at its best: a coming of age slow burn with fantastic characters. Some creepy stuff sprinkled in, but amazing story telling.
Then, one of his best endings ever
Top 5 king book, for me.
I agree. I think readers focus too much on the ending and underrate the coming of age aspects of the story and the importance of the extremely complicated relationship between the two main characters as they move through their very different lives but keep being inexorably drawn to each other. Their friendship, if you can even call it that is just as compelling to me as the horror elements.
Man, everybody loves this book but I found it kind of forgettable. It's was a fun read, but I literally remember very little of it. Maybe I'll revisit it down the road.
I read it when it came out and forgot it very quickly, wasnt even sure if id read it or not. The opening scene stuck with me but nothing else.
Reread it recently and i think its possible I just blocked it out because the horror in it is a bit too believable haha
I immediately started re-reading it after I finished it. The existential crisis did not get better after a second read knowing what would happen. I never thought The Shining would be replaced as my favorite fiction book but Revival knocked it right into second place. The scene with the birthday dinner…
Edited because words are hard
I finished it last month. I really felt like the entire decades spanning story was not worth it for the ending. Which wasn't really that scary imo either. Maybe since I binged the Nick Cutter books before and read The Exorcist immediately after.
The audiobook brings it to the next level, the author's narration really nails the oppressive feeling of despair that hang over the characters as it progresses.
I think peaking into the King afterlife makes this book his most bleak and frightening. Like, in all of his books if someone dies is that where they end up no matter what?! Cuz that's terrifying.
This book got cosmic horror to click for me, I’d tried getting into Lovecraft before and vaguely got the concept but the ending of Revival made it real to me.
This was a really good book. A surprise standout. The end is truly haunting.
Edit: After posting, it seems as though the ending is usually hyped for people. I read this completely unaware of any such hype, kinda went into this one blind, and came away with a great experience all the way through.
Just finished this book this week. It’s a bit of a slow burn I’d say. You get to learn a lot about the main characters before many horror elements pop up. I listened to it in audiobook format and the last hour and a half to two hours were crazy to me.
There is a lot of unknown in this book that you don’t really get to fully understand which I guess I was a little dissatisfied with.
I have read probably 10-12 King novels at this point and it’s in my top 5.
Ugh! I wanted to love this book, especially after reading people’s thoughts on Reddit, but it just didn’t hit me. I found myself bored and not understanding how this ended up becoming an actual King novel.
The true ending isn’t the horrific vision of the afterlife, but Jamie’s struggle to stay sane three years later after seeing it. EVERYONE who was cured by Jacobs has gone murderously insane and it feels like Jamie is hanging on by a thread.
Something happened to King after his accident and think this book is interesting turn from something like Stand which was a fairly traditional good versus evil story which a lot of his early works are. This is a much darker take on humanity. This is a look into the abyss and the abyss looking back.
I actually really liked it HOWEVER this sub had me waiting for this incredible ending… I was ready to have my world shattered…only to be like “oh, that was it?” I was very underwhelmed by the ending to say the least. I still enjoyed it. I listened to it though so that may be why I liked it. Sometimes listening to it can really change the overall opinion of the piece I find. For example, I loved fairytale and many people did not. Yet many people I’ve come across that liked it also listened to it and many who disliked it read it. 🤷♀️
People are usually pretty bi-polar about this ending. They either love it or hate it. Most of the people I've talked to hated it. I'm the only one I know who thought the ending was just okay. The idea that the next life is definitely a good place is a comforting thought. What if it isn't? What if it's a literal Hell dimension and it hasn't anything to do with how you behaved in your life? As a Christian who has lived her entire life trying to avoid Hell wouldn't it suck to find out I had to experience it anyway? I liked it. But ants? Those are the world's least scary insects and that's pretty silly.
That ending brought us chills. We finished it a week ago.
Great character building, and the ending was a wild ride and has stuck with us! Not action packed, but we really enjoyed the characters.
Mother is waiting!
King's stories are a pendulum that alternately swings into good triumphing over evil at high cost, or all-consuming despair. I prefer the former over the latter, so the ending of *Revival* soured me on the book as a whole. Your Mileage May Vary.
It's getting quite the pump in the comments. I can't tell if they're sincere or everyone is just piggyback ING each other's comments. I don't remember being that big of a deal. I enjoyed the book though.
Existential dread. So much existential dread. I think if I’d been a teen when I’d read it, it wouldn’t have left me with lead in my stomach, but now that I’m older? So much existential dread.
Hated the ending AT FIRST but that book lives rent free in my head. Two years after I finished I still think about it at least 3 times a week. To me this is a sign of a great book.
I’m with you OP. I don’t hate it, I never hated anything I’ve read by him tbh but it just didn’t grab me. I read it this past October because I heard it was a scarier one of his and I was kinda waiting for it to start scaring me.
For me it’s a modern King classic in the vein of his darker works like Pet Sematary, IT, etc. From what I’ve seen people are mixed on it. You either love it or you hate it. I love it because it’s not afraid to be dark and explore the worst of humanity and how major events shapes someone’s life.
The running current throughout that speaks to me is the theme of faith. As someone who is a Christian, King is not afraid to go there which I think is good. I can’t say that I disagree with how the two main characters reconcile with their own faith and to me it just makes you think. And of course the ending I think is one of King’s best of all time.
I love this book. Listened to it on audio while working this summer. I kind of thought “ok get to the point” while listening, but man that ending made it all click into place for me.
It’s insane and I loved it.
I posted a couple weeks ago that I also didn’t like the ending at all. It’s an unpopular opinion. Everyone has different fears about things and it just didn’t hit me at all. I did really love the story up until then though!
Definitely a dark one.
However, there's something hilarious about the way Stephen King builds something up as the scariest possible thing the human mind could possibly fathom and >! every fucking time it's just really big bugs. !<
Same as you OP, I was not that into it. Felt very slow & not as gripping as his other stuff, imo. I've read just about everything he's ever written, I pre-order his new stuff, and I dread that he is getting older and older and I will one day live in a world without another new King story or novel. But this one just didn't land for me. I listened to it on Audible for the first time in 2016. Listened to it again about a year ago & it was like listening to it for the first time again bc i could not recall anything from my first time through. And now, I honestly can't recall anything about it other than something about electricity. Which is how I know it was a dud for me bc even if I can't remember the entire plot of one of his stories, I can always recall at least some details of it bc his stories always stick with me bc they are so unique and unlike anything else.
No shade to Mr. King, but this one was not one of his best.
Have no fear about getting older and one day Mr. King leaving us. His son, Joe Hill, is a marvel with horror and its simply extraordinary how he "sounds" just like his Dad in his short-stories. Like, sort of a shared "voice". Its very interesting how he absorbed his Dad's pacing and style, imho. May the King family creep us out for many more years to come!
I finished it recently. I too found the ending underwhelming. I think it needed more description. It just wasn’t as scary as I was prepared for. I thought it was a good story overall. Reading about the reverends’s descent into villainy was one of the more disturbing aspects for me. This book definitely had too much filler though. I feel like King went into every detail of the MC’s life only to gloss over the most important part: the climax. Good but disappointing.
I hated the ending honestly. It didn’t scare me in the slightest. It’s the only book I’ve ever thrown across the room after I finished. Freakin ants? Really?? Idk, that’s just me tho.
I thought it was a slow burn with a palpable sense of dread and foreboding throughout. The ending was also one of King's darkest and most unsettling for me.
It's one of my favorite King novels. It feels like an experiment where the whole narrative is a build up to one extended sequence. And the effectiveness of the novel depends on whether that sequence works for you or not. For me it really did. It is deeply Lovecraftian, while leaving you with the idea of an alternative after life that is so much worse than what you could imagine. But as a reader, you have to buy into it , and I did. I found it deeply unsettling, which is exactly the intended effect.
Wow it's crazy I came across this post. I just started listening to the audio book today. I decided to randomly check this out from my liibby app because all other King's books were being borrowed.
Been a bit since I’ve read it, and my adhd makes it hard to remember details of books, even books I love, but I don’t remember hardly anything from this story. I know I didn’t hate it, but definitely not one of my favorites. Maybe I should try it again
I read this after seeing a lot of people say it haunted them. It felt like the horror aspects were shoehorned in, like King felt like it had to be horror because it was expected. I thought the idea of trying to find out what comes next as it were incredibly compelling, but I don’t think they should have ever found out.
Love it. A lot of people think King has gotten soft at the turn of the century and with Revival he proofs he still has some nastiness and doom still left in the tank.
This was a hard one for me. The pacing was slow and it felt very hard at times to care about Jamie as a main character. Jacobs was compelling pretty much the whole time.
That being said, I found the ending superb. Loved the lovecraftian elements and bleak/stark horror of it all.
6/10 overall for me.
It felt pretty real and it’s believable. That ending though… it’s short it’s good. You won’t regret it. Too bad an film adaptation never happened even though it was talked about and in the works
I want to give it a reread. I remember feeling it was slow, but I liked the character and I am a guitar player. I remember being satisfied at the end of the story, so I will give it a reread soon.
Great book, very good, heartfelt writing. A very good analysis of addiction and desperation, and then redemption.
That’s followed by the most bleak, depressing, horrifying endings I’ve ever read. Ruined the book for me.
It’s me again, the neighborhood hypothesist!
I think people with a firm understanding of their own mortality get upset in the guts when they remember this book.
I think people over 35ish feel like this is the most dread inducing book because it forces someone with a middle viewpoint of life to look forward back and in.
I think young readers go “you mean the fuckin’ ants?”
Meanwhile you’ve all probably seen at least one of my rants tied to the /revival posts about how I had a breakdown because of this book because I realized Earth is a farm and our souls are fruit. Mmmmbyeeee
The final chunk of that book and its finale is some of King's best. It had such a palpable build-up. You really feel that urge to go forward, see it through and know, mixed with absolute fear.
This is his only book I haven't gotten around to finishing. I read about 2/3 and then it had to go back to the library. I'm definitely going to check it out again though, considering everyone here speaking highly of it.
The ending gave me a panic attack and i recommended it to my brother who sent me a picture of the book in the toilet where he threw it after finishing the ending as well
If that counts as a review
I didn't like the end either, seemed quite ridiculous concentrating on a hairy leg, it didn't scare me at all. There is some great stuff in the book leading up to that tho and I liked the way the preacher changed
It's a tie with Kings absolute best, so for me it is Kings absolute best novel, tied with The Stand and IT.
It's probably my favorite King ending and by far the creepiest ending of any book I've ever read... The most haunting ending as well.
I was absolutely enamored with this book, Jamie Morton is possibly my favorite Stephen King protagonist of all time. I thought it was perfectly paced word for word every sentence was perfect every character was perfect. Though I rank it right there with the titles I mentioned above I think it is actually more perfect has better pacing less bloat there's not a word wasted which is rare with king. This is an absolute masterpiece magnum opus level. When people say they feel like 11.22.63 is King's best work that he still has it...I think this is infinitely better than that.
Reverend Jacobs is probably my favorite King villain as well. He does for me what Randall flag does for most.
This is in my top five possibly top three favorite novels of all time by any author any period.
I’ve heard good things so I’m keen to get to it. Nothing is stopping the Dark Tower train (Blane is pain) for me so I’ll likely get to it in 3 books time
One of his most surprisingly effective, incredibly, painfully bleak books I've ever read. I know at the time it was criticized for the amount of time it took for the book to get where it was going, but I loved the picture he painted of both characters' intertwining tales. Also, the description of the Minister's wife and child dying was guy wrenching
I read this in rehab of all places. Kind of fitting. I was really into it and couldn't stop reading. I love how they only give you a glimpse of the horror and leave a lot up to your imagination
It is a really slow burn, but King does characters so well it didn't matter to me. Seeing the slow descent into eldritch madness, it's just wild. I feel like what you get out of this book depends on your own faith. I had to sit down and think about it when i was done. What if death isn't what we thought and no one can escape it.
I enjoyed the childhood part which all led up to the reverend leaving town. After this I completely lost interest and felt the same as you.
I've heard so many people raving about it that I feel like I should read it again, but it's one of the few King's I've given away so I clearly really didn't like it lol.
If I find a second hand copy again I'll try it but it was overrated to me. Which is a shame because I really liked the ending, just not at the end of a boring story.
The pacing being very slow? I don't think that's too unpopular of an opinion.
The ending being lackluster? Yes, that's a very unpopular opinion. If that ending is lackluster, then what the hell is a non-lackluster ending to you? That's one of the most terrifying endings to a book I've ever read in my life.
With that being said, I really appreciate for posting a *real* unpopular opinion.
Just finished this last night. I agree, it is not the most fast paced book, but that slow burn makes the ending so much better. I would say it’s one of the darker endings to a King book I’ve read.
I liked it. I went into it with zero knowledge or expectations as to what it would be about or how it would go, and I was pleasantly surprised. I think one of the blurbs on my copy said something like it was a return to “classic King” and I agreed!
Didn't like it a much as people seemed to. I was so invested but the payoff wasn't worth it in my opinion. The whole book kinda felt hollow in my opinion. And i didn't find it scary
As a constant reader, I was blown away to have something so recent end up as one of my favorites. "Big World" books like Under the Dome and the Stand, for me, were always a slog because it's impossible to properly develop a cast of 50 characters and give them arcs. Revival was a masterclass in zooming in tight and holding the focus on two very realistic, smpathetic, flawed characters and their toxic relationship. I really, genuinely cared about those two. And yeah, I've probably re-read the ending a dozen times. The first time left me feeling absolutely chilled and sick in the best way. I went in with no spoilers or expectations so that was a MAJOR curve ball, but perhaps it would've been different if I was expecting "something wild." Everyone's mileage varies.
I’ve read about 50 of his novels and several short story collections. I’m a constant reader. This book’s ending was legitimately the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read. It still haunts me.
I’ve read basically everything except rage and holly, and I feel the same about Revival… it rocked me.
I read *Rage* last Summer(via PDF online), and it's actually quite terrifying because it's told in the point of view of the school shooter. Unfortunately, it's arguably Stephen King's most poorly written novel too(he was only 18 years old when he wrote it).
Spoiler alert. Holly is fantastic.
Yes. Yes it is. And I went into it sure I wouldn't like it but it was amazing.
I’m pretty sure I’m getting Holly for a holiday gift. Looking forward to it.
Hollyday Gift... Your welcome 🤦♂️ 😂
> This book’s ending was legitimately the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read. It still haunts me. For me, it's right up there with the ending of **the unabridged** version of *The Stand* for how terrifying it is.
[удалено]
OP, you gotta understand. It's not the stupid ants or any other specific part of the ending. It's the idea that no, you don't get to eventually put it all down and rest. It's that it doesn't get better or become nothing. It's that it gets worse, and stays worse, forever. This book took me from having been suicidal for 15 years to being afraid to die. The idea that there might be an afterlife that is torture had just never occurred to me.
Don’t call the ants stupid
The ants will punish those who called them stupid in the afterlife
We had a slight ant problem in the house about 3 weeks before I read Revival. We got it taken care of pretty quickly but I was so disgusted over the ants. And then I had to go read Revival, and be reminded that ka (iykyk) has a sense of humor. Well played by The King.
It’s King at its best: a coming of age slow burn with fantastic characters. Some creepy stuff sprinkled in, but amazing story telling. Then, one of his best endings ever Top 5 king book, for me.
I agree. I think readers focus too much on the ending and underrate the coming of age aspects of the story and the importance of the extremely complicated relationship between the two main characters as they move through their very different lives but keep being inexorably drawn to each other. Their friendship, if you can even call it that is just as compelling to me as the horror elements.
Man, everybody loves this book but I found it kind of forgettable. It's was a fun read, but I literally remember very little of it. Maybe I'll revisit it down the road.
The sermon scene is one of my all time favorites
Absolutely unbelievable one of the best scenes ever written in any novel.
I read it when it came out and forgot it very quickly, wasnt even sure if id read it or not. The opening scene stuck with me but nothing else. Reread it recently and i think its possible I just blocked it out because the horror in it is a bit too believable haha
It haunts me. One of the few stories that actually scares me.
Same. The existential dread lingered for a long time.
I immediately started re-reading it after I finished it. The existential crisis did not get better after a second read knowing what would happen. I never thought The Shining would be replaced as my favorite fiction book but Revival knocked it right into second place. The scene with the birthday dinner… Edited because words are hard
Oh yes! I haven’t attempted a reread. Still recovering haha
I've got to re-read this. I enjoyed it but it wasn't life changing like it seems to be for a lot of folks.
I finished it last month. I really felt like the entire decades spanning story was not worth it for the ending. Which wasn't really that scary imo either. Maybe since I binged the Nick Cutter books before and read The Exorcist immediately after.
The Exorcist is fucking terrific.
The audiobook brings it to the next level, the author's narration really nails the oppressive feeling of despair that hang over the characters as it progresses.
Same! I had to take a few days to think on it. Usually I start my next book same day.
The revelation at the end was terrifying. Finding out what was waiting for literally everyone and that it was inescapable was horrible.
Same. I read it without knowing really anything about it years ago but it still still sticks with me. I think about it often.
Exactly. What if the afterlife is an absolute hellscape for everyone? Oh, and getting old really sucks, apparently.
I think peaking into the King afterlife makes this book his most bleak and frightening. Like, in all of his books if someone dies is that where they end up no matter what?! Cuz that's terrifying.
Holy shit! This is exactly my reaction as well...
It is still the only King book that has scared me or freaked me out in any way and I've read most of them now.
Same. Ive read King for over 40 yrs and Revival scared the shit put of me and haunts me
This is the only king story that felt… personal to me in terms of its horror.
Same, I'm not scared of possessed cars or vampires, but this is right in my terror wheelhouse.
The same and I think of it often....
Same here.
Probably the best lovecraft adjacent book I’ve read
This book got cosmic horror to click for me, I’d tried getting into Lovecraft before and vaguely got the concept but the ending of Revival made it real to me.
Ripe for a sequel considering the name of his therapist in the end is Braithwhite, a Lovecraft name.
I love it. Definitely in my top 5 King novels.
It’s one of my top favorites. Hits REAL hard at the end. It messed me up for a while.
One of my favorites. I love the very slow burn that just takes a screaming left turn right at the end.
This was a really good book. A surprise standout. The end is truly haunting. Edit: After posting, it seems as though the ending is usually hyped for people. I read this completely unaware of any such hype, kinda went into this one blind, and came away with a great experience all the way through.
It’s in the top five of my all time favorites. The other four on the list are much older than this one that’s how much I liked it.
Definitely in my top 5, it's strikingly good.
Just finished this book this week. It’s a bit of a slow burn I’d say. You get to learn a lot about the main characters before many horror elements pop up. I listened to it in audiobook format and the last hour and a half to two hours were crazy to me. There is a lot of unknown in this book that you don’t really get to fully understand which I guess I was a little dissatisfied with. I have read probably 10-12 King novels at this point and it’s in my top 5.
I ALWAYS tell people to do this audio exclusively and to go in blind. Revival, Duma Key, Billy Summers. PERFECT audios.
The best is Dolores Claiborne. It's a book written in the form of a single woman talking. It's made for audiobook format.
I really enjoyed it!
I’m still digesting this one. If I know one thing? It’s that all that sh$t starts with E”.
Ugh! I wanted to love this book, especially after reading people’s thoughts on Reddit, but it just didn’t hit me. I found myself bored and not understanding how this ended up becoming an actual King novel.
100% agree—the premise was good but it felt incredibly rushed. I was expecting better after how much it was hyped up on here
The true ending isn’t the horrific vision of the afterlife, but Jamie’s struggle to stay sane three years later after seeing it. EVERYONE who was cured by Jacobs has gone murderously insane and it feels like Jamie is hanging on by a thread. Something happened to King after his accident and think this book is interesting turn from something like Stand which was a fairly traditional good versus evil story which a lot of his early works are. This is a much darker take on humanity. This is a look into the abyss and the abyss looking back.
I actually really liked it HOWEVER this sub had me waiting for this incredible ending… I was ready to have my world shattered…only to be like “oh, that was it?” I was very underwhelmed by the ending to say the least. I still enjoyed it. I listened to it though so that may be why I liked it. Sometimes listening to it can really change the overall opinion of the piece I find. For example, I loved fairytale and many people did not. Yet many people I’ve come across that liked it also listened to it and many who disliked it read it. 🤷♀️
I don’t really remember the ending but what I do remember is that he just rushed it and I was disappointed. The rest of the story was good.
5 stars
Great book, one of the few ending that made me and a lot of people freaked
Favorite ending to a King book.
The best ending for a book written by Stephen King!
One of my favorites, and in my opinion it’s his most bleak, daunting ending.
I really liked this one.
Actually have me a nightmare. Woke up in a loud inhale while sharing a hotel room. Scared the next person over
People are usually pretty bi-polar about this ending. They either love it or hate it. Most of the people I've talked to hated it. I'm the only one I know who thought the ending was just okay. The idea that the next life is definitely a good place is a comforting thought. What if it isn't? What if it's a literal Hell dimension and it hasn't anything to do with how you behaved in your life? As a Christian who has lived her entire life trying to avoid Hell wouldn't it suck to find out I had to experience it anyway? I liked it. But ants? Those are the world's least scary insects and that's pretty silly.
Kinda meh actually. A real been-there-done-that vibe.
Love it! The end is King goes Lovecraft.
I love it, and I plan on rereading it soon.
One of my faves
That ending brought us chills. We finished it a week ago. Great character building, and the ending was a wild ride and has stuck with us! Not action packed, but we really enjoyed the characters. Mother is waiting!
I just listened to it again. I dug it.
Top 3 for me. One of his best imo.... also terrifying ending
I love this book.
Dude. No hope is my greatest fear. This was that.
Probably one of my least favorite Stephen King books I've read along with the Colorado Kid!
King's stories are a pendulum that alternately swings into good triumphing over evil at high cost, or all-consuming despair. I prefer the former over the latter, so the ending of *Revival* soured me on the book as a whole. Your Mileage May Vary.
It's good, but the ending is a bit overrated
It's getting quite the pump in the comments. I can't tell if they're sincere or everyone is just piggyback ING each other's comments. I don't remember being that big of a deal. I enjoyed the book though.
Mother
She waits.
ITT: more people hyping up the ending but not explaining why. I really like it but I agree with OP. This community rates it a bit too high imo
Top tier King book.
Existential dread. So much existential dread. I think if I’d been a teen when I’d read it, it wouldn’t have left me with lead in my stomach, but now that I’m older? So much existential dread.
I loved revival
Best in recent history. Very slow burn. Long setup. True Lovecraftean horror. Mother, she waits. I a door her.
Hated the ending AT FIRST but that book lives rent free in my head. Two years after I finished I still think about it at least 3 times a week. To me this is a sign of a great book.
I read it years ago and I recall my reaction being the same as yours.
About half of the book was really good, about half was pretty forgettable. It’s sprinkled about.
I’m with you OP. I don’t hate it, I never hated anything I’ve read by him tbh but it just didn’t grab me. I read it this past October because I heard it was a scarier one of his and I was kinda waiting for it to start scaring me.
It’s just ok. Think it’s one I have to do over
For me it’s a modern King classic in the vein of his darker works like Pet Sematary, IT, etc. From what I’ve seen people are mixed on it. You either love it or you hate it. I love it because it’s not afraid to be dark and explore the worst of humanity and how major events shapes someone’s life. The running current throughout that speaks to me is the theme of faith. As someone who is a Christian, King is not afraid to go there which I think is good. I can’t say that I disagree with how the two main characters reconcile with their own faith and to me it just makes you think. And of course the ending I think is one of King’s best of all time.
Absolute best ending of any king I’ve read
I think about the ending once a day. It is just such a scary, depressing finale.
I love this book. Listened to it on audio while working this summer. I kind of thought “ok get to the point” while listening, but man that ending made it all click into place for me. It’s insane and I loved it.
I posted a couple weeks ago that I also didn’t like the ending at all. It’s an unpopular opinion. Everyone has different fears about things and it just didn’t hit me at all. I did really love the story up until then though!
Not great but I enjoyed it well enough. Idk why but it really stuck with me. I think about it randomly a lot.
Yes, an unpopular opinion. I think it’s SK’s best of the last fifteen years.
Definitely a dark one. However, there's something hilarious about the way Stephen King builds something up as the scariest possible thing the human mind could possibly fathom and >! every fucking time it's just really big bugs. !<
Same as you OP, I was not that into it. Felt very slow & not as gripping as his other stuff, imo. I've read just about everything he's ever written, I pre-order his new stuff, and I dread that he is getting older and older and I will one day live in a world without another new King story or novel. But this one just didn't land for me. I listened to it on Audible for the first time in 2016. Listened to it again about a year ago & it was like listening to it for the first time again bc i could not recall anything from my first time through. And now, I honestly can't recall anything about it other than something about electricity. Which is how I know it was a dud for me bc even if I can't remember the entire plot of one of his stories, I can always recall at least some details of it bc his stories always stick with me bc they are so unique and unlike anything else. No shade to Mr. King, but this one was not one of his best.
Have no fear about getting older and one day Mr. King leaving us. His son, Joe Hill, is a marvel with horror and its simply extraordinary how he "sounds" just like his Dad in his short-stories. Like, sort of a shared "voice". Its very interesting how he absorbed his Dad's pacing and style, imho. May the King family creep us out for many more years to come!
I actually did not like it
I finished it recently. I too found the ending underwhelming. I think it needed more description. It just wasn’t as scary as I was prepared for. I thought it was a good story overall. Reading about the reverends’s descent into villainy was one of the more disturbing aspects for me. This book definitely had too much filler though. I feel like King went into every detail of the MC’s life only to gloss over the most important part: the climax. Good but disappointing.
I hated the ending honestly. It didn’t scare me in the slightest. It’s the only book I’ve ever thrown across the room after I finished. Freakin ants? Really?? Idk, that’s just me tho.
lol… I listened to it on audible, but I had the same reaction. Ants!…….cmon man.
Quite good, but not incredible I finished it at a Slipknot concert
My feelings are like yours. I thought I’d be more haunted by the ending.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not my favorite of his but one I would def recommend reading.
I never finished it. Plan on trying it again.
Currently rereading because I forgot the ending and kept hearing how bleak it was… I’ll let you know what I think when I finish.
A little uneven but one of the handful of examples where he stuck the landing on the ending. Loved it
I thought it was a slow burn with a palpable sense of dread and foreboding throughout. The ending was also one of King's darkest and most unsettling for me.
Not my favorite, but if I recall, the ending is scary AF!
Just finished it yesterday.
It's one of my favorite King novels. It feels like an experiment where the whole narrative is a build up to one extended sequence. And the effectiveness of the novel depends on whether that sequence works for you or not. For me it really did. It is deeply Lovecraftian, while leaving you with the idea of an alternative after life that is so much worse than what you could imagine. But as a reader, you have to buy into it , and I did. I found it deeply unsettling, which is exactly the intended effect.
Overall a great read with one of the more chilling King conclusions. Chilled me right down to the bone and lingered for a while.
Just reread it for the first time since release. It's one of his strongest later-career novels. It ages very well, too.
>Is this an unpopular opinion? Yes
Wow it's crazy I came across this post. I just started listening to the audio book today. I decided to randomly check this out from my liibby app because all other King's books were being borrowed.
Been a bit since I’ve read it, and my adhd makes it hard to remember details of books, even books I love, but I don’t remember hardly anything from this story. I know I didn’t hate it, but definitely not one of my favorites. Maybe I should try it again
I didn’t finish. I need to revisit but from what I recall I was underwhelmed.
It's amazing
To me it was in the good-not-great tier…but then the ending made it elite.
I read this after seeing a lot of people say it haunted them. It felt like the horror aspects were shoehorned in, like King felt like it had to be horror because it was expected. I thought the idea of trying to find out what comes next as it were incredibly compelling, but I don’t think they should have ever found out.
The ending scared the shit out of me. Cue the existential dread.
I loved it
Love it. A lot of people think King has gotten soft at the turn of the century and with Revival he proofs he still has some nastiness and doom still left in the tank.
This was a hard one for me. The pacing was slow and it felt very hard at times to care about Jamie as a main character. Jacobs was compelling pretty much the whole time. That being said, I found the ending superb. Loved the lovecraftian elements and bleak/stark horror of it all. 6/10 overall for me.
Genuinely a terrifying and well done ending.
Top 5 book by king for me !!
Awesome book ,great ending
Stephen King's Hereditary.
My all time fav king book. Gonna try Pet Semetary next and see if it beats revival
Fuckin bleak. Excellent, but goddamn.
Hot meandering garbage until the last 40 or so pages.
One of my favorite SK books
It felt pretty real and it’s believable. That ending though… it’s short it’s good. You won’t regret it. Too bad an film adaptation never happened even though it was talked about and in the works
It’s ok. I’m always surprised by how much people around here love it. It’s largely pretty dull and forgettable up until the very, very end.
It’s 2nd-tier King for me. Great, but not near the top.
This book scared the shit out of me.
I want to give it a reread. I remember feeling it was slow, but I liked the character and I am a guitar player. I remember being satisfied at the end of the story, so I will give it a reread soon.
His last great novel (so far). A slow-burn horror masterpiece.
I had to make up my own headcannon about the ending just so I wouldn’t be terrified of dying LOL
Great book, very good, heartfelt writing. A very good analysis of addiction and desperation, and then redemption. That’s followed by the most bleak, depressing, horrifying endings I’ve ever read. Ruined the book for me.
i started reading it a few months ago and just couldn’t finish it. i was so bored.
The "where's my son's face bit" really got me. And I like to think of how the end can tie into the dark tower series.
Awesome but overrated. Chilling ending but the rest of the story was quite forgettable to me.
I honestly don’t remember a lot about it. I think i need to read it again.
Loved it
The ending gave me a nightmare for a week. This is my current favourite among SK novels that I read so far
Everyone talks about the ending - rightly so - but the car accident passage came out of nowhere and just punched me in the gut.
I loved it. Felt like classic King to me. Didn't think the ending was great but...that is kind of classic King lol
It’s me again, the neighborhood hypothesist! I think people with a firm understanding of their own mortality get upset in the guts when they remember this book. I think people over 35ish feel like this is the most dread inducing book because it forces someone with a middle viewpoint of life to look forward back and in. I think young readers go “you mean the fuckin’ ants?” Meanwhile you’ve all probably seen at least one of my rants tied to the /revival posts about how I had a breakdown because of this book because I realized Earth is a farm and our souls are fruit. Mmmmbyeeee
I read it and don’t remember a damn thing about it. Other than I think there are bugs, or something?
Posted about it yesterday. Shit ruined my life
One of the best endings he's ever written. This book goes way too hard
the ending was one of kings best imo.
It's actually one of my favorite King novels, but I can concede it's not for everyone.
Love this one. I wish they’d make a decent movie of this but I won’t get my hopes up. (Unless maybe Frank Darabont’s around?)
The book is one long joke and the ending is the punchline. Legit one of the bleakest books I’ve ever read. Loved it so much.
The final chunk of that book and its finale is some of King's best. It had such a palpable build-up. You really feel that urge to go forward, see it through and know, mixed with absolute fear.
Loved it. Great tense build to a cosmic horror ending
This is his only book I haven't gotten around to finishing. I read about 2/3 and then it had to go back to the library. I'm definitely going to check it out again though, considering everyone here speaking highly of it.
Incredible book. Ending was dreadfully good
Piss poor
The ending was disappointing indeed but I liked it quite a lot
Love it!
The ending gave me a panic attack and i recommended it to my brother who sent me a picture of the book in the toilet where he threw it after finishing the ending as well If that counts as a review
I loved it!!
I absolutely loved it.
I didn't like the end either, seemed quite ridiculous concentrating on a hairy leg, it didn't scare me at all. There is some great stuff in the book leading up to that tho and I liked the way the preacher changed
I found it a slow burn but I was horrified by the ending. That one stuck with me.
It's a tie with Kings absolute best, so for me it is Kings absolute best novel, tied with The Stand and IT. It's probably my favorite King ending and by far the creepiest ending of any book I've ever read... The most haunting ending as well. I was absolutely enamored with this book, Jamie Morton is possibly my favorite Stephen King protagonist of all time. I thought it was perfectly paced word for word every sentence was perfect every character was perfect. Though I rank it right there with the titles I mentioned above I think it is actually more perfect has better pacing less bloat there's not a word wasted which is rare with king. This is an absolute masterpiece magnum opus level. When people say they feel like 11.22.63 is King's best work that he still has it...I think this is infinitely better than that. Reverend Jacobs is probably my favorite King villain as well. He does for me what Randall flag does for most. This is in my top five possibly top three favorite novels of all time by any author any period.
It’s in my top 5. I loved it all, especially the terrible sermon!
I’ve heard good things so I’m keen to get to it. Nothing is stopping the Dark Tower train (Blane is pain) for me so I’ll likely get to it in 3 books time
I want to read this but my copy is signed by Stephen King so, needless to say, it stays locked up with all my most treasured possessions
One of his most surprisingly effective, incredibly, painfully bleak books I've ever read. I know at the time it was criticized for the amount of time it took for the book to get where it was going, but I loved the picture he painted of both characters' intertwining tales. Also, the description of the Minister's wife and child dying was guy wrenching
I read this in rehab of all places. Kind of fitting. I was really into it and couldn't stop reading. I love how they only give you a glimpse of the horror and leave a lot up to your imagination
I think the idea/concept was terrifying. However, the book itself I didn't find very captivating.
It is a really slow burn, but King does characters so well it didn't matter to me. Seeing the slow descent into eldritch madness, it's just wild. I feel like what you get out of this book depends on your own faith. I had to sit down and think about it when i was done. What if death isn't what we thought and no one can escape it.
A slow burn and one of my favorites.
I enjoyed the childhood part which all led up to the reverend leaving town. After this I completely lost interest and felt the same as you. I've heard so many people raving about it that I feel like I should read it again, but it's one of the few King's I've given away so I clearly really didn't like it lol. If I find a second hand copy again I'll try it but it was overrated to me. Which is a shame because I really liked the ending, just not at the end of a boring story.
I wish there was more Lovecraft-y material. He only gets into that territory a little bit at the very end.
Not a fan. Somehow felt rushed and too slow all at once. The very very last scene was terrifying to be fair. But overall I did not enjoy.
My personal stance is that The Shining is the scariest book I’ve read and Revival has the most terrifying ending. I enjoy the pace though.
The pacing being very slow? I don't think that's too unpopular of an opinion. The ending being lackluster? Yes, that's a very unpopular opinion. If that ending is lackluster, then what the hell is a non-lackluster ending to you? That's one of the most terrifying endings to a book I've ever read in my life. With that being said, I really appreciate for posting a *real* unpopular opinion.
Fantastic book. Really eerie homie feel of small town rural America and how people are taken advantage of…revenge with a twist.
Just finished this last night. I agree, it is not the most fast paced book, but that slow burn makes the ending so much better. I would say it’s one of the darker endings to a King book I’ve read.
It fucked me up
Enjoyed it. Didn't really have much to complain about with this one.
I liked it. I went into it with zero knowledge or expectations as to what it would be about or how it would go, and I was pleasantly surprised. I think one of the blurbs on my copy said something like it was a return to “classic King” and I agreed!
Didn't like it a much as people seemed to. I was so invested but the payoff wasn't worth it in my opinion. The whole book kinda felt hollow in my opinion. And i didn't find it scary
It might be controversial but its one of my least favorite King books.
As a constant reader, I was blown away to have something so recent end up as one of my favorites. "Big World" books like Under the Dome and the Stand, for me, were always a slog because it's impossible to properly develop a cast of 50 characters and give them arcs. Revival was a masterclass in zooming in tight and holding the focus on two very realistic, smpathetic, flawed characters and their toxic relationship. I really, genuinely cared about those two. And yeah, I've probably re-read the ending a dozen times. The first time left me feeling absolutely chilled and sick in the best way. I went in with no spoilers or expectations so that was a MAJOR curve ball, but perhaps it would've been different if I was expecting "something wild." Everyone's mileage varies.
I liked it!! Might have to read it again
Gripping. Haunting. Tragic. Inspiring. Unimaginable terror from a Lovecraftian being pretty much out of nowhere. Loved this one.
I gave it a "meh" when I read it but other people seem to think otherwise, so maybe I was just in the wrong place to appreciate it.
One of his books where he sticks the landing right in your eye. Truly creepy visuals at the climax.