Seth Patrick

A thriller in the best possible sense. Whereas most thrillers and 'page-turners' nowadays seem to have strangled themselves into mediocrity in a cowed and desperate attempt to fit the mould of what they're told an audience 'expects', Seth Patrick's The Reviver seems to be one of the rare few to have faced those anodyne market forces and retained its individuality. It's a book that ticks all the modern marketing boxes – in tone, style, characterisation, plot and, most importantly, concept show more (it's C.S.I. meets The Sixth Sense) – and yet possesses an air of originality. It's a genuinely entertaining read.

That 'C.S.I. meets The Sixth Sense' label is useful (and accurate) shorthand, but another revealing one is given on Seth Patrick's Acknowledgements page. Here, Patrick notes the influence of Edgar Allan Poe on his concept, and The Reviver certainly drips with a hidden malevolence in its first half. Patrick goes for a workaday thriller style rather than Poe's more literary Gothic writing style, but the effect is the same: The Reviver, particularly its first half, is extremely creepy. Patrick has the mechanics of his story down pat, and we follow Jonah, our protagonist, through a tight suspense story that unfolds its unnerving mystery at a very rewarding pace. I tend to be inured to the cynically-engineered tactics of the modern-day 'page-turner', which is not my bag, but even I have to say: I was hooked. The second half saw a bit of a disappointing drop, but I should stress this was by the high standards the first half had set. The second half, through it veers more closely to standard thriller terrain, is still a cut above your standard thriller.

The concept is king here. Patrick's plotting, characterisation and dialogue are all pretty standard, though enjoyable; it is the fascination the reader quickly develops for the 'revivals', and the mystery behind them, which makes the book a winner. The plot revelations, when they come, feel earned, and while the nature of them might be polarising for readers, to me they were rewarding. We are thrilled by – and sometimes genuinely scared by – the "plunge into the dark rot" of deepest consciousness that Jonah explores (pg. 2), and the evident empathy in this protagonist's character goes a long way towards both alleviating the brutal toll of darkness and murder in the book, and to allowing us to forgive any tiny blips in the story mixture. Fast-paced, fascinating and fantastical, The Reviver has left me asking with indignation: whatever happened to the movie option? show less

Jonah is a Reviver – someone who can revive the dead for a short period of time. In Jonah’s case, he works for a forensic team, so he revives in order to let the victim testify about the events of their death. It’s a well controlled experience, and is used as evidence in courts.

However, during one revival, Jonah experiences something which makes him question exactly what they’re doing.. another presence, which he can’t explain. He’s told it’s just an hallucination, brought show more about by stress, but Jonah isn’t convinced, and starts to dig deeper. He ends up involved in something much bigger than he expected.

For the majority of the book, this feels like a crime / thriller, with this very interesting twist. The whole issue of Revival is explored, including it’s uses and problems, and it’s this aspect which lifts it well above average. Some reviewers have found the book too slow, but I disagree – there’s a lot of information to give, and aspects of reviving to explore, and I enjoyed this.

Throughout there’s an uneasiness, a suggestion of a supernatural element, and towards the end this becomes more apparent, and there’s a definite switch in the book. I have to admit, this did worry me for a while, because I’ve seen similar books which started to feel.. well, silly. In my opinion though, Seth keeps a realistic tone, and it soon settles into a good ending.

Whilst it would have been possible to keep simply to the idea of forensic revival, I’m not sure how far it could have been taken in the future. I would imagine that the supernatural aspect will feature quite strongly in the next book, and I look forward to finding out where we’re taken next. show less

Putting the paranormal in the police department, first-time author Seth Patrick blends genre lines with this edgy crime thriller. The first novel in the Reviver trilogy, Reviver is sure to appeal to fans of Dean Koontz and Justin Cronin.

While there are elements of the premise that are familiar, Patrick makes them his own with a very distinct style. His descriptions were right on, allowing me to feel the physical aspects of the characters along with the emotional parts of the story. I felt show more like my body temperature actually dropped when I read one scene. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but I honestly felt colder while I read it.

Anyone who gave this less than 5 stars was having a bad hair/brain day. I'm PICKY, and the writing, characters, plot, pace, everything, was spot on. I wouldn't have changed a thing. Parts were gory, of course, but it was a thriller and suspense story and not unexpected. Goes with the territory. Now I'll have to read everything else by him that I can find. Always a Great Day when you can find another favorite author.

Yes it's not for the faint of heart or those with weak and queasy stomachs, but for everybody else who loves horror, mystery, suspense, and totally excellent writing: here's Reviver. Don't miss out. show less

Intelligently developed story with well fleshed out and layered characters who become quite likable. Well done relationships between characters adds to the believability as the story pulls you in. The pace for the novel starts out nearly perfect then slows a bit about half way through, but not to the point of wanting to put the book aside. Well written scenes with just the right amount of description to paint the picture without drowning the reader in unnecessary words. Great first attempt show more at a novel. I'm looking forward to the next!


Free copy provided through Goodreads FirstReads. Thank you for your generosity. My reviews are honest and never influenced by anyone. show less