#485 in our old book database. Not rated. ( )

There is a lot to like in this story. The concept has always fascinated me, especially given the veneer of plausibility as the US government does have a well-documented history of unethical human experimentation and has had programs investigating psychic phenomena. So the setup, and the description of Charlie and Andy McGee’s wild talents, the psychological manipulations, and the action scenes are wonderfully entertaining. The characters who people The Shop are fantastic.

But the book is not without its problems. The pacing is awful, dragging endlessly in spots until the final third of the book. This is also very much a book of its time, with now cringe-inducing stereotypes toward race, gender, and sex. Charlie, who is only 7 years old, behaves with a maturity and critical thinking ability far beyond her years, even for a child who has spent all her life having to conceal her essential self and years on the run from deadly government agents.

Audiobook, via Audible. The performance by Dennis Boutsikaris is excellent.

I read this for The 24 Tasks of the Festive Season, for the Guy Fawkes Night door; the book task: Set in the UK, political thrillers, involving any monarchy or revolution; books about arson or related to burning.
( )

Firestarter (published in 1980) is a science fiction/horror/thriller novel and it is Stephen King using a tried and true formula that worked for Carrie and The Shining. Child protagonists with psi abilities seem to be King's meat and butter. And as in the Shining, the psi-carrier is a child, an eight-year-old girl named Charlie; but instead of foresight or hindsight, Charlie has firestarting powers. She looks and a thing pops into flame. Charlie's parents Vicky and Andy were once college guinea pigs for drug experiments by The Shop, a part of the supersecret Department of Scientific Intelligence, and were given a hyperpowerful hallucinogen which affected their chromosomes and left each with strange powers of mental transference and telekinesis. And the Shop has been after them ever since because people of these abilities must be eliminated.

Firestarter starts in medias res with Charlie and Andy on the run from Shop, with Charlie's mother already dead at the hands of the Shop. Andy goes into hiding with Charlie in Manhattan and the Vermont backwoods—and Charlie uses her powers to set the bad men on fire and blow up their cars. They're soon captured, however, by Rainbird, a one-eyed giant Indian with a melted face—and father and daughter, separated, spend months being tested in The Shop. But they eventually orchestrate an escape and square off against The Shop in one big fire battle, which of course, is covered up by the government. And the novel ends with Charlie attempting to take the truth of what the Department of Scientific Intelligence has done to the magazine The Rolling Stone.

Firestarter is a lean Stephen King novel, that is mostly focused on action and the thrill of the chase for Andy and Charlie throughout. It's not as scary or thought-provoking as say The Shining. And it's thematic elements are rather thin. But, the bonds of a father trying to protect his daughter are enough to sell the story. Ultimately, many of King's books that deal with psi-children are about the the nature of parental control or lack thereof and the nature of inherited trauma (Carrie, The Shinning, Firestarter). Firestarter is obviously a huge influence on the Duffer Brothers Stranger Things (well, Stephen King in general), as the character El's journey, somewhat mirrors Charlie's.

Firestarter is a quick, action packed, thriller from Stephen King. It's not perfect but worth a read. A very exciting film could be made from this book, but from what I hear, there has never been a good adaptation. Which is a shame really. I think audiences would eat it up. Duffer Brothers get on this adaptation SAT. ( )

Enjoyed it, it is not my favorite King book. I would love to see a reboot of the original movie. I see common threads between this Doctor Sleep and the Institute. I like the latter too much better.

I’m struggling with this review.
I really liked the book, I found the characters likable and endearing, especially Irv and Norma, I just wanted more.
I think I’m gonna have to give this one a reread in a few years, but nevertheless I’m super excited to see the movie now! ( )