My Thoughts (Spoilers)

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Grant87

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Jan 3, 2015
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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
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
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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!).

I could certainly see Bardem in the role, but I don't see anything at all random -- which is all Chigurh is about -- in John Rainbird. His relationship with Charlie is exactly that: a relationship. There are things Charlie knows, or that Rainbird believes she knows -- that he wants to learn. I think this is what makes him so compelling as a villain. He's a monster, but there are aspects of his personality that we (or at least I) can understand. He's on a journey of discovery.

To my mind, Chigurh is just a guy who thinks he is imparting some mythic, ethereal wisdom right before he drops the hammer on whatever poor schlubb happens to be standing in front of him.

Not the same thing at all.

Rainbird is a guy who can charm you if he has to. Chighur is just a cipher. A terminator.

No. I don't see it.
 
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Grant87

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Jan 3, 2015
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I could certainly see Bardem in the role, but I don't see anything at all random -- which is all Chigurh is about -- in John Rainbird. His relationship with Charlie is exactly that: a relationship. There are things Charlie knows, or that Rainbird believes she knows -- that he wants to learn. I think this is what makes him so compelling as a villain. He's a monster, but there are aspects of his personality that we (or at least I) can understand. He's on a journey of discovery.

To my mind, Chigurh is just a guy who thinks he is imparting some mythic, ethereal wisdom right before he drops the hammer on whatever poor schlubb happens to be standing in front of him.

Not the same thing at all.

Rainbird is a guy who can charm you if he has to. Chighur is just a cipher. A terminator.

No. I don't see it.
Different strokes, I guess. I saw similarities between the two while reading, but everyone interprets characters differently. Both bad, bad guys, that's for sure.
 

TIKI

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Oct 25, 2016
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FIRESTARTER LIVES IN MY MIND

I REMEMBER IT SO CLEARLY. DO I DARE TO PROVE IT TO YOU? AT EACH STEP YOU'LL SAY, YES OF COURSE TIKI. IT LIVES WITHIN ME, IT'S MY VOCABULARY.
WE TOOK THE PILLS. WE HAD A STRANGE TIME. WE MARRIED. NO ONE FORBADE IT. THEN THE BABY SET FIRE TO THE TRASH CAN. OUR DESPAIR. REACH HER, TEACH HER. TRAIN HER IN SOMETHING WE HAVE NO WAY OF UNDERSTANDING. OUR CHILD IS BEYOND US (DADDY WRITE IN HIS JOURNAL "HER PIQUANT FACE AND AMUSING DEFIANCE LIGHTED A FIRE DOWN IN MY SOUL... LITTLE VIOLENT ONE, SHARING HER NEGATIVE GLORY THO SHE CAN'T SPELL OR EARN A DIME... LITTLE BITCH GODDESS SHOWING ME _I_ AMD RIGHTNESS, _I_ AM MORALITY, AND UNDER GOD'S GRACE HER DEAR LOVE AND NEED OF ME WILL TEACH HER. _OBEY_")
THEY PULLED OUT HER FINGERNAILS AND HID HER IN WITH THE IRONING BOARD PULL-OUT.
I TRUST YOU DADDY.
THE MAN FELL OFF THE PORCH AND PUNCTURED HIS NECK WITH A WET NOISE ONE A STAKE, A ROUND STICK.
WE ATE JUNK FOOD AND HID, BUT THEY GOT US.
THE LIAR COMES. ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS THE ANSWER: WHAT TREASURE COMES TO YOUR EYES WHEN THEY SEE THEY CAN'T EVER ANY MORE... HE'S WAITING FOR ANDY AND DREW BARRYMORE
ANDY GETS FAT, DREW PRACTICES POWER
A DESPERATE ESCAPE ATTEMPT
LIKE GOD'S LIGHTENING THE POWERFIELD EMASCULATES THE BULLET AND HISSES OUT IN THE VERY LARGE LAKE-- IT TURNS OUT THEY HAD TRAINED ME TO TAKE ON THE ENEMY
FACING FREEDOM, THERE IS ONE ANSWER: TELL THE WORLD TO SEE IF IT WILL SHIFT A LITTLE FOR YOU AND SHOW YOU HOW YOU FIT IN. ON YOUR OWN TERMS THEN.
I READ THAT BOOK ONCE. I THOUGHT DARLY WITH HORRIFIED RELISH: STEPHEN KING IS NOT ALL BAD. I GOT THE BOOK SECRETLY FROM 3 YEARS OLDER ALAN'S DESK DRAWER WHEN HE HAD HIS SPECIAL 2 WEEK VACATION IN COLORADO WHILE I WAS ONLY 9 AND TOO UNIMPORTANT. AT 43 I TELL YOU THIS.