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Revelator: A novel
ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST 'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • The dark, gripping tale of a 1930’s 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 ten-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.
“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 ten-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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 31, 2021
540 people are currently reading
21719 people want to read
About the author
Daryl Gregory
151 books1,449 followersAward-winning author of Revelator, The Album of Dr. Moreau, Spoonbenders, We Are All Completely Fine, and others. Some of his short fiction has been collected in Unpossible and Other Stories.
He's won the World Fantasy Award, as well as the Shirley Jackson, Crawford, Asimov Readers, and Geffen awards, and his work has been short-listed for many other awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon awards . His books have been translated in over a dozen languages, and have been named to best-of-the-year lists from NPR Books, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Journal.
He is also the writer of Flatline an interactive fiction game from 3 Minute Games, and comics such as Planet of the Apes.
He's a frequent teacher of writing and is a regular instructor at the Viable Paradise Writing Workshop.
He's won the World Fantasy Award, as well as the Shirley Jackson, Crawford, Asimov Readers, and Geffen awards, and his work has been short-listed for many other awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon awards . His books have been translated in over a dozen languages, and have been named to best-of-the-year lists from NPR Books, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Journal.
He is also the writer of Flatline an interactive fiction game from 3 Minute Games, and comics such as Planet of the Apes.
He's a frequent teacher of writing and is a regular instructor at the Viable Paradise Writing Workshop.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,205 reviews
June 9, 2025
How Stella Got Her Groove Back...
REVELATOR
by Daryl Gregory
5 stars. On her birthday In 1933, Stella met the family god when she was 9 years old, and she was so awestruck that she didn't run...
On that birthday...
Pa and Stella drove the twisty dirt roads of Appalachia up to Birch Bald where Stella was to live with her old grandma Motty for good...
Motty's white, tin-roofed cabin was off a rutted lane. While Pa and Motty talked on the porch, Stella explored the farm...
... and came upon a chapel built into the mountainside. Stella went inside and saw a deep, dark cavern in the floor...
... she descended some stairs into the dark caves, and in the pitch black of the caverns felt a presence looming over her...
... looking down upon her... something with many limbs like a spider...
When Motty found her in the chapel, she ripped her a new one and said she'd better never go in there again until her 12th birthday...
The age of accountability...
On her 12th birthday, Stella was taken into the caverns under the chapel of the Primitive Baptist Church and...
... introduced to their god of the mountain, they called the Ghostdaddy. Stella was to commune with the entity and become the church's Revelator...
And that's how Stella got her groove back...
For a while, anyway...
This was an extraordinary southern gothic horror novel with a little cosmic horror added for good measure. It is a slow-burning story but was well worth the buildup, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
If you like this story, you'll probably like WICKED TEMPER by Randy Thornhorn and THE CEREMONIES by T.E.D. Klein.
REVELATOR
by Daryl Gregory
5 stars. On her birthday In 1933, Stella met the family god when she was 9 years old, and she was so awestruck that she didn't run...
On that birthday...
Pa and Stella drove the twisty dirt roads of Appalachia up to Birch Bald where Stella was to live with her old grandma Motty for good...
Motty's white, tin-roofed cabin was off a rutted lane. While Pa and Motty talked on the porch, Stella explored the farm...
... and came upon a chapel built into the mountainside. Stella went inside and saw a deep, dark cavern in the floor...
... she descended some stairs into the dark caves, and in the pitch black of the caverns felt a presence looming over her...
... looking down upon her... something with many limbs like a spider...
When Motty found her in the chapel, she ripped her a new one and said she'd better never go in there again until her 12th birthday...
The age of accountability...
On her 12th birthday, Stella was taken into the caverns under the chapel of the Primitive Baptist Church and...
... introduced to their god of the mountain, they called the Ghostdaddy. Stella was to commune with the entity and become the church's Revelator...
And that's how Stella got her groove back...
For a while, anyway...
This was an extraordinary southern gothic horror novel with a little cosmic horror added for good measure. It is a slow-burning story but was well worth the buildup, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
If you like this story, you'll probably like WICKED TEMPER by Randy Thornhorn and THE CEREMONIES by T.E.D. Klein.
April 19, 2021
I don't say this lightly, but this book was a masterpiece. If Flannery O'Connor and Stephen King decided to write a book together after watching a documentary about The Peoples Temple or Branch Daviadians it would look like this. Great setting, great characters, twists that felt earned and a last sentence that will make your jaw drop. A instant classic.
September 11, 2022
Well, I’ve never read anything like this and I never will again. My mind is absolutely blown. One of the most intricately plotted stories with the most interesting, complex characters I have ever read. Stella is my favorite female protagonist, bar none
February 6, 2022
This was an interesting read. The story is told from two different timelines. One when Stella was a child left by her father at her mother's grandmother door. The second is Stella as a bootlegging adult. I was invested in the Birch women and their history, which all rotated around this mysterious God of the Mountain. Which could have been a weird religion or an actual thing. The book is quick to set you straight on that matter. This not the usual slash and dash horror read. It is low-key but still builds tense moments. Recommend.
February 24, 2022
When I was a child, there was an abandoned mine shaft on the property that both thrilled and terrified me.
The entrance had caved in, leaving just enough room for a scrawny thing like me to squeeze through, or at least peer into that dark, mystifying place.
I don't know how many times I visited, longing to go in and explore, but held back by fear of a cave in, envisioning myself trapped inside and starving to death.
This shaft evoked all kinds of fantasies in me, from the Robinson Crusoe type of adventure to more science fictiony scenarios where the shaft was a portal to another dimension. Descending into the mine would transport me to another time and place, a happier, safer universe.
What never entered my fantasies was that a god resided in this dank, dark place.
Perhaps if I'd read Revelator back then, I'd have worked up the courage to descend into the bowels of the earth..... or I'd have never again gone anywhere near that place, petrified of what lurked within.
Author Daryl Gregory's imaginative novel has a god of sorts residing in a cave in Appalachia. Stella is part of a long line of women who are revelators, ones who commune with the god.
They attach to it and enter a trance-like state that they forget afterwards, so someone is there to witness what transpires, and record the words of the god spoken through the revelator.
It is never clear what sort of thing this god is, whether supernatural or extraterrestrial.
The novel has the feel of Southern noir even though it might better be placed in the horror genre. The story takes place in two timelines - when Stella is a young girl communicating with the god and when Stella is an adult, recently returned to her mountain home to help the next young Revelator.
Even though I read this slowly (it's the first time a three week library loan expired on the day I finished), I loved this book. It is eerily atmospheric and I was both drawn in and horrified, similar to how my child self felt about that neglected mine shaft.
It's another book I might never have read had it not been for a GR friend's recommendation. (Thanks, Kathy!)
I think I will always wonder if I shouldn't have taken my chances and explored that mine shaft, seeing where and to what it might have led..... though I doubt I would have found a god of any sorts lurking within the depths of the earth.
October 16, 2021
I'm not completely sure what to think. I had high expectations, and that might have screwed me over. I felt like the beginning was slow and confusing. I didn't feel connected or invested or scared. I was curious though. The concept itself is amazing, but it just didn't grab me like I wanted it to. I did like it. I just wanted to love it.
December 10, 2021
Revelator
Ah the Revelator, what could be more peaceful than a novel set inside a beautiful national park during the 1930s and 1940s? Except underneath this peaceful haven is a dark cavern that houses an immense creature worshiped as a god. This story reminded me a bit of The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher with the setting of the story and the personality of the main character. Both books vividly painted scenes in rural, mountainous America infused with gothic and supernatural elements.
The author captured the era quite well even down to the little details like how to drive a car from that era as well as describing the distillery process and machine used for making moonshine. I must confess that I wasn’t the biggest fan of our main character, Stella, at first. I pitied her growing up, but her adult self was frustrating due to the number of secrets she liked to keep from others. Stella was described to be intelligent, but it felt wasted when she would go barreling through things instead of thinking it out.
I also really wanted more of the character Sunny, since she was put in this position that readers initially feel bad for her, but surprisingly enough we barely meet her in the book. The author teased us with such an intriguing character that I wanted more. The character I liked the most was Abby since he always tried to look out for our main character and others. Just not enough it seems. Overall, all the major characters were fleshed out well even ones I disliked.
One of the things that this story does that a lot of modern horror stories do is switching between timelines after every chapter. One of the timelines being followed is of the adult Stella who is a bootlegger of the finest quality moonshine. A death in the family lures our main character back to the place she grew up in and to the family she ran away from while trying to protect a young girl named Sunny from them and the cavern dwelling god.
The other timeline follows the adventures of a young Stella after her father abandoned her and sent her to live with her temperamental grandmother, Motty, as she meets her family’s god. The switching between timelines worked in the end, but it also irked me since the story was getting disjointed. I liken it to novels that switch POVs with every chapter.
Did I mention yet how I disliked the name of the god even though I liked the creature in general? The name Ghostdaddy is just so underwhelming for a god. At least call it Ghostfather or something since the scenes that contained it were described so strikingly well. In hindsight, I recognize why it was named the way it was, but I wish that the new religion created around it gave it a different name too. I wanted the origins of Ghostdaddy explored more since it is such an intriguing creature where you even wondered if there could be more like it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the twists in this book. The twists really put things into perspective and explained behaviors of characters in certain instances that confused me for a while. Certain motivations and behaviors by characters frustrated me to the point I would start to dislike those characters. When things began to be unveiled, I understood the reasons why they acted the way they did, and the frustration dissipated for the most part.
Some of the twists revealed were more obvious than others though.
If you are expecting a horror book full of scares, then this book will disappoint you in that regard as it is more of a gothic horror with relatively few if any scares, but a captivating plot. I enjoyed reading this novel, but I felt it underutilized some elements and characters.
The author really outdid himself with his descriptions of Ghostdaddy and the cavern it dwelled in creating a hauntingly beautiful image that instead of instilling fear, it instilled more awe. Hearing how the author wrote this book also made it that more enjoyable too. I look forward to reading more books by Daryl Gregory and would wish for more stories set inside this universe (even though a coworker dashed my hopes for this already).
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
Ah the Revelator, what could be more peaceful than a novel set inside a beautiful national park during the 1930s and 1940s? Except underneath this peaceful haven is a dark cavern that houses an immense creature worshiped as a god. This story reminded me a bit of The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher with the setting of the story and the personality of the main character. Both books vividly painted scenes in rural, mountainous America infused with gothic and supernatural elements.
The author captured the era quite well even down to the little details like how to drive a car from that era as well as describing the distillery process and machine used for making moonshine. I must confess that I wasn’t the biggest fan of our main character, Stella, at first. I pitied her growing up, but her adult self was frustrating due to the number of secrets she liked to keep from others. Stella was described to be intelligent, but it felt wasted when she would go barreling through things instead of thinking it out.
I also really wanted more of the character Sunny, since she was put in this position that readers initially feel bad for her, but surprisingly enough we barely meet her in the book. The author teased us with such an intriguing character that I wanted more. The character I liked the most was Abby since he always tried to look out for our main character and others. Just not enough it seems. Overall, all the major characters were fleshed out well even ones I disliked.
One of the things that this story does that a lot of modern horror stories do is switching between timelines after every chapter. One of the timelines being followed is of the adult Stella who is a bootlegger of the finest quality moonshine. A death in the family lures our main character back to the place she grew up in and to the family she ran away from while trying to protect a young girl named Sunny from them and the cavern dwelling god.
The other timeline follows the adventures of a young Stella after her father abandoned her and sent her to live with her temperamental grandmother, Motty, as she meets her family’s god. The switching between timelines worked in the end, but it also irked me since the story was getting disjointed. I liken it to novels that switch POVs with every chapter.
Did I mention yet how I disliked the name of the god even though I liked the creature in general? The name Ghostdaddy is just so underwhelming for a god. At least call it Ghostfather or something since the scenes that contained it were described so strikingly well. In hindsight, I recognize why it was named the way it was, but I wish that the new religion created around it gave it a different name too. I wanted the origins of Ghostdaddy explored more since it is such an intriguing creature where you even wondered if there could be more like it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the twists in this book. The twists really put things into perspective and explained behaviors of characters in certain instances that confused me for a while. Certain motivations and behaviors by characters frustrated me to the point I would start to dislike those characters. When things began to be unveiled, I understood the reasons why they acted the way they did, and the frustration dissipated for the most part.
Some of the twists revealed were more obvious than others though.
If you are expecting a horror book full of scares, then this book will disappoint you in that regard as it is more of a gothic horror with relatively few if any scares, but a captivating plot. I enjoyed reading this novel, but I felt it underutilized some elements and characters.
The author really outdid himself with his descriptions of Ghostdaddy and the cavern it dwelled in creating a hauntingly beautiful image that instead of instilling fear, it instilled more awe. Hearing how the author wrote this book also made it that more enjoyable too. I look forward to reading more books by Daryl Gregory and would wish for more stories set inside this universe (even though a coworker dashed my hopes for this already).
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
February 28, 2024
Yes ghost daddy give us *NOTHING*
We’ve got some tentacles sprouting from a hand, a hereditary rash that requires a steroid cream, and past, future, present here and there character switches that never gave me a chance to care about lil sunny or grown-up Stella …
Also, poor lunk was done so dirty.
I kept wondering what is the emotion that the author wants the reader to feel?
For me, it was like someone gave me a dose of Valium every time I picked this up.
Like, where was the atmospheric southern dark, religiously culty vibe?!? I’ve moved to eastern Tennessee in the past year, and I’ve been exploring the lore and “horror” of the region, so I was reallllyyy excited to pick this up. Still, I think I had my expectations misdirected or set too high.
With an Appalachian god named Ghost Daddy, I was expecting some pizzazz.
Instead, I was picturing a mute, pervy, shadowy praying mantis thing and a religion that didn’t get deeper than having its own bible and preggo pigs.
And I UNDERSTAND that the majority rules. This is an unpopular opinion! and I’m not sure the line on when a review sounds “mean,” so I apologize, but ya I didn’t connect to this book like everyone else
We’ve got some tentacles sprouting from a hand, a hereditary rash that requires a steroid cream, and past, future, present here and there character switches that never gave me a chance to care about lil sunny or grown-up Stella …
Also, poor lunk was done so dirty.
I kept wondering what is the emotion that the author wants the reader to feel?
For me, it was like someone gave me a dose of Valium every time I picked this up.
Like, where was the atmospheric southern dark, religiously culty vibe?!? I’ve moved to eastern Tennessee in the past year, and I’ve been exploring the lore and “horror” of the region, so I was reallllyyy excited to pick this up. Still, I think I had my expectations misdirected or set too high.
With an Appalachian god named Ghost Daddy, I was expecting some pizzazz.
Instead, I was picturing a mute, pervy, shadowy praying mantis thing and a religion that didn’t get deeper than having its own bible and preggo pigs.
And I UNDERSTAND that the majority rules. This is an unpopular opinion! and I’m not sure the line on when a review sounds “mean,” so I apologize, but ya I didn’t connect to this book like everyone else
August 14, 2024
This is a folk horror novel with a dose of religious horror. It's set in the Appalachians and this setting really works well for this book.
It's about an god in the mountain, a cave accessed in an old church, where the women in a certain family "commune" with this being. The family believes it's going to reveal itself to the world and bring about eternal life on earth for the followers.
The women call it Ghostdaddy and it communicates it's gospel to them through a painful process deep underground. There are rules to follow, of course, but there's been a lot of death in this family.
This book tells the story in the years 1933 and 1948. We follow Stella, next in line for communion in 1933 and, in 1948, she comes back to this community to try and stop it from happening again.
The story will reveal the events which caused her to run in the first place and as the picture becomes clear about what this god is and what it wants, it becomes increasingly more terrifying.
The mountain setting filled with moonshiners, religious folks, and a rough hard life are described to allow us to feel the bleakness of this place. And this Ghostdaddy is a horrifying thing and it's not just confined to the cave.
This is a frightening and well written folk horror and I highly recommend it.
It's about an god in the mountain, a cave accessed in an old church, where the women in a certain family "commune" with this being. The family believes it's going to reveal itself to the world and bring about eternal life on earth for the followers.
The women call it Ghostdaddy and it communicates it's gospel to them through a painful process deep underground. There are rules to follow, of course, but there's been a lot of death in this family.
This book tells the story in the years 1933 and 1948. We follow Stella, next in line for communion in 1933 and, in 1948, she comes back to this community to try and stop it from happening again.
The story will reveal the events which caused her to run in the first place and as the picture becomes clear about what this god is and what it wants, it becomes increasingly more terrifying.
The mountain setting filled with moonshiners, religious folks, and a rough hard life are described to allow us to feel the bleakness of this place. And this Ghostdaddy is a horrifying thing and it's not just confined to the cave.
This is a frightening and well written folk horror and I highly recommend it.
July 23, 2021
QUICK TAKE: I'm a huge fan of Daryl Gregory, and SPOONBENDERS is one of my favorite books, so I've been counting down the days to REVELATOR, Gregory's latest, and boy is it freakin' WEIRD. Set against the backdrop of the Smoky Mountains in the 1930s, the story follows a young woman who has broken free of her family and their strange religion, only to be pulled back home when she discovers the family matriarch has passed away. To give more away about this one would spoil the fun, but I guarantee you haven't read anything like REVELATOR. Scary and hypnotic, the book blends scifi and religion in new and exciting ways and I can't wait to talk more about this one in the weeks to come!
March 4, 2025
A bit of a slow burn but the last 100 pages make it all worth it. Solid southern gothic horror story. Ghostdaddy is terrifying! Will definitely be reading more by this author..
dnf
September 9, 2021Excited to have this as our Mystery Book Club pick for August! Thanks to Knopf for my review copy, and anyone interested in participating can enter for a chance to win their own copy on my bookstagram page.
**For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!
**For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!
May 28, 2022
It took me over a month to read this 300 page book because I'd read a chapter and immediately put it down. There's some good commentary on religion and I'm always here for that, but a lot of this book just felt repetitive. Between almost nothing happening for most of the book, and breaking all tension that might've been there by constantly switching back and forth between two timelines, it honestly just left me more bored than anything else.
June 30, 2023
5/5
Hoy os hablo de La reveladora, escrita por Daryl Gregory y publicado por parte de @blackiebooks
En cuanto vi este libro tuve un pálpito, tuve una corazonada de que no me iba a dejar indiferente, que iba a ser mi libro. Y así ha sido, no me he equivocado para nada. Tal es así que se ha convertido en una de mis mejores lecturas del año y va a ser difícil que algún libro le quite el primer puesto ✨
🌹Nos encontramos ante una novela que mezcla varios temas como es el del Drama Familiar y el Fanatismo Religioso, con toques sobrenaturales
🌹El punto fuerte de la historia es su gran ambientación, en un hermoso parque nacional en las décadas de los años treinta y cuarenta, en una América Rural cerrada y enigmática
🌹El libro está catalogado como Terror pero no es un terror de sustos o fantasmas. Para mi, no es un libro que me haya asustado o aterrorizado. Nada de eso. Es un terror atmosférico, gótico, bello. Un terror inquietante y misterioso
🌹El libro está contado en dos líneas temporales, cuando nuestra protagonista Stella es una niña y más adelante cuando ya es una adulta. El personaje me ha encantado. Vaya un personaje protagonista, de los mejores que he leído actualmente
🌹Hay bastantes giros que te dejan así 🤯 algunos los ves venir, pero otros...en absoluto
🌹El final me ha dejado sin palabras
También quiero comentar que no es un libro para todo el mundo. No es un libro divertido. Es un libro que te absorbe y te sobrecoge. Ha sido totalmente de mi estilo y me ha encantado. No puedo hacer más que recomendarlo 🌼
https://www.instagram.com/p/CuH4d32saT7/
Hoy os hablo de La reveladora, escrita por Daryl Gregory y publicado por parte de @blackiebooks
En cuanto vi este libro tuve un pálpito, tuve una corazonada de que no me iba a dejar indiferente, que iba a ser mi libro. Y así ha sido, no me he equivocado para nada. Tal es así que se ha convertido en una de mis mejores lecturas del año y va a ser difícil que algún libro le quite el primer puesto ✨
🌹Nos encontramos ante una novela que mezcla varios temas como es el del Drama Familiar y el Fanatismo Religioso, con toques sobrenaturales
🌹El punto fuerte de la historia es su gran ambientación, en un hermoso parque nacional en las décadas de los años treinta y cuarenta, en una América Rural cerrada y enigmática
🌹El libro está catalogado como Terror pero no es un terror de sustos o fantasmas. Para mi, no es un libro que me haya asustado o aterrorizado. Nada de eso. Es un terror atmosférico, gótico, bello. Un terror inquietante y misterioso
🌹El libro está contado en dos líneas temporales, cuando nuestra protagonista Stella es una niña y más adelante cuando ya es una adulta. El personaje me ha encantado. Vaya un personaje protagonista, de los mejores que he leído actualmente
🌹Hay bastantes giros que te dejan así 🤯 algunos los ves venir, pero otros...en absoluto
🌹El final me ha dejado sin palabras
También quiero comentar que no es un libro para todo el mundo. No es un libro divertido. Es un libro que te absorbe y te sobrecoge. Ha sido totalmente de mi estilo y me ha encantado. No puedo hacer más que recomendarlo 🌼
https://www.instagram.com/p/CuH4d32saT7/
December 9, 2021
REVELATOR by Daryl Gregory was a completely new author for me. I devoured this story. Strangely enough, I enjoyed spending time with a haunted family in the Smoky Mountains of 1930s Tennessee.
As a child, Stella Wallace learns from her grandmother that their family communes with Ghostdaddy, a god in the mountains who lives below the land where they live. Only the women are allowed to interact with their god, but Stella ignores her birthright and moves away to have a life of her own. Over a decade later, her grandmother passes away, so Stella returns to the Smoky Mountains to discover something more than she bargained for.
We toggle back and forth between Stella’s past and present, which makes for a quick read. Gregory’s REVELATOR is dark, weird, and draped in fear. Trust me, you want to know more about Ghostdaddy. I highly recommend this for fans of horror folklore and fans of Adam Nevill (ahem, Ritual).
As a child, Stella Wallace learns from her grandmother that their family communes with Ghostdaddy, a god in the mountains who lives below the land where they live. Only the women are allowed to interact with their god, but Stella ignores her birthright and moves away to have a life of her own. Over a decade later, her grandmother passes away, so Stella returns to the Smoky Mountains to discover something more than she bargained for.
We toggle back and forth between Stella’s past and present, which makes for a quick read. Gregory’s REVELATOR is dark, weird, and draped in fear. Trust me, you want to know more about Ghostdaddy. I highly recommend this for fans of horror folklore and fans of Adam Nevill (ahem, Ritual).
July 2, 2021
In 1933, nine-year-old Stella was left in the care of her grandmother, Motty, in the backwoods of Tennessee. The mountains are home to dangerous secrets. Soon after she arrives, Stella wanders into a dark cavern where she encounters the family's 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 checks on the mysterious ten-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.
I wasn’t sure what to think going into Revelator. It was one of those books where one word made me question why I even thought to request it. That word? Ghostdaddy. You want your gods to inspire fear to control the masses properly, so I wasn’t sure where this would go with that kind of name. How wrong I was. Revelator doesn’t need a big scary god so much as it needs mostly blind followers searching for eternal life. That’s always more of the issue than the actual omnipotence. Add strong female characters, and you’ve got a killer story.
I ended up being incredibly impressed with this story and the writing style. Stella, our main character, is headstrong and self-sufficient. I can’t think of many characters I’ve enjoyed more lately. She makes this book impossible to want to put down. The supporting characters are all incredibly well written, too. Stella is an even better character due to her supportive and understanding friends. The other, more despicable characters build upon Stella’s resolve, which makes her even more badass. Revelator is an unexpected 5-star book, but a 5-star book nonetheless. I recommend preordering or picking this novel up upon release.
Years later, after a tragic incident that caused her to flee, Stella—now a professional bootlegger—returns for Motty's funeral and checks on the mysterious ten-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.
I wasn’t sure what to think going into Revelator. It was one of those books where one word made me question why I even thought to request it. That word? Ghostdaddy. You want your gods to inspire fear to control the masses properly, so I wasn’t sure where this would go with that kind of name. How wrong I was. Revelator doesn’t need a big scary god so much as it needs mostly blind followers searching for eternal life. That’s always more of the issue than the actual omnipotence. Add strong female characters, and you’ve got a killer story.
I ended up being incredibly impressed with this story and the writing style. Stella, our main character, is headstrong and self-sufficient. I can’t think of many characters I’ve enjoyed more lately. She makes this book impossible to want to put down. The supporting characters are all incredibly well written, too. Stella is an even better character due to her supportive and understanding friends. The other, more despicable characters build upon Stella’s resolve, which makes her even more badass. Revelator is an unexpected 5-star book, but a 5-star book nonetheless. I recommend preordering or picking this novel up upon release.
July 11, 2023
Un libro que cuando lo ves, te llama mucho la atención tanto por la portada y la edición, como por lo que parece que va a contar...
El libro comienza con el regreso de Stella ,que será la protagonista de la historia, "la reveladora" , a su casa familiar después de que su abuela muere.
Y te preguntaras, ¿la reveladora de que?, pues yo he querido entender que la reveladora de un dios personal de la familia, y ahí es donde está el misterio...
Realmente el argumento tiene mucho potencial, no pinta nada mal pero para mi esta bastante mal ejecutado, hay escenas repetitivas, los personajes, muchos, son muy planos y no empaticé con ninguno.
Creo que es un libro que al estar etiquetado como gótico y de misterio, la ambientación y la atmósfera tienen que ser muy importantes, y no la hay...
No soy una persona religiosa, y creo que este libro habla MUCHO y lo relaciona mucho con una historia ¿cristiana?.
La historia esta contada en dos lineas temporales, algo que me suele gustar, pero tiene que estar todo bastante bien hilado, y en esta caso tenia la sensación de que me distraía y me despistaba ya que acababa los capítulos en momentos muy críticos, innecesario cambiar de tiempo justo en ese momento, me hacia perder bastante el interés.
El final, pues esperado, no me ha sorprendido nada y tampoco tenia mucho interés en cómo iba acabar la historia. Me ha resultado un libro bastante lento y que tiene que gustarte esta temática gótica y enrevesada para que te guste.
El libro comienza con el regreso de Stella ,que será la protagonista de la historia, "la reveladora" , a su casa familiar después de que su abuela muere.
Y te preguntaras, ¿la reveladora de que?, pues yo he querido entender que la reveladora de un dios personal de la familia, y ahí es donde está el misterio...
Realmente el argumento tiene mucho potencial, no pinta nada mal pero para mi esta bastante mal ejecutado, hay escenas repetitivas, los personajes, muchos, son muy planos y no empaticé con ninguno.
Creo que es un libro que al estar etiquetado como gótico y de misterio, la ambientación y la atmósfera tienen que ser muy importantes, y no la hay...
No soy una persona religiosa, y creo que este libro habla MUCHO y lo relaciona mucho con una historia ¿cristiana?.
La historia esta contada en dos lineas temporales, algo que me suele gustar, pero tiene que estar todo bastante bien hilado, y en esta caso tenia la sensación de que me distraía y me despistaba ya que acababa los capítulos en momentos muy críticos, innecesario cambiar de tiempo justo en ese momento, me hacia perder bastante el interés.
El final, pues esperado, no me ha sorprendido nada y tampoco tenia mucho interés en cómo iba acabar la historia. Me ha resultado un libro bastante lento y que tiene que gustarte esta temática gótica y enrevesada para que te guste.
June 30, 2023
4.5⭐ Ahh..I loved this Southern gothic tale of the strong Birch women and The Ghostdaddy(who sadly didn't end up being a Ghostzaddy for me🥲). Vibes were immaculate. And it was weirdly funny too. My only complaint- the last showdown was kinda lukewarm. I'm definitely gonna pick up more from Daryl Gregory
September 3, 2021
Still processing everything… what a compulsive read. I could not stop after the first few chapters. This is the kind of book that wraps it’s tendrils into your heart and mind and eyes keeping them all open well after midnight. I’m excited to film my full review this week for WGB!
June 12, 2021
I’ll be totally honest. The reason I requested an arc of this book is because I read the synopsis and “ghost daddy” made me fall over laughing so obviously I had to find this on netgalley. That and the fact I’m a sucker for horror novels about family secrets and creepy cults. But yes my motivation for requesting this book up was “ghostdaddy” I mean come on. The author had to know what he was doing when he picked that name 😂
Despite the name, ghostdaddy is a pretty creepy entity. It��s manipulative, messed up, and has this entire community of people fooled. I had so many questions, and the author was really good about giving us just enough information for us to want to keep reading, but not have all the answers yet. This is a great writing tactic, especially since staying focused on what I’m reading is something I struggle with. I cannot tell you how many horror novels are boring with nothing happening for the first 80% then decide to drop everything in the last 20%. Dropping hints and interesting details periodically and frequently is a MUCH better writing tactic and my short attention span appreciated it!
What’s so fascinating about this family is they genuinely believe that they are the chosen ones, called the Revelators. This reminded me so much of cult behavior, where people have become so twisted that they can’t even see what’s wrong with sending a child to a cave to be pricked by some strange unknown entity. Then having this passed from generation to generation? These people are seriously demented.
My only real complaint was that this book wasn’t scary. It may be categorized as horror but it was super tame. An interesting read, but not scary at all. It was a decent enough read, but not unique or entertaining enough for me to want to give it higher than a 3/5 rating.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Publishing for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.
Despite the name, ghostdaddy is a pretty creepy entity. It��s manipulative, messed up, and has this entire community of people fooled. I had so many questions, and the author was really good about giving us just enough information for us to want to keep reading, but not have all the answers yet. This is a great writing tactic, especially since staying focused on what I’m reading is something I struggle with. I cannot tell you how many horror novels are boring with nothing happening for the first 80% then decide to drop everything in the last 20%. Dropping hints and interesting details periodically and frequently is a MUCH better writing tactic and my short attention span appreciated it!
What’s so fascinating about this family is they genuinely believe that they are the chosen ones, called the Revelators. This reminded me so much of cult behavior, where people have become so twisted that they can’t even see what’s wrong with sending a child to a cave to be pricked by some strange unknown entity. Then having this passed from generation to generation? These people are seriously demented.
My only real complaint was that this book wasn’t scary. It may be categorized as horror but it was super tame. An interesting read, but not scary at all. It was a decent enough read, but not unique or entertaining enough for me to want to give it higher than a 3/5 rating.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Publishing for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.
December 9, 2021
I'd let this book slip by on my eARC list and thought I'd try it and maybe abandon it but NO. This was a riveting novel of southern gothic horror centered around an Appalachian community where there is a "god in the mountains." Select women are the revelators and commune with the god while the men are interpreters and getting ready to introduce the god to the world.
Also there are moonshiners with far too many distillation jokes (the author really doubled down on those for some reason). This is set in the 1930s and 1940s so the other background issue going on is the same families losing their land due to eminent domain (and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.) Most of the people living in this area are very religious (primitive Baptist!) and very white. It's interesting to see a cult-like religion around the god in the mountain be absorbed into such people and how they justify it to themselves.
I had a copy from the publisher but read it after it came out, my bad.
Also there are moonshiners with far too many distillation jokes (the author really doubled down on those for some reason). This is set in the 1930s and 1940s so the other background issue going on is the same families losing their land due to eminent domain (and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.) Most of the people living in this area are very religious (primitive Baptist!) and very white. It's interesting to see a cult-like religion around the god in the mountain be absorbed into such people and how they justify it to themselves.
I had a copy from the publisher but read it after it came out, my bad.
June 29, 2021
I have read several books by this author, and loved every one. This one I enjoyed because I love southern folklore. The characters really stick with you. I adored Absolam ( Abby). Definitely will recommend this to everyone I know.
September 5, 2021
I read this book with the Mystery Book Club. I saw a few "What have I just read?" in the comments. Now that I have finished I know exactly what they mean. Trust me when I tell you they mean this in a good way, the very best of ways. Revelator is a genre bending mix of Appalachian noir and fantasy. Set in the 1930s and 40s, the wonder and beauty of Cades Cove and its early settlers come alive. In this isolated environment faith mixes with fear as we wade through family secrets and religious fanaticism.
Stella is our revelator and it is her job to commune with the Ghostdaddy and carry its message. But even she is not sure of what Ghostdaddy is our what Ghostdaddy truly wants. She fears that her family in their blind zeal to please their god may be putting themselves in danger. As she gets older she realizes the power of the Word lies not just in what is written but in who gets to hear the full story.
Revelator was not as scary as I thought it would be. Thank God for small wonders. I am not sure if I would classify it as horror but Ghostdaddy certainly was a weird creature that I wouldn't want to walk across even in the light of day. I appreciated the historical aspects of Cades Cove and that Gregory looked at gender politics and power dynamics in the church.
All in all, Revelator was a fully absorbing tale. Besides Stella, I absolutely loved Alfonse and Abby's characters.
Stella is our revelator and it is her job to commune with the Ghostdaddy and carry its message. But even she is not sure of what Ghostdaddy is our what Ghostdaddy truly wants. She fears that her family in their blind zeal to please their god may be putting themselves in danger. As she gets older she realizes the power of the Word lies not just in what is written but in who gets to hear the full story.
Revelator was not as scary as I thought it would be. Thank God for small wonders. I am not sure if I would classify it as horror but Ghostdaddy certainly was a weird creature that I wouldn't want to walk across even in the light of day. I appreciated the historical aspects of Cades Cove and that Gregory looked at gender politics and power dynamics in the church.
All in all, Revelator was a fully absorbing tale. Besides Stella, I absolutely loved Alfonse and Abby's characters.
October 25, 2021
Daryl Gregory’s startling literary horror novel, REVELATOR, begins as Stella Wallace returns to the backwoods of Tennessee to live with her grandmother Motty. Stella and Motty’s kinship is instantly recognizable: They have an inherited condition that colors their white skin with splotches of red. But the women are special in other ways. They were born part of a line of Revelators, women who communicate with the God in the Mountain, a monstrous being who lives in a cave near the family’s cabin.
Stella communes with the God, taking on his thoughts and relating his messages to a growing group of followers. But such divine communion demands a steep price. The messages live inside her long after she’s left the cave, inhabiting her mind and body, even creating stigmata. In one scene Stella, laid out on a slab of rock, is offered up to a monster: The God “slipped down toward her through the dark — a limb, flat as the foreleg of a praying mantis. Its torso became visible, a pale mass gleaming like mother-of-pearl. Half a dozen limbs fanned out behind it, gripping the rock.” Stella’s reaction isn’t terror, but closer to falling in love: “She’d never seen anything so beautiful.” And indeed, “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.
Stella communes with the God, taking on his thoughts and relating his messages to a growing group of followers. But such divine communion demands a steep price. The messages live inside her long after she’s left the cave, inhabiting her mind and body, even creating stigmata. In one scene Stella, laid out on a slab of rock, is offered up to a monster: The God “slipped down toward her through the dark — a limb, flat as the foreleg of a praying mantis. Its torso became visible, a pale mass gleaming like mother-of-pearl. Half a dozen limbs fanned out behind it, gripping the rock.” Stella’s reaction isn’t terror, but closer to falling in love: “She’d never seen anything so beautiful.” And indeed, “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.
February 21, 2022
With a mysterious, dark family legacy expressed on the female side, a creepy uncle, a young, naïve and curious protagonist who becomes a jaded, keen businesswoman selling moonshine, a dash of body horror and terrific writing make this a compelling, occasionally horrifying and wonderfully characterized book.
July 19, 2021
Hot damn, I loved this book.
September 14, 2023
Esta historia comienza cuando Stella nuestra protagonista vuelve al valle donde se crio por la muerte de Motty, su abuela.
Stella fue llevada allí por su padre para que su abuela se hiciera cargo y Stella fue descubriendo los oscuros secretos que escondian todas las mujeres Birch, desde su madre hasta sus antepasados. Todos ellos forman parte de una extraña religión, por ello cuando muere su abuela Stella vuelve a casa a por su prima, no quiere que tenga que pasar por lo que ella pasó.
·
Tengo que decir que había visto reseñas de todo tipo y no sabía lo que me iba a encontrar. Ha sido todo una sorpresa para mí, he estado atrapada por esta historia, por el dios y su extraña manera de comunicarse y por las mujeres Birch. Tanto Motty como Stella me desconcertaban y al final entendí muchas cosas y sobre todo entendí a Motty, entendí su manera de hacer las cosas y su carácter.
Destaco a Abby en esta historia como personaje secundario y respecto a la narración la manera de ir soltando datos consiguiendo que no pudiera para de leer.
La portada me parece preciosa y refleja muy bien la historia que esconde.
Un libro que te pondrá los pelos de punta, diferente, con toques de terror, misterio y thriller.
Stella fue llevada allí por su padre para que su abuela se hiciera cargo y Stella fue descubriendo los oscuros secretos que escondian todas las mujeres Birch, desde su madre hasta sus antepasados. Todos ellos forman parte de una extraña religión, por ello cuando muere su abuela Stella vuelve a casa a por su prima, no quiere que tenga que pasar por lo que ella pasó.
·
Tengo que decir que había visto reseñas de todo tipo y no sabía lo que me iba a encontrar. Ha sido todo una sorpresa para mí, he estado atrapada por esta historia, por el dios y su extraña manera de comunicarse y por las mujeres Birch. Tanto Motty como Stella me desconcertaban y al final entendí muchas cosas y sobre todo entendí a Motty, entendí su manera de hacer las cosas y su carácter.
Destaco a Abby en esta historia como personaje secundario y respecto a la narración la manera de ir soltando datos consiguiendo que no pudiera para de leer.
La portada me parece preciosa y refleja muy bien la historia que esconde.
Un libro que te pondrá los pelos de punta, diferente, con toques de terror, misterio y thriller.
October 17, 2025
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
I picked this one up completely on a whim after DNF-ing my last audiobook, just looking for something immediately available on Libby and somehow those are the books that end up becoming favorites. Revelator pulled me in and I genuinely struggled to put it down.
It does have a bit of a slow start, so it might take a minute to really settle into the story, but once it finds its rhythm it’s completely worth it. The entire book has this thick, eerie atmosphere that never lets up. Every interaction feels loaded, like everyone is hiding something, from each other and from themselves. I loved that constant tension. It made the mountain setting feel heavy with secrets, and that slow unraveling of truth was easily the strongest part of the book for me.
Stella made for an interesting protagonist. She could be frustrating at times, but in a way that felt believable for someone who’s grown up thinking she’s the special chosen one and the smartest person in the room. I adored Abby and Motty, both endearing and rough around the edges in their own ways. I do wish we’d seen more of Sunny, though. Her presence was fascinating, and I would’ve loved more time watching her dynamic with Stella develop.
And okay, I have to say it: “Ghost-daddy” as the name for a powerful, godlike creature definitely adds to the cultish vibe, but it also takes away a bit of the spook factor. Still, it somehow works in this strange, backwoods, Southern Gothic way that makes you want to look over your shoulder while reading.
The ending completely sealed it for me. Absolutely blew me away. Someone smarter than me may have seen it coming, but I was blindsided. This book deserves way more attention than it gets.
I picked this one up completely on a whim after DNF-ing my last audiobook, just looking for something immediately available on Libby and somehow those are the books that end up becoming favorites. Revelator pulled me in and I genuinely struggled to put it down.
It does have a bit of a slow start, so it might take a minute to really settle into the story, but once it finds its rhythm it’s completely worth it. The entire book has this thick, eerie atmosphere that never lets up. Every interaction feels loaded, like everyone is hiding something, from each other and from themselves. I loved that constant tension. It made the mountain setting feel heavy with secrets, and that slow unraveling of truth was easily the strongest part of the book for me.
Stella made for an interesting protagonist. She could be frustrating at times, but in a way that felt believable for someone who’s grown up thinking she’s the special chosen one and the smartest person in the room. I adored Abby and Motty, both endearing and rough around the edges in their own ways. I do wish we’d seen more of Sunny, though. Her presence was fascinating, and I would’ve loved more time watching her dynamic with Stella develop.
And okay, I have to say it: “Ghost-daddy” as the name for a powerful, godlike creature definitely adds to the cultish vibe, but it also takes away a bit of the spook factor. Still, it somehow works in this strange, backwoods, Southern Gothic way that makes you want to look over your shoulder while reading.
The ending completely sealed it for me. Absolutely blew me away. Someone smarter than me may have seen it coming, but I was blindsided. This book deserves way more attention than it gets.
April 15, 2022
Revelator gives full on creepy gothic story vibes without bending into scary/horror territory which I appreciated. The story itself gave me the same feeling I got watching some old school X-Files episodes but set in 1930's Smoky Mountains. Stella is a moonshine running woman with a Black man as her main partner, owner of a still cooking a recipe developed by 'Uncle Dan' to add color and credibility to the quality of her product, and a mission to stay as far away from her disturbing past as possible. We find out at the very beginning of the story that Stella has had very little luck at shaking her past or her legacy as a Birch woman when a sudden death calls her back home. Revelator is creepy enough that I only listened to this in the middle of the day so that it wouldn't be fresh on my mind at bedtime. Creepiness that stems from religious fervor surrounding a supernatural being really gets me. I appreciated that the ending gave me a tingle of 'this ain't even over', not a cliffhanger, just a little something to keep the story alive after the last is told. The narrator Reagan Boggs did an amazing job. She voiced the characters brilliantly and I have to give her a large portion of credit for me enjoying this as much as I did.
Thank you to Random House Audio for giving me access to this one via their Volumes app.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Thank you to Random House Audio for giving me access to this one via their Volumes app.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
January 16, 2024
Trama de misterio paranormal con las mujeres de la familia Birch como protagonistas a lo largo del tiempo. A priori resulta interesante pero pronto se va desinflado la historia. Tema religioso de trasfondo.
Alternancia entre pasado (de 1933 a 1938) y presente en 1948.
Tennessee, desaprovechada totalmente la ambientación sureña.
Prosa sencilla de fácil lectura.
Desarrollo lentísimo y repetitivo.
Creo que los personajes es lo único que me ha gustado de la novela.
Final previsible.
CONCLUSIÓN ➡️ Una buena premisa que se hace lenta, aburrida, repetitiva y previsible en su desarrollo. No me ha gustado.
A destacar la calidad de la edición de Blackie Books
Alternancia entre pasado (de 1933 a 1938) y presente en 1948.
Tennessee, desaprovechada totalmente la ambientación sureña.
Prosa sencilla de fácil lectura.
Desarrollo lentísimo y repetitivo.
Creo que los personajes es lo único que me ha gustado de la novela.
Final previsible.
CONCLUSIÓN ➡️ Una buena premisa que se hace lenta, aburrida, repetitiva y previsible en su desarrollo. No me ha gustado.
A destacar la calidad de la edición de Blackie Books
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