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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
Firestarter
by Stephen King
content warnings: death, murder, loss of a parent, suicide, torture, misogynistic, racist, transphobic, homophobic and ableist language, manipulation, threatening, gore, body horror
representation: cherokee side character, queer side character, jewish side characters
“None of it was my fault! None of it was my fault; they brought it on themselves, and I won’t take the blame, and I won’t kill myself! Do you hear me! Do you?”
This is a Stephen King book that I had heard absolutely nothing about until myreadingisodd did her Stephen King 2018 wrap-up. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have picked it up but it was nearly 70% off in an edition I liked at a bookshop near me so I figured why the hell not. And it's a damn shame that I had never heard of this because it was fantastic!
The book follows a man Andy and his young daughter, Charlie, who are on the run from a government agency known as the Shop. The Shop is after them because back when Andy was in college, he, a woman who would later become his wife, and ten others students were involved in a weird experiment in which they were given hallucinogenic drugs which ended up giving them telekinetic-like powers. Powers that were then passed onto their daughter, as well as pyrokinesis.
For the record, I've only read one other Stephen King book, Misery, but as much as I loved that one this is by far my favourite. It's a decent length - my copy was 566 pages - but literally not a single page feels wasted.
There are so many great elements in this book - King's writing, the tension, the fast-paced plot, the action scenes - but by far the greatest strength is the relationship between Andy and Charlie. They've only had each other for a year by the time the book starts, and it shows. Both would do anything to protect the other, no matter how morally bankrupt, and they do just that. But there are also quieter sweet moments, such as towards the start of the book when Charlie's woken up and smiles at her dad who has stolen the covers, the one selfish thing he ever does.
The characters as a whole are really great, to be honest. The many people working at the Shop are threatening in their own ways; Rainbird, the manipulative 'Nam soldier who wants to murder Charlie to see the light go out of her eyes; Cap, the man overseeing the operation who really just wants this all to end; various scientists who want to pull Charlie apart to see what makes her tick.
I really wish more people knew about this book because it's a fantastic thriller with sci-fi elements.
representation: cherokee side character, queer side character, jewish side characters
“None of it was my fault! None of it was my fault; they brought it on themselves, and I won’t take the blame, and I won’t kill myself! Do you hear me! Do you?”
This is a Stephen King book that I had heard absolutely nothing about until myreadingisodd did her Stephen King 2018 wrap-up. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have picked it up but it was nearly 70% off in an edition I liked at a bookshop near me so I figured why the hell not. And it's a damn shame that I had never heard of this because it was fantastic!
The book follows a man Andy and his young daughter, Charlie, who are on the run from a government agency known as the Shop. The Shop is after them because back when Andy was in college, he, a woman who would later become his wife, and ten others students were involved in a weird experiment in which they were given hallucinogenic drugs which ended up giving them telekinetic-like powers. Powers that were then passed onto their daughter, as well as pyrokinesis.
For the record, I've only read one other Stephen King book, Misery, but as much as I loved that one this is by far my favourite. It's a decent length - my copy was 566 pages - but literally not a single page feels wasted.
There are so many great elements in this book - King's writing, the tension, the fast-paced plot, the action scenes - but by far the greatest strength is the relationship between Andy and Charlie. They've only had each other for a year by the time the book starts, and it shows. Both would do anything to protect the other, no matter how morally bankrupt, and they do just that. But there are also quieter sweet moments, such as towards the start of the book when Charlie's woken up and smiles at her dad who has stolen the covers, the one selfish thing he ever does.
The characters as a whole are really great, to be honest. The many people working at the Shop are threatening in their own ways; Rainbird, the manipulative 'Nam soldier who wants to murder Charlie to see the light go out of her eyes; Cap, the man overseeing the operation who really just wants this all to end; various scientists who want to pull Charlie apart to see what makes her tick.
I really wish more people knew about this book because it's a fantastic thriller with sci-fi elements.