Just hang in there because the last half is like free-falling
590506
This book was an installment that I was eagerly awaiting. And after finishing it, I had to wait a day until I could get my thoughts together enough to write a coherent review. The beginning is incredibly frustrating because you're seeing the world through Nora's eyes and you're just as "in the dark" as she is about what has happened to her. She can't remember back to April (it's now September) and she has been missing (kidnapped) for 11 weeks. Patch is nowhere to be found, and if anyone remembers him, they aren't saying. Hank Miller is dating Nora's mom and you'll be asking WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON for about the first half of the book. But I swear, just hang in there because the last half is like free-falling.

Eventually, we do get some serious Patch interaction but you'll have to read it to see how that comes about. The plot is incredibly well thought out and Fitzpatrick does a good job in keeping you motivated to read even though she's keeping secrets. :)

The ending - well - I was unaware there was a 4th book that was recently announced so I almost threw my Kindle across the room in frustration. If there was ever a cliffhanger - this is it. I stared at the last page for a few minutes before I completely spazzed out and had to text Sash to see what the heck was going on. I thought I would have to fill in the rest of Nora and Patch's story by myself which was devastating, to say the least. I absolutely ADORE this series. Patch is one of my dream guys (he's also A LOT like my boyfriend--minus the whole fallen angel part--so that works out well). I can honestly say that there is NO way that anyone can guess what happens in this book, much less how it ends.

If you have come to love this series as much as I have, you'll be on your knees begging for more, happy about the ending, and completely swooning over Patch and Nora's love story. (Not to mention Nora turns into an even stronger female protagonist than she was in the previous book, Crescendo.)
787431
I loved most of this book, sped through it, pages flying, totally wrapped up in the story, the characters.  But for me, it all fell apart at the end.  (SPOILER AHEAD)  Call me simplistic and unsophisticated, but in the end I want the good guys to win and the philandering jerks to get punished.  I yearned for the moment when Delia would see her husband for what he was (a two-timing cad) and walk off into the sunset a brave new woman, not the beaten down woman she becomes in Miller's book.  And the fact that Meri, who so casually destroyed Delia's life, winds up happy and fulfilled, and says she did what she did out of "love"----gaaaaaack!  It steams my beans.
Nevertheless, Miller's a terrific writer, and if you're a pomo kinda reader who doesn't mind an ending that makes you want to hurl yourself off a cliff, this book is for you.
4297246
I came so close to giving Revival 5 stars but in the end I couldn't. Really, ant like creatures herding the dead about in the afterlife? King did much the same with the finale in "It", having a spider creature be the monster in the end. Revival, much like It, builds in suspense and terror until the end and then the payoff doesn't quite do it. But don't let that dissuade you. Because there is something very awesome about Revival. Something that took a few moments to click but once it was there. It was really there.

"...Once I heard him call it a piece of s***, a phrase I treasured then and still use now. When you want to feel better, call something a piece of s***. It usually works..."

There are not a lot of scary moments in Revival. There are not great buckets of blood and dead bodies piling up. No, what King brings here is a sense of unease. An underlying sense of terror that creeps up on through the reading. Like the shadows in the room that keep growing even though you know the light hasn't changed. King builds the character of Jamie Morton, you will live with him in his moments of triumph and his fall into despair. His friendship with the Rev. Jacobs and the realization that his old friend is not what he seems. Jamie sees the truth in the lie of Jacob's faith, the lie he was so ready to accept in his time of need. You will strap yourself to Jamie Morton and you will live his life with him.

"...One night, after some white boy sang something about how his baby left him and he felt so sad. Hector the Barber snorted and said, 'S***, boys, that ain't the blues.'
 'What do you mean, Grampa?' Ronnie asked.
 'Blues is mean music. That boy sounded like he just peed the bed and he's afraid his mama might find out..."

Do you see it yet? Okay I'll keep it moving. The story of Jamie Morton is what is first in Revival. Rev. Jacobs, his rise in the church and his fall after the tragic death of his wife and child, his experiments with science and his return as a false minister, are secondary. It is Jamie and the holes in his own life that make him malleable for Jacobs to use when the time comes. It is Morton, his narrative, his fear and his betrayal. Morton, who sees beyond the door and understands that what Rev. Jacobs is trying to do with science, what he could not do with faith, will result in something far more horrifying than any of them can deal with.

Morton who drives the story. Character. Story. The darkness and evil come second to the story.

And just some really good writing.

This is old King. The emperor has tossed his new clothes away and reached deep into his closet for that shirt. You know the one. We all have one. The old torn up shirt. Its comfortable. Its worn. It reminds us of who and what we were. For Stephen King it is story and unpretentious writing.

The writing that made the novellas Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body so good. The writing that made The Stand and Salem's Lot and oh my freakin' God; The Shining the classics of what Horror once was.

Story and good writing. That is what Stephen King and he has returned to it. This is the Blues and its mean, really, really mean. King also adds some clever little moments. One of Jacob's patients, a woman named Mary who had a son called Victor. Mary Shelly and Victor Frankenstein. Cool and smooth and if you blink you will miss it.

Revival is also a tip of the hat and therefore I sort of have to forgive the ant creatures. Revival is an acknowledgement of the master who has gone before. The only one that is better than King at Horror. Better than Poe, better than Straub, just better.

Lovecraft.

The vision of the afterlife in Revival, the ant creatures, Mother, the old Gods; that is Lovecraft. It smells like it and tastes like it. So in that I do have to forgive.

Revival is good. It is very good. And it is my hope that King has returned to the old worn shirt that was true work and has left the emperor's new clothes aside.

A very good read.
4168640
In this case, I would say yes.  I got bogged down in the middle, but the narrative came back and took off.
719972
At least the first half of this movie--and maybe a little more--is excellent.  Dark, different, and kind of creepy.  Suspense builds around one of the best villains in a long time.  Never has a skinny old man created such dread.  But the movie loses its way in the second half, and especially towards the end.  One character suddenly develops sacrificial, heroic, leadership qualities, for no obvious reason whatsoever.  Then the movie ends too simply and too suddenly.  An epilogue is tacked on that I think was supposed to be funny.  Not too, and kind of bizarre.  See it for the first hour though.
288294
Back and forth you go from one part of her life to another until you feel like you are spinning and spinning.  But at ever turn there is another incisive thought and another well crafted sentence that holds you still for a moment.  And when finally the world stops spinning....you really really wish that it could have gone on spinning for much longer.
3752248
I was enjoying this book until about 70% in when it became painfully apparent that the rest was going to limp to the end. Call me traditionalist but I like my crime novels to focus on solving crime against the public and not making the police the focus, not a good enough balance struck in this book.
2024970
Had to quit towards the end because of impossible jumps, very discouraging.
1939120
If you are facing temporary defeat in your life,
if things aren't going in the direction that you like,
rest if you must, but don't quit

This book will show you how to keep going even when the only thing you want to do is give up and quit.
4030250
Until it's too late. Until you are simply too moved . I read so much. So so much. Because everything else in my life fails at making me feel normal. Like I can deal. So I just read. When nothing else seems like it it's falling into to place around me and when I know I'm what's never going to fall into place in what's going on  around me. This is one of those books thats paused moment to moment, right there with you , when everything you in life is whirling around in a billion pieces while your standing still trying to catch them, trying to make them disappear. It's one of those books that's helps you get get lost for a little.
1434659
Like I said, the first half was awesome, learning about some interesting characters and their struggle to live with an unusual but sometimes debilitating talent.  The main character's relationship with each other is a key element to the story and in the first half of the book the reader gets treated to an amazing account of their personal feelings, their conflicts, and also the immensely strong bond that holds them together.  Then it all goes in the crapper.

We find out that these two people aren't as dedicated to each other as we thought and are willing to jump ship and walk away at a moment's notice.  Also, what we thought was a one-in-a-trillion rare gift of psychic ability is as common as cancer, only not as benign.  The psychic abilities of the characters do not make them better people; it makes them worse, much worse.  It makes them hate each other, it makes them lie and cheat, it makes them behave so badly that by the end of the book we feel sorry for the supposed "bad guy" (a textbook 2-dimensional character) and can't wait for him to kill the good guys in some drawn-out and excruciating manner.  And the one "normal" good guy is so weak-willed, so easily controlled by everyone, so completely unable to do ANYTHING right, that I found myself waiting to see who tied his shoes for him, because he certainly doesn't have the brains or coordination to do it himself.

I almost put the book down with only 5% to go, but I slogged through it, hoping some redeeming quality might show up in our two heroes.  Nope, they remain people that I have no interest in reading about.
733106
So, I finished reading this last night, right? And waking up this morning, I have that feeling.

Diagnosis? A decent case of book hangover.

YES! *pumps fist*

Now, this isn't perfect, the ending feeling rushed with several storylines getting wrapped up in a few sentences being the main stumble. I mean, it's Elliott and Tucker, and they've survived more than one version of hell, so how about we give them some time to luxuriate in their reward ~and let us share in their celebration!~ Error: insufficient input. We do get some, don't worry, but I'm greedy in their case.

But I digress, lemme start back at the beginning.

Yowza, the tension, ~the anxiety~ covers every surface, every single thought and action and feeling during the build up. *slumps* I'm exhausted from being all tied up in glorious knots. The waiting... the ~curling up into a ball of mental nail biting~** in anticipation of what was coming. Because I could feeeeeeeeeeeeel that impending... *flails* unknown. That's the skeery part: the big huge nasty bad thing is unknown, a breath-stealing shadow, a horrible nothing onto which I could find no foothold.

** sorry, not sorry for the imagery. #literaryreality

Many of the elements from Fair Game and Fair Play are here: Elliott's dad, Roland, and Elliott's world at Puget Sound U., Goose Island, and the overall atmospherics that play a significant role all throughout the series. I easily slid right back into this place, and Elliott's mind as he leads us along. This is the most emotionally and mentally intense story in this trio. Each book has its own feel and, well, you can see some of the things that define the uniqueness of this one.

Some new characters bring impact in their own mysteries and subterfuge. One in particular, and she and her four furry legs provide a vital outlet for all of this tension.

Stripping it down to bare bones, this is Elliott and his excruciating journey through a living, choking, nightmare. The difference here is, he's got Tucker. He's got him, and Tucker has Elliott. This is the only thing that kept me supplied with oxygen while experiencing this story: the bond these two people have worked so hard to create, imperfections and all, is the hope to which I clung.

Was it worth it? Hell yeah.

Fair Game is still one of my favorite books and this story is a darn good way to bring everything full circle.
4097800
This book started out great, but it slowly began to lose momentum somewhere in the middle and completely lost me about 3/4 of the way through, I hate to say it, but I did not finish it. Because I have been there, I truly admire Rachael. She took a very difficult road in her recovery and stuck it out. I'm so glad that she has finally found love, peace, and joy. I wish Rachael and her family all of the best that life has to offer.
716339
This movie is like one of those international flights that feels like it just won't end.  Except that in this story, the full length "in-flight movie" is about a planet that ultimately crashes into a mirror image of itself.

If the characters had been likable, then at least one would have a sense of loss at the end.  Instead, the rather unspectacular coup de grace cannot come soon enough.

Even if a metaphor of the two sister planets, not even a glimpse of Kirsten Dunst's bare bosom can compensate for the continual torture that is watching dysfunctional rich people argue about the minutia of their lives.  Perhaps one has to be clinically depressed to identify with any of the characters.  I just don't get it.

Watching this "movie" makes one feel as though you are being forced to page through a million spectacular, yet disconnected still pictures.  If you could skip directly to the end, you would have missed nothing of lasting import.  Rather than skipping to the end; do yourself a favor and just skip the movie entirely....
1700575
I hate to give a negative review to a autobiography - after all, this is a book about the author's life - however, I could only make it half way through this book. Perhaps Ms. Strayed had some amazing and life-changing experiences in the second half that would have made reading it worthwhile. The part I read, though, was the tale of a woman who had a good life and train wrecked it on purpose because her mother died - young and fast. While the death of a loved parent could send anyone off course, most people don't deal with their grief by becoming promiscuous adulterers and heroine users.

To try to find herself and get back on course, Ms. Strayed takes off on a multi-state hike ridiculously unprepared, and her hiking trip is a lot like her life - veering around, often off course, relying on the kindness of strangers for all matter of help, and wishing for more sex.

Like I said, maybe there's redemption in the second half of the book, but what I read was proof of the adage "Wherever you go, there you are."
4183357
Don't assume you have it figured out halfway through.
4407493
As a rail buff who envies those who are able to simply hop an empty boxcar and ride the rails to no particular place at all, I really enjoyed the first half of this story. Unfortunately, roughly mid way through, the story derails and plunges in to some dystopian vision of cosmic reincarnation. Enjoyable to a point but lacking as a whole.