Early Stephen King novels are having a bit of a revival these days. The Guardian is currently doing a series reading the novels, and the current New York Review has a fine article on appreciating his work. All this happened just in time, as I am recovering from a mishap that resulted in a fractured kneecap. With plenty of time on my hands, I thought it would be good to try something different than my usual taste. My son sent me "Firestarter," assuring me I would enjoy it. Enjoy it I did. It was a good choice for a housebound reader. This is one of King's early books published in 1980, and it has had a resurgence in popularity, rated as one of the top 10 favorites among King fans. An old movie was also made of it. Pretty awful by all accounts. It starred Drew Barrymore when she was a youngster.
The book is typical of the early King writing, involving a chase with threatening pursuers and characters with otherworldly powers. It begins with a couple of young college students agreeing to take part in a drug experiment conducted by an organization known as "the Shop." (read CIA) Volunteers, Andy McGee and his girlfriend Vickey, whom he later married, were left with permanent damage including unwelcome psychic powers that they gradually learned to control. Andy was sometimes able to get into people's minds and direct them to do his bidding. Being a moral person, he rarely used his power and only in extreme circumstances. It always left Andy ill and depleted, suffering from intense migraines. Other victims of the experiment mysteriously came to bad ends. Somehow Andy and Vickey were able to escape detection for a number of years. Then they had a child, Charlie McGee, who is the main character at the center of the book. Charlie, it turns out, was born with a frightening ability known as pyrokinesis. As she grows, her gift becomes more destructive and dangerous. Because she is aware of the terrible consequences which are difficult for her to control, she refuses to use this ability.
Becoming aware of Charlie's power, the Shop, sends a hit-man named John Rainbird to kidnap her so they can study her and make use of her strange "gift." Railbird becomes obsessed with Charlie in a creepy way adding to the suspense. Once on the road, Charlie and her father manage to elude their pursuers as the action builds in suspense. They are saved early on by an New York farmer named Manders. He and his wife put them up for awhile, until the agents track them down. They manage to escape once again and hole up for the winter at Charlie's grandfather's cabin on a lake in Vermont.
The story takes off from here with suspense building and horrifying consequences.
I am not a fan of paranormal literature, but this is the second Stephen King book I have read, and despite my misgivings, I have to admit to enjoying them. King has a way of bringing the recent past to life by using product names and realistic settings. In this case the reader is transported back to the late sixties and seventies when the government was conducting experiments with various drugs and LSD on unwitting volunteers. Besides he is an excellent writer. His characters may be strange but they are believable. You might enjoy this book for a change of pace or even as a blast from the past.
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