Reviews with content warning for Torture - Firestarter by Stephen King

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Firestarter by Stephen King by Stephen King

10 reviews

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

3.5

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Definitely better than Pet Semetary (the Green Mile will never been surpassed as my favorite King), but still struggled with some of the underlying topics.

Having an old man continue saying how beautiful a literal child is and how he loves her so much is disgusting.

Overall though, the plot was really solid and kept me intrigued. I also love that although Charlie’s power is clearly supernatural, it was some supernatural or paranormal “twist” that caused all the problems and tension in the book (King’s usual M/O). It was the government’s greed and desire for power. A theme I can always get behind.

Content Warnings

mareltor's review against another edition

3.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

With government conspiracies, supernatural abilities, and moments of pure horror, Firestarter is a slow burn - until it explodes.

One thing I always appreciate about Stephen King’s writing is his ability to show perspectives from both the “good” and “bad” sides, adding depth to the story. Though Firestarter isn’t considered a horror novel, it still contains eerie, dark, and even gory moments that bring a strong horror influence into the narrative.

The characters weren’t always likable, but they were consistently interesting, which kept me invested. However, the ending left me wanting more. I usually don’t mind open endings, but in this case, I struggled to see how the proposed solution could realistically play out. Maybe that ambiguity is the point, but I still would have liked a bit more closure. Overall, I’d give Firestarter 3 out of 5 stars.

Content Warnings

jazhandz's review against another edition

3.5

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book essentially has four types of scenes: action, good guys, bad guys, and weird interactions between the good and bad guys. I happen to like these four scenes and think this was done decently well, although the first half was stronger and I would happily chop 70-odd pages out of the middle. It’s fine! Perfectly serviceable King book.

Content Warnings

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

hyacinthed's review against another edition

2.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Complicated feelings on this one.

Strengths:

Strong worldbuilding (as always)
Great structure
Solid development of Charlie/decent development of Andy
Dude putting on lingerie and jerking it to a garbage disposal. Lit.

Difficulties:

Literally everything relating to Rainbird. The overt racism in his characterisation (yes it was the '80s, no it has not aged well), the literal pedophilic overtones of how he thinks and speaks about Charlie.
The homophobia sprinkled throughout.
The constant fat-shaming of Andy after he blows up on thorazine (we get it, he's fat, you don't have to remind us once a page).
The lack of resolution of Vicky's death - I was hoping for some kind of reconciliation/closure.