REVELATOR by Daryl Gregory – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Revelator by Daryl Gregory
Published by Knopf on August 31 2021
Genres: Adult, Gothic, Horror
Pages: 337
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A Southern Gothic setting, twisted family relationships and several intriguing mysteries make Revelator a must read for lovers of subtle horror.

I know when I pick up a Daryl Gregory book I’m going to get something unique, and Revelator was very different from what I expected, but in a good way. This story is weird, folks! And if you’ve been reading my reviews, you know I never shy away from weird. Gregory takes “weird” to new levels in his latest, but he also throws in elements that I love and have come to expect from him, like humor, interesting characters, and intricately constructed family relationships. Add in a wonderful Southern Gothic horror flavor and a couple of mysteries and you have a winner.

The story takes place in 1948 in the backwoods of Tennessee and revolves around the Birch family, who for many years have kept a big secret. Hidden in a cave in a mountain lives the family god, who communes with the chosen daughter of each generation, a girl born with port wine stains on her face. Stella Wallace was one such girl, and at nine years old she was brought to the cove by her father and left with her grandmother Motty, who would raise her and teach her the ways of the god of the mountain when she reached the age of twelve. And indeed, Stella went into the cave and met Ghostdaddy—her name for the god—and even developed a rapport with the creature. She became the Revelator, the girl chosen to convey the messages and thoughts of the god to others. But when she was fourteen, a terrible event occurred that forced her to leave, and she vowed never to return.

But ten years later, Stella—now a successful bootlegger—gets word that Motty has died, and she knows she must return to the mountain whether she wants to or not. Stella is mostly concerned for the safety of Sunny, the current Revelator who will soon come of age and enter the cave, and when her Uncle Hendrick arrives soon after with his family, Stella knows he will try to take custody of Sunny. But Stella knows the truth about the god, and she’ll do anything to keep Sunny from her first communion.

Let’s talk about Ghostdaddy first, because I know you’re all wondering! At first I was a little leery about the family “god” and the religious overtones of the story. Gregory uses words like “communion” and “worship” to convey that in fact, there is something inside that cave that this family is worshiping, for whatever reason. The scenes where Stella goes into the cave to commune with Ghostdaddy are sort of vague and hazy with very few concrete details, and yet we get the impression that the creature in the cave is more monster than god. We know that the god does something to Stella, and that Stella experiences a euphoric, dreamlike state while she’s in the cave. But the purpose of these visitations isn’t very clear, and even by the end of the story Gregory has left a lot up to the imagination.

But the adult Stella knows exactly what’s going on and she’s terrified that Sunny will have to endure the same thing she did. Stella has all the information but the reader doesn’t, and that’s what makes this mystery so enticing. And while we’re on the subject of Sunny, she’s another of the story’s big mysteries. Gregory teases and misleads the reader regarding Sunny’s origins, but the answers are only revealed at the end of the story.

Gregory does a great job with the dual timeline, one of my favorite ways to tell a story. The present day takes place in 1948 when Motty dies, and in alternating chapters we get flashbacks to 1933 when Stella was nine years old and beginning her new life with Motty. In this way, the author gradually reveals the details about the god in the mountain, as we see Stella’s experiences firsthand. There’s also the mysterious death of a boy named Lincoln that takes place in 1936, but it isn’t until the end of the story that we find out what happened. Gregory masterfully weaves these two timelines together, which eventually seem to parallel each other.

But it’s the characters and their relationships that really make this story shine. Stella is a fantastic character. She’s endured all sorts of hardships as a young girl—losing her mother, being deserted by her father, a harsh childhood growing up under Motty’s roof, not to mention her experiences with Ghostdaddy—but she was able to break free from her toxic life and do well for herself. I loved her plucky, no nonsense approach to life, her love of whisky and cigarettes and especially her devotion to those she loves. Stella learns the bootlegging business from a man named Abby, who turned out to be one of my favorite characters. Abby is almost a father figure to Stella, and he takes her under his wing and teaches her how to distill whiskey and start a thriving (albeit illegal) business. Her partner in crime is a man named Alfonse, whose dark skin makes him a target of racism and hate, although Stella fiercely stands up to the haters, many of whom are family members. I adored Alfonse and Stella together, who call their relationship a “moonshine marriage.”

Other characters, like Hendrick, play the part of antagonist to the T. Hendrick and his posse of Baptist followers are determined to bring Ghostdaddy “out into the light,” and they fervently believe that the god will eventually grant them eternal life. In the midst of Motty’s death and the battle for Sunny, we learn that the state is about to reclaim Motty’s land for a national park, including the secluded mountain cave where the god lives. All these events converge as Stella is trying to figure out how to end the vicious cycle of the Revelator and expose the god for what it really is. Tied up in all this confusion is a set of journals, the “revelations” of the Birch girls and their experiences and communications with Ghostdaddy. Hendrick plays a big part in these journals, and I thought they were a nice addition to the story.

I thought the bootlegging parts were a lot of fun too. Gregory delves into the home distilling process and Stella’s struggle to keep her business a secret from the law, and I found the descriptions of making and distributing whiskey fascinating, and it’s even more interesting because the story revolves around a female bootlegger.

Gregory’s writing is outstanding as usual, and full of unexpected humor:

Stella portioned out the gallon of hooch across the corpses. Thinking, Drink up, boys. You’ll be thirsty in hell.

And while this story is dark (just wait until the mystery of Sunny is revealed!), it isn’t the darkest thing the author has written by a long shot (try We Are All Completely Fine if you want to go to some dark places!) But wow, that last line! It’s worth reading the book just so you can get to that, trust me. Revelator is an excellent book, and Gregory fans in particular will love this.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.