Revelator

A Novel

By: Daryl Gregory

Narrated by: Reagan Boggs

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The dark, gripping tale of a 1930s family in the remote hills of the Smoky Mountains, their secret religion, and the daughter who turns her back on their mysterious god - from the acclaimed author of Spoonbenders.

“Gods and moonshine in the Great Depression, written with a tenderness and brutality … this is as good as novels get.” (Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians)

In 1933, nine-year-old Stella is left in the care of her grandmother, Motty, in the backwoods of Tennessee. The mountains are home to dangerous secrets, and soon after she arrives, Stella wanders into a dark cavern where she encounters the family's personal god, an entity known as the Ghostdaddy.

Years later, after a tragic incident that caused her to flee, Stella - now a professional bootlegger - returns for Motty's funeral, and to check on the mysterious 10-year-old girl named Sunny that Motty adopted. Sunny appears innocent enough, but she is more powerful than Stella could imagine - and she’s a direct link to Stella's buried past and her family's destructive faith.

Haunting and wholly engrossing, summoning mesmerizing voices and giving shape to the dark, Revelator is a Southern gothic tale for the ages.

©2021 Daryl Gregory (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

“Revelator is a thing of beauty, brutal in the vein of Cormac McCarthy, a novel in the Southern Gothic tradition that is fresh and deeply disturbing.” —Danielle Trussoni, The New York Times

“Revelator is a brisk work of Southern Gothic horror and an intriguing, female-centric portrait of a family in conflict. It’s funny, too . . . [Stella is] a complex character, a pleasure to follow for 300-plus pages . . . An intrafamilial battle ensues, fueling the book’s eventful closing chapters and solving some mysteries surrounding the god.” —Kevin Canfield, San Francisco Chronicle

“In Revelator, Gregory has constructed a twisty, unnerving story that reveals its secrets [judiciously] . . . [Gregory] has a talent for writing outcasts, for conjuring empathy and sympathy for those left to toil in the margins. That talent is certainly on display in Revelator, where it’s damn near impossible not to root for Stella but also for the family of choice she finds along the way . . . Revelator is a book of few heroes and many villains, but more than anything, it’s a book for the people — mostly women — who get caught in the path of both.” —Nicole Hill, Tor Nightfire

Lovecraftian Moonshine

If you like reading cosmic horror while sipping a nice bourbon, this is the book! Enjoyed every second of this story, which was SO beautifully narrated…one of those books I was glad to have read with my ears rather than my eyes. So much compelling stuff going on here, but I was particularly engrossed by how deftly Gregory explores the ways that women’s voices are silenced and excluded in religious life. Mix in a scary monster, and it makes for a terrific and thoughtful read.

Not Worth a Credit but Good

The narration was fine, a little forced on the southern accent, but fine. This story is good. I don’t want my review to mislead anyone into thinking otherwise. For me, the problem with this book was that it often came really close to being terrifying but it never actually got there. The ideas were solid and there were parts in the story were I thought “ok here we go”, only to have things kind of fizzle out. The big surprise near the end fell through in the shock and awe department as well. It was entertaining but kind of forgettable.

if you like Old Gods of Appalachia you'll love it

excellent story read by an excellent narrator with a realistic Appalachian accent. highly recommend

Pretty good

Could of had a little information about the GD. Ending was pretty good and doesn’t leave you hanging. Just would’ve been better to have more background on the GD.

Very Unusual

This was very interesting and very unusual. The supernatural element of this story was not apparent from the beginning and the way that the author exposed that to the reader was subtile and very well done. The narration was excellent and overall I was well entertained for all 11 hours and 35 minutes. I had forgotten that I had read another novel by Mr. Gregory (The Spoonbenders)... also a very good read, unique subject matter. Good stuff, highly recommended.

Great book!!

After reading only the first few chaptersI didn't think that i would like this book as much as I do.I couldn't have been more wrong! I enjoyed every part of this book, especially the parts that were the character 10 years prior. The book was very smooth, not jumpy at all, and was delivered by a top notch narrator who's awesome deep country accent fit absolutely perfect. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with my purchase and am on the lookout for more books from this author ASAP!!

Creative! Unique! Unpredictable page turner!

Historical fiction at it BEST! Best book I’ve read in years and I read hundreds each year!!

Truly a revelation

My goodness. what a book. Possibly the best I've read this year. A true masterpiece of Southern Gothic horror, with a touch of Cosmic horror. I enjoyed every moment.

Enjoyable listen

Great story, beautiful narration. I fully enjoyed the entire novel and was left wanting more of Stella and Sunny.

Great southern gothic story

This was a captivating read! It totally fits the genre of southern gothic and I can’t wait to read more like this, because I’ve only enjoyed this genre on TV with shows like True Blood, Ozark and True Detective. So you can imagine the mood - a haunting presence, odd family traditions, neighborhood secrets, questionable churches, crime, folklore, isolation and redemption.
This story is about Stella, who was born into a family of revelators that commune with a mysterious God residing in a mountain cave. The church community is isolated, strange and full of secrets. Stella doesn’t know who to trust as she processes the extent of the “gift” that’s been bestowed on her and the women who came before her. The God is creepy bc I can’t figure out what it IS! Supernatural? Part animal? Part human? With descriptions of its multiple, tangled limbs, I kept imagining it as a glowing white demon that appears as half human half spider - and that gave me the creeps! Haunting, atmospheric, very cool! Would recommend to anyone who likes southern gothic. Excellent narration.