We Review the Novel Firestarter by Stephen King

The Credible Nerds, Jordan and Justin, review the Stephen King novel, Firestarter. We also discuss the three movies that have been made based on the novel. There have been three movies made - the original Firestarter movie starring Drew Barrymore from 1984, a follow up made for TV movie, and the 2022 version of Firestarter.

This review is the first in our Stephen King review series.

FIRESTARTER

Reading Firestarter now, 38 years old, with a daughter about the same age as young Charlie McGee, gave me a lot of different feelings than when I read this book for the first time in college. I instantly connected with Andy and his plight of being on the run, unjustly pursued due to no fault of his own. What lengths do we go through as parents to ensure that our children are safe, cared for, and free from the stresses of this world. I thought about those questions a lot as I read this story.

One of my favorite King characters is Irv Manders. An old farmer, he picks up Andy and Charlie while they were hitchhiking. Without any promise of reward, he takes them back to his farm, to feed them and make sure that they are alright. Irv saw that a wrong had been committed and did not take the easy way out. He stood up for what was right, even as it caused him to be shot, and to have his farm burn to the ground. It is at his farm where Andy and Charlie get confronted by the The Shop for the first time since being on the run. We learn that The Shop, an evil government agency, has murdered Andy’s wife, had kidnapped Charlie earlier, and is now in pursuit of Andy and Charlie to take them back so that they can run experiments on them. During this incident, Charlie shows everybody what she can do, causing many casualties, and a burned-up farm. Even after this horrific incident, Irv stays committed to Andy and Charlie, helping them on their way while they move on to their next stop.

It is around this time that we are introduced to John Rainbird. Rainbird is a Shop agent who takes a special interest in Charlie. He is tasked with bringing Charlie back to The Shop compound, which he does successfully.

While at the Shop compound, Charlie is refused access to her father. The Shop wants Charlie to light fires, which she refuses to do. Here, John Rainbird begins the process of grooming Charlie, building trust with her, so that she will do what he wants her to do. Rainbird takes on the role of an orderly who cleans up Charlie’s room, and slowly builds trust with her and gets her to talk to him about what is going on. Rainbird convinces Charlie to begin lighting fires for The Shop, saying that she will probably get to see her father if she does this.

Unknown to Charlie at this time, her father is also imprisoned at The Shop. Andy has suppressed his ability, which is to push peoples mind to get them to do things that he wants them to do or have ideas that they think are their own. Once Andy finds out that Charlie is also at The Shop, Andy begins laying the groundwork for their escape. Andy uses his push on his doctor, as well as The Shop director, in order for him and Charlie to leave the compound. However, Rainbird catches on to what Andy is doing, which then leads to the final confrontation at the end of the book.

Jordan

Rating 7/10