I have to say that Stephen King has really gotten back into the writing that hooked me when I was younger. I loved Doctor Sleep, and this book was great as well. At first it was just a good story, I wasn't sure where the actual horror or any type of supernatural storyline would be. It actually came in a little bit, maybe halfway through the story. And honestly, it was a less of that than he used to have in stories. I might have liked a bit more of it, but when that horrible part of the story showed up, it was pretty scary.
The main character is Jamie, who of course grows up in a small town in Maine. When he is about 8 years old, his town gets a new minister, Charles Jacobs. Reverend Jacobs is young, and he has a young beautiful wife, and a very young little boy named Morrie. Right away Jacobs takes a liking to Jamie, and shows him the model train table at the church, and also talks to Jamie about his hobby of working with electricity. During this time things seem pretty normal for a small town. And the Reverend is well liked. When Jamie's older brother has a skiing accident that may cause him to be unable to speak for the rest of his life, Jacobs tries an experimental treatment with electricity that seems to help. While he says that really it was more of just getting Con, his older brother, to think and work at speaking again, Jamie wonders if it was truly something to do with the electricity.
Not long after this, there is a terrible accident which causes Jacobs to basically lose his faith, and he breaks down in such a manner that he gives a sermon showing just how far he has dropped away from God. So he is relieved of his job. Not too long after this, Jamie learns that he enjoys playing guitar. The guitar leads him to play in rock bands. And this of course leads to where you think it would lead, drugs. It is when Jamie gets to a very low point with the drugs that he runs into Jacobs again. Jacobs is able to use his electricity studies to help Jamie with his drug problems, but he is doing a type of electric show at a carnival. After a while he leaves the carnival and moves elsewhere. But he doesn't leave Jamie hanging. He sends Jamie to work with someone who owes him a favor, and once again Jamie is allowed to work in the music industry. Years later he will come across Jacobs again. This time he is healing people, one of those religious types of shows. And while Jamie is still healed, he's had side effects. And he will begin researching the other people that have been cured by Jacobs, and find that others have their own side effects. And not all are minimal.
It is in this final bit of research that Jamie will find maybe Jacobs is out to do something that isn't natural. Jacobs' obsession has changed him so that he is no longer the likable reverend Jamie met when he was a young boy. It will be this final goal of Jacobs' that will lead to the horrors of the story.
I will say the final goal was different than exactly what I'd thought it would be. But definitely this goal made a little more sense at being something that someone might actually try compared to what I'd thought it would be. A very good story, and so now I'm pretty eager to get around to reading Mr. Mercedes.
