Firestarter proved to be a very quick, entertaining read. I'd say it was good, but not great like many of King's novels that preceded it.
Extraordinary abilities were, once again, at the heart of a King novel, much like Carrie, The Shining, and The Dead Zone. King took this premise and combined it with the paranoia and mistrust of the government to create a thrilling mash-up of The X-Files and The Bourne Identity, with a little No Country for Old Men mixed in for good measure. Much more of a sci-fi thriller than the horror novel it's made out to be.
The relationship between Andy and Charlie was the definition of love, but ended in such heartbreak. This aspect of the novel is one I would not have fully understood, or related to, as a younger man. Reading it now, (as a stepfather, and with a daughter on the way) I can put myself in Andy's shoes. I admire how he would do anything for the survival and well-being of his daughter.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has compared John Rainbird to Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (love that movie!). Reading this novel, I couldn't help but picture Javier Bardem as Rainbird. One of the best villains of the King novels I've read so far, without question.
All in all, a mostly entertaining novel which I flew through in short order. Not a classic King novel for me (I expect it to settle in the middle of the pack in my rankings), but one I will definitely revisit in the future.
Rating: 7/10
Up Next: Roadwork
Extraordinary abilities were, once again, at the heart of a King novel, much like Carrie, The Shining, and The Dead Zone. King took this premise and combined it with the paranoia and mistrust of the government to create a thrilling mash-up of The X-Files and The Bourne Identity, with a little No Country for Old Men mixed in for good measure. Much more of a sci-fi thriller than the horror novel it's made out to be.
The relationship between Andy and Charlie was the definition of love, but ended in such heartbreak. This aspect of the novel is one I would not have fully understood, or related to, as a younger man. Reading it now, (as a stepfather, and with a daughter on the way) I can put myself in Andy's shoes. I admire how he would do anything for the survival and well-being of his daughter.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has compared John Rainbird to Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (love that movie!). Reading this novel, I couldn't help but picture Javier Bardem as Rainbird. One of the best villains of the King novels I've read so far, without question.
All in all, a mostly entertaining novel which I flew through in short order. Not a classic King novel for me (I expect it to settle in the middle of the pack in my rankings), but one I will definitely revisit in the future.
Rating: 7/10
Up Next: Roadwork