Stephen King has the rare gift of making the unbelievable believable but in Firestarter the unbelievable - for me - remained unbelievable. When I refer to similarities in King’s work this book immediately reminded me of Ted Brautigan who appeared in Low Men in Yellow Coats (Hearts in Atlantis, 1999) and the final Dark Tower book (2004), where he’s on the run from those who would use his psychic abilities to achieve objectives he did not agree with.Īlthough there is much to like… I just didn't buy into the book.

Both have psychic abilities, the result of an experiment which make them valuable to the government, in particular useful so as to be utilised in the war effort during the Vietnam war. So, in Firestarter, we have a father and daughter on the run. And this is one of the many things I love about his work. King is an author that believes in characters having a backstory, and not just the main characters but also those who may only appear briefly within a chapter and we are told something about them that makes them relatable. But I am okay with this, while the theme remains the same the characters and events are what interest me. So when you begin reading a new - or an old - King book you may feel in familiar territory. Having watched David Cronenberg’s excellent 1984 film adaptation of The Dead Zone, starring Christoper Walken, I was already familiar with that story and decided to read Firestarter, a book I knew nothing about.įor those of us who have read many of King’s books you notice similar themes running throughout: alcoholism, psychic abilities, the wonder of childhood, many of his books share similar themes. Having read Carrie (1974), Salem’s Lot (1975), and The Shining (1977) I was left with two choices: The Dead Zone (1979) or Firestarter (1980). So, with a printed out bibliography in hand I planned my course. I thought, “what better place to start other than the beginning?”. I’ve read around 30 Stephen King books and have been looking into the ones I have missed. First published in 1980 and nominated for the British Fantasy Award, Locus Poll Award, and Balrog Award.

Firestarter by stephen king