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

In a small New England town, in the early 60s, 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. Soon they forge a deep bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity.

Decades later, Jamie is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Now an addict, he sees Jacobs again - a showman on stage, creating dazzling 'portraits in lightning' - and their meeting has 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 Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.
'Simply superb . . . classic King: intimate, readable and convincing . . . tastier than most bestsellers out there' - Independent

'Classic King territory...satisfyingly disturbing... it's a sharp and detailed character study of two very different men; King's books have always been as much about character as they are about making the hairs stand up on the back of the neck' - Express

'King at his regal best, fully in command of a terrifying story, a great cast and page after page after page of top-notch writing . . . the darkness of genuine horror. Absolutely superb' - Daily Mail

'King has done it again: captured the reader with his excellent writing and forced her to read herself into a gibbering wreck. Not for nothing do they call him the master of horror' - The Times

'There are few writers able so effortlessly, so naturally and so intimately to lay out the details of a life' - Guardian

'Vintage King' - Sunday Mirror
STEPHEN KING is the author of more than sixty books, all worldwide bestsellers. His recent titles include The Institute, which was described by the Sunday Express as a 'masterpiece', The Outsider (voted winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for best Mystery and Thriller 2018), and If It Bleeds.

Many of his titles have been turned into celebrated films, TV series and streamed events including IT, 'a book which speaks to everybody' (Guardian), The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me.

King was the recipient of America's prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine.