A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life.
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.