Revival by Stephen King

Synopsis:

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 thirteen, 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.

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.

My first and only experience reading a King book before this one was IT. I did enjoy it, but it dragged on and seemed to have too many pointless side stories. I was a little worried that it would happen again with my next King book.

I was wrong.

This book was electrical. Pun may or may not be intended. Moving on from the puns, it was fast paced, interesting, and entertaining.

The two main characters were extremely well developed. Part of this is because the book spans over five decades. There is a lot to learn about Jamie and Charles. In saying that, there isn’t so much to learn that it is overwhelming.

This book deals with drug abuse, death, and religion. It has a lot of rough and sad moments, but there are many more action packed moments to go along with it.

It was interesting to see how Jamie and Charles changed as they grew older. A man who could have been seen as a mentor to Jamie becomes his worst nightmare.

I loved this book and found it really hard to put down.

5/5 Stars

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False Memory by Dean Koontz

Synopsis:

It's a fear more paralyzing than falling. More terrifying than darkness. More horrifying than anything you can imagine. It's the one fear you cannot escape, no matter where you run . . . no matter where you hide. It's the fear of yourself. It's real. It can happen to you. And facing it can be deadly. "Fear for your mind".

Dean Koontz hits your darkest fears with this deadly thriller. Going inside your mind and making you afraid of yourself and what you are capable of. He targets mind control and not having control over your own thoughts or actions. It is a truly horrifying concept that comes from one of the great creators of thrilling fiction.

False Memory has just a creepy tone to it that carries throughout the whole novel. It keeps you on the edge of your seat because it is impossible to put down. There are a bunch of twists and turns to haunt you on every page. It truly drags you through the realm of insanity.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it all seems unattainable.

The characters in this book are extremely interesting. This is especially true at the beginning when it appears that they developed crippling mental illnesses out of the blue. As the book progresses, the characters only become stronger and stronger.

This novel had everything that I really enjoy. Great characters that you can root for, a thrilling story that is fast-paced and eerie, great writing that doesn’t drag on and get boring, and ultimately and ending that I enjoyed.

The length of this book was a bit intimidating because of how large my TBR pile is, but once I really sat down with it, it was easy to finish it fairly quickly and I really recommend it for fans of thrillers.

5/5 Stars

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The Lords of Salem by Rob Zombie

Synopsis:

From the singular mind of horror maestro Rob Zombie comes a chilling plunge into a nightmare world where evil runs in the blood...

THE LORDS OF SALEM

Heidi Hawthorne is a thirty-seven-year-old FM radio DJ and a recovering drug addict. Struggling with her newfound sobriety and creeping depression, Heidi suddenly receives an anonymous gift at the station-a mysteriously shaped wooden box branded with a strange symbol. Inside the box is a promotional record for a band that identifies themselves only as The Lords. There is no other information.

She decides to play it on the radio show as a joke, and the moment she does, horrible things begin to happen. The strange music awakens something evil in the town. Soon enough, terrifying murders begin to happen all around Heidi. Who are The Lords? What do they want?

As old bloodlines are awakened and the bodies start to pile up, only one thing seems certain: all hell is about to break loose.

What did I just read? This was the most twisted book I have read in a long time, maybe the most twisted one I have read so far.  I have been wanting to see this movie for awhile, but I wanted to read the book first. So, when I got it for Christmas, I was super excited.

There were horror elements, there were gruesome scenes, and there were chapters that actually left me really creeped out.

It was an interesting experience to say the least.

That being said, I did actually enjoy the book. It held my attention with how strange and out there is was. It is easy to read the whole thing rather quickly because you want to find out what is happening. It is definitely not for people who cannot handle gore though. Reading through many of the scenes had me cringing in my seat.

The characters were all pretty interesting in their own ways. Heidi was a good protagonist and it was easy to root for her.

This book was good if you want an interesting horror, paranormal book. I wouldn’t have expected any less from the mind of Rob Zombie.

4/5 stars

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