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A review by ojtheviking
Firestarter by Stephen King
4.0
This may be one of the very first Stephen King novels I ever read. It was years ago, and back then I only had the Norwegian translation of it, but I remember being a young man loving the story. Now that I've re-read it in its original English, I am thoroughly reminded of what a great story it is.
To me, it's probably one of Stephen King's finest works. He throws you right into the desperate circumstances of a man trying to protect his daughter while on the run from a government agency, and the backstory is pieced together along the way. Some of King's books, while many of them feature paranormal elements, can be divided into different categories; some are pure drama, some are chilling horror, others are fast-paced action. It's just that it's been very easy for some to label him strictly as a horror writer, but a novel like this one shows that there's more to him than that.
This book in many ways reads almost like a spy novel, with conspiracies, secret experiments, and cover-ups. There just happens to be a paranormal element that runs through it all. But the same kind of paranoia of a regular spy novel is there. You don't know where to go, who to trust, how to get away from the men following you. And when you're trying to protect your daughter at the same time, both from outside sources and from herself, as well as not knowing when your own health is gonna cave in, the scenario becomes all the more intense and desperate. This makes this novel more of a heart-pounding thriller than a flat-out horror story.
As a side note, without knowing that this is a straight-up fact, I almost feel like Chris Carter may have borrowed a page or two from King while creating The X-Files, especially with episodes like "Fire" and "Pusher" (both written by Carter), and who knows, that in and of itself could have led to King later on writing an episode for the show. (Then again, it was one of the most popular shows of all time during its original run, so King may have just wanted to submit a story of his own either way)
Some say that King can be a bit long-winded in his writing. In some cases, I submit that this helps the story rather than take something away from it, and in Firestarter, his more lengthy moments and descriptions just add to the utter desperation of the main characters. Many of us have felt it before, when we are trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation, how each minute feels like an hour, and King is often very good at conjuring up that sensation in his writing, in a way that's very relatable and puts the reader on edge.
This book also has a great variety of interesting characters, including the very creepy John Rainbird, one of those King characters that are utterly despicable and relentless in their agenda. His interactions with the young girl Charlie come across as some sort of grooming, and it adds an extra layer of unsettledness and yet another bit of urgency into the mix; not only do we want to see our main characters finally get away from the government agency in general, we want to see Charlie get away from Rainbird's manipulative, predatory conduct, making him one of the most disturbing villains in King history.
A superb read that I might embark on for a third time one day!
To me, it's probably one of Stephen King's finest works. He throws you right into the desperate circumstances of a man trying to protect his daughter while on the run from a government agency, and the backstory is pieced together along the way. Some of King's books, while many of them feature paranormal elements, can be divided into different categories; some are pure drama, some are chilling horror, others are fast-paced action. It's just that it's been very easy for some to label him strictly as a horror writer, but a novel like this one shows that there's more to him than that.
This book in many ways reads almost like a spy novel, with conspiracies, secret experiments, and cover-ups. There just happens to be a paranormal element that runs through it all. But the same kind of paranoia of a regular spy novel is there. You don't know where to go, who to trust, how to get away from the men following you. And when you're trying to protect your daughter at the same time, both from outside sources and from herself, as well as not knowing when your own health is gonna cave in, the scenario becomes all the more intense and desperate. This makes this novel more of a heart-pounding thriller than a flat-out horror story.
As a side note, without knowing that this is a straight-up fact, I almost feel like Chris Carter may have borrowed a page or two from King while creating The X-Files, especially with episodes like "Fire" and "Pusher" (both written by Carter), and who knows, that in and of itself could have led to King later on writing an episode for the show. (Then again, it was one of the most popular shows of all time during its original run, so King may have just wanted to submit a story of his own either way)
Some say that King can be a bit long-winded in his writing. In some cases, I submit that this helps the story rather than take something away from it, and in Firestarter, his more lengthy moments and descriptions just add to the utter desperation of the main characters. Many of us have felt it before, when we are trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation, how each minute feels like an hour, and King is often very good at conjuring up that sensation in his writing, in a way that's very relatable and puts the reader on edge.
This book also has a great variety of interesting characters, including the very creepy John Rainbird, one of those King characters that are utterly despicable and relentless in their agenda. His interactions with the young girl Charlie come across as some sort of grooming, and it adds an extra layer of unsettledness and yet another bit of urgency into the mix; not only do we want to see our main characters finally get away from the government agency in general, we want to see Charlie get away from Rainbird's manipulative, predatory conduct, making him one of the most disturbing villains in King history.
A superb read that I might embark on for a third time one day!