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colleen_posley's review against another edition
5.0
I love Charlie McGee. I pity her, too. Such a small child with such a big power. She ages too quickly, and knows too much too soon. And I think that appeals to us all: at some point in our lives, each of us has felt that we could have gone forever without knowing whatever we just learned. Charlie's destruction of The Shop was one of the most gratifying revenge scenes I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
madlovenovelist's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating 3.75 stars.
You certainly get a feel for the 80's. So many references. It was a nostalgic read.
As much as I loved this book – the protagonist Charlie, the paranormal ability of pyrokensis, the antagonists in The Shop – ‘Firestarter’ felt like a long read. Normally I fly through books like this, but it took me over a week to reach the end. I was continually needing a rest as King went off in tangents and titbits of backstory for secondary characters. It brought the pacing down somewhat. But I appreciated all of that extra information – it really fleshed out the world and characters... so it was a tug-of-war for me between liking Kings writing style and getting bored with it. In the end the amazing writing and subject matter won out: you can always skim the uninteresting bits.
Some parts were more gruesome than I expected, but upon completing ‘Firestarter’ I kind of wanted more. More horror. More action. But I guess it would have been unrealistic with a child as the protagonist – that kind of action would have twisted her into something monstrous and broken or dead inside.
Charlie felt intelligent beyond her years, but still had the innocence of youth in her view of the world. It was phenomenal to read about the psychic powers growing within her, (and those of other characters.) You get a small character arc with Charlie, but because the narrative takes on many points of view and encompasses many characters, there is more going on around her. I think that was another thing slowing the pace down for me – following some of the other characters just wasn’t as interesting.
Andy (Charlies Dad) was the dedicated loving father, nurturing and supporting Charlie, instilling right and wrong, ‘Firestarter’ is as much his story as hers. I feel that we don’t get as much character development as we could because this is essentially a cat-and-mouse chase story, tumbling from one escape to the next.
Rainbird is the quintessential antagonist from King. He manages to paint interesting and layered bad guys that still give off an aura of pure evil. It’s easy to see why so many of his novels get the film treatment. With the native American Indian background, it felt like a foreshadowing of inclusive writing that we see today – even if there are colours of stereotyping and discrimination (as too in dealing with transvestism.) Villainising minority groups in the time ‘Firestarter’ was published was commonplace.
The writing is somewhat dated. The references are solidly entrenched in the 70-80’s. Technology, attitudes... it was nostalgic in a way, and also had me thanking god we’ve evolved from that place. Stephen King has a resounding writing style - descriptive and distinctly dry and masculine. Though he has a tendency to repeat things a number of times. And a perchance to long drawn-out exposition. This had me skimming a page or two. It also slowed down the pace and I was frequently putting the book down for a rest.
I won’t comment on predictability – I’d read the book and seen the film before, plus it’s such a well-known story the plot was all but spoiled long ago. Looking forward to the film remake currently in development to see how they modernise ‘Firestarter’ and tie it into the Stephen King universe at large.
You certainly get a feel for the 80's. So many references. It was a nostalgic read.
As much as I loved this book – the protagonist Charlie, the paranormal ability of pyrokensis, the antagonists in The Shop – ‘Firestarter’ felt like a long read. Normally I fly through books like this, but it took me over a week to reach the end. I was continually needing a rest as King went off in tangents and titbits of backstory for secondary characters. It brought the pacing down somewhat. But I appreciated all of that extra information – it really fleshed out the world and characters... so it was a tug-of-war for me between liking Kings writing style and getting bored with it. In the end the amazing writing and subject matter won out: you can always skim the uninteresting bits.
Some parts were more gruesome than I expected, but upon completing ‘Firestarter’ I kind of wanted more. More horror. More action. But I guess it would have been unrealistic with a child as the protagonist – that kind of action would have twisted her into something monstrous and broken or dead inside.
Charlie felt intelligent beyond her years, but still had the innocence of youth in her view of the world. It was phenomenal to read about the psychic powers growing within her, (and those of other characters.) You get a small character arc with Charlie, but because the narrative takes on many points of view and encompasses many characters, there is more going on around her. I think that was another thing slowing the pace down for me – following some of the other characters just wasn’t as interesting.
Andy (Charlies Dad) was the dedicated loving father, nurturing and supporting Charlie, instilling right and wrong, ‘Firestarter’ is as much his story as hers. I feel that we don’t get as much character development as we could because this is essentially a cat-and-mouse chase story, tumbling from one escape to the next.
Rainbird is the quintessential antagonist from King. He manages to paint interesting and layered bad guys that still give off an aura of pure evil. It’s easy to see why so many of his novels get the film treatment. With the native American Indian background, it felt like a foreshadowing of inclusive writing that we see today – even if there are colours of stereotyping and discrimination (as too in dealing with transvestism.) Villainising minority groups in the time ‘Firestarter’ was published was commonplace.
The writing is somewhat dated. The references are solidly entrenched in the 70-80’s. Technology, attitudes... it was nostalgic in a way, and also had me thanking god we’ve evolved from that place. Stephen King has a resounding writing style - descriptive and distinctly dry and masculine. Though he has a tendency to repeat things a number of times. And a perchance to long drawn-out exposition. This had me skimming a page or two. It also slowed down the pace and I was frequently putting the book down for a rest.
I won’t comment on predictability – I’d read the book and seen the film before, plus it’s such a well-known story the plot was all but spoiled long ago. Looking forward to the film remake currently in development to see how they modernise ‘Firestarter’ and tie it into the Stephen King universe at large.
huntour's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the journey Firestarter lead me through. I must say, the incident at Manders farm and then at the Shop headquarters at the end of utterly badass, although eerily reminiscent of the rampage of Carrietta White. Lastly, I was spoiled of the death of Andy but I was still kind of shocked when it happened. Now, onto Roadwork!
andreashannon's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. A little long, and the first half would have been a really good short story, but it all built up nicely into an explosive (!) ending.
angelface777's review against another edition
4.0
Fire Starter is my second Stephen King novel, and my first thought would be it's WAY less wordy than It was.
Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory book. Andy and Vicky joined a test group in their college to make a quick $200 just by getting a little high. Sounds great to a college kid in the 70s, but this weird drug, Lot Six, gave them some wild side effects. Andy realized he could make people do what he suggested by "pushing" them in his mind, and Vicky could close doors and turn off tvs/radios with her mind. These two got married and lo and behold a baby was born!
Enter Charlie, an infant who can set things on fire with her mind (another reason to not have kids if you were looking
Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory book. Andy and Vicky joined a test group in their college to make a quick $200 just by getting a little high. Sounds great to a college kid in the 70s, but this weird drug, Lot Six, gave them some wild side effects. Andy realized he could make people do what he suggested by "pushing" them in his mind, and Vicky could close doors and turn off tvs/radios with her mind. These two got married and lo and behold a baby was born!
Enter Charlie, an infant who can set things on fire with her mind (another reason to not have kids if you were looking
hijodehada's review against another edition
4.0
esperaba más del libro... Y QUE LO SUPERA!.
Algo curioso ocurrió que mientras uno espera ver el infierno por todas partes, se explora de tal manera a los personajes, sus pensamientos, inquietudes, miedos, que es cuando te das cuenta de lo humano y real que se lograron construir, y claramente vuelve a quedar de manera cejada que King sabe de sobra como hacerte trizas el corazón y la mente, poniéndote a un personaje que deja de serlo para convertirse en alguien creíble.
para mí esto es un 4.8, talvez un detalle minúsculo que por ahí deladeó un poco el libro, pero nada de gran importancia. Recomiendo XD.
Algo curioso ocurrió que mientras uno espera ver el infierno por todas partes, se explora de tal manera a los personajes, sus pensamientos, inquietudes, miedos, que es cuando te das cuenta de lo humano y real que se lograron construir, y claramente vuelve a quedar de manera cejada que King sabe de sobra como hacerte trizas el corazón y la mente, poniéndote a un personaje que deja de serlo para convertirse en alguien creíble.
para mí esto es un 4.8, talvez un detalle minúsculo que por ahí deladeó un poco el libro, pero nada de gran importancia. Recomiendo XD.
willbearsmom's review against another edition
3.0
Firestarter is a good book, I suppose, but it rather feels like an ill-fitting outfit on Stephen King. It has zero relation to the greater Gunslinger story arc, and it has a weird anti-government feel that seems more appropriate to a Koontz novel.
colormist's review against another edition
3.0
I first started reading King's early works back in the 1990s. This novel, somehow, escaped my obsession with reading everything King had ever put to print.
So this was slow--like Christine-slow. It was not the gripping page-turner I was expecting, but that's okay.
A lot of things happened in this book that made my skin crawl. It wasn't positioned in a way that the skin-crawly things were NOT OKAY, either. This made me very uncomfortable. Most of the book is uncomfortable, though. Maybe that's what he was aiming for.
And the asbestos. So much asbestos. Everyone that survived the book, died 15 years later from cancer.
So this was slow--like Christine-slow. It was not the gripping page-turner I was expecting, but that's okay.
A lot of things happened in this book that made my skin crawl. It wasn't positioned in a way that the skin-crawly things were NOT OKAY, either. This made me very uncomfortable. Most of the book is uncomfortable, though. Maybe that's what he was aiming for.
And the asbestos. So much asbestos. Everyone that survived the book, died 15 years later from cancer.