Rating: 
Summary: A heated novel of scientific evil and human endeavor!
Review: Andy McGee and his future-wife were involved in a scientific experiment when they were in college. They were injectected with a new drug called Lot Six...but they weren't told of the side-effects--like Andy's mental domination ability. They also weren't told that if the two of them were to have a child, their new traits would be passed on...in excess...
Charlie McGee is different from the start--setting fires whenever she gets angry. You see, Charlie has pyrokinesis--the ability to set fires with her mind. And certain people in the government--those in a top-secret organizationc alled The Shop--have learned of Charlie's existence, and want her back...
Andy and Charlie hit the road, running for their lives. It is a breathtaking novel, though it does start out a bit slow--never fear, by the twentieth page you're engrossed. Stephen King has written a (relatively) un-supernatural thriller. The bad-guys in this are at times likeable grandfather-figures, at others one-eyed hitmen with no conscience. "Firestarter" is a speedy, heated (yes, that pun again) novel by one of suspense fiction's greatest contributors. A hell of a read. (And yes, that was another pun.)
Rating:
Summary: Firestarter by Stephen King
Review: Do you enjoy thrilling, horrifying, and exciting novels? I know I do because of a man with a mind that has no limits for creativity and horror, Stephen King. The catchy hardcover of a pair of eyes in a flame and the title, Firestarter, in huge bold letters caught my attention. From that very instant I knew I had to read this novel that had me under a spell already.
Firestarter starts out with Andy and Vicky McGee meeting each other at a drug testing job offer known as "The Shop". Andy and Vicky fall in love and end up having Charlie, which I think is a boy name but surprisingly Charlie is a girl. However as the story of this family goes on Charlie, only 8 years old, becomes aware that she posses extremely strong mysterious powers due to the combination of the drugs that both Andy and Vicky took. "The shop" turns into a secret Federal government that kills Vicky to try to get to Charlie. After every failure to capture Charlie, "The Shop" chase both Andy and Charlie isolating them from mankind taking them to the border of insanity. The fact that the drug agents make Charlie angry it also encourages her to release her powers against evil. Now the question throughout the novel is the following: "Is Charlie really evil or good?". To make things more exciting a hitman is introduced to become Charlie's friend. The Hitman begins to learn more about death than any of his killings he had throughout his career. The story has so many blasts and excitement its hard not to go into further details. I will leave it up to you to discover those details.
The novel has so much intensity that the author goes deeply into the mind of the main characters and puts the reader to the tip of their shoes cheering for Andy and Charlie. The book made me think that if such people existed with powerful powers such as pyrokinesis how would the world be today?
Rating:
Summary: As fast paced as a brushfire.
Review: Firestarter is a fast paced read. It is a story of desperate people on the run from the government told from the perspectives of an adult (Andy McGee) and a child (Charlie McGee). I saw the movie awhile back, but the book goes into greater detail of character development, particularly the thought processes of the various characters. I was pleasantly surprised that the original experiment (performed on Charlie's parents) was described at length. The experiment gone wrong and the subsequent cover-up was probably the scariest part of the book. Firestarter feels more like a government conspiracy-techno thriller than a typical King horror novel, but somehow the formula still seems to work very well.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book For Anyone Who Enjoys Stephen King
Review: Firestarter was very fun to read. I loved to read about Andy and Charlie through their perils with The Shop. I think this book should be read by anyone who has read and enjoyed any other novels by Stephen King. Although it was a great book, it should not be read by anyone who is under the age of 13, nor should any of his other books, as they are difficult to understand, and often include violence. This book in particular included a few scences of violence, and again it should not be read by people under thye age of 13. I do not think this book is quite as good as his other books, such as The Shining, but it is still one of the best books I have ever read. Charlie's struggle with her powers were a great read, and should be enjoyed by people who have not read this book. Andy and his thoughts of what using his powers were going to do to him were interesting, and they made me want to read more and more about Charlie and Andy's desperate struggle. The whole entire story of Firestarter was a captivating experience. This book is a great example of Stephen King's work, and should be read by all people who have the chance to do so in their lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: "Give Me Fuel, Give Me Fire, Give Me That Which I Desire!"
Review: Firestarter(1980). A Novel By Horror Author Stephen King.
With Stephen King's first novel, 'Carrie', he carefully explored the phenomenon of supernatural and psychic abilities that are inside of us all, just waiting to be tapped. With 'Firestarter', King attempts yet again to write a novel all about psychic abilities, or, in this case, pyrokenesis. While the novel revolves around pyrokenesis, it also describes the secrecy and greed of the government, and how they manipulate their citizens to satisfy their own needs. After the release of 'Cujo' and 'The Stand', two of King's most acclaimed novels, people could only wait for 'Firestarter', which became a huge hit like its predecessors. So, was I impressed with 'Firestarter', or just dissapointed? Read on to find out!
Plot-
Charlie McGee, an innocent little 7 year old, has a terrible secret. In the flick of an eye, she can start fires, and she is oftentimes unable to stop them. Because of Charlie's inhuman abilities, The Shop(an elite branch of the CIA), constantly pursues Charlie and her father Andy to be able to study Charlie for militairy use. As Charlie and Andy travel all over the eastern coast, from New York to Maine, The Shop is always one step behind, giving meaning to the phrase, "you can run, but you can't hide." Although they may be at a disadvantage, Charlie and Andy are constantly trying to find a way to tell the world their sad story, and end the persecution of themselves. Can they do it? You'll have to find out...
Writing/Opinions/Etc.-
While I've been reading Dean Koontz lately, I've never picked up and read 'Firestarter', supposedly one of Stephen King's strongest novels. I decided to read it, and I'm glad I did. While this book may be typically overlooked by novels like 'Cujo' and 'IT', it's no less riveting and thoughtful, able to capture your imagination and keep it. King writes about government conspiracies and psychic abilities, and makes his fictional accounts seem breathtakingly real, as if this may be happening right around you. King has always seemed to be a better author in the late 70's and early 80's, as his novels are better-written, and, often better plotted, and 'Firestarter' is no less different. As I read the book, the pages seemed to be on fire(couldn't help it!), but I was delighted to see the pure emotion and care King put into 'Firestarter'. While it was never a pivotal or famous book in his catalogue, 'Firestarter' is a King novel no fan should pass up.
Overall, 'Firestarter' is a spooky thriller that scares you with the possibilities of a corrupt government and supernatural abilities, while keeping you glued to the novel until it's fiery finale. Definitely a book for any King fan, 'Firestarter' is sure to please almost any reader with an eye for suspense and who likes to have a few sleepless nights.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO FANS OF SUSPENSE AND STEPHEN KING! SOME PEOPLE OVERLOOK IT, BUT THOSE THAT HAVE ANY SENSE DON'T... BUY IT!
Also Recommended-
Cujo- Stephen King
Lost Boy, Lost Girl- Peter Straub
Watchers- Dean Koontz
Thanks For Reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Ugh
Review: Having read a couple of King novels, I bought a copy of Firestarter because I thought that it would be an exciting science fiction novel. Boy was I wrong. Overall, the book was slow and lacked much excitment. The story is a girl who inherited pyrokinetic powers from both of her parents who participated in a pyschology experiment in college. After the government discovers the telekinetic powers of the family, they seek to capture them. Agents murder the mother but the father and daughter--Charlie--escape. There run from the government encompasses the first part of the book, which is somewhat interesting. The two use there talents to manuever themselves around the country. The finally reach a safe haven in a family cabin, and unfortunately the book sends too much time on there daily life at the cabin and the government spying on them. Somewhere in the middle there is an incident where a farmer befriends them and doesn't seem to mind that Charlie burned down their farm. Eventually, there are captured. After the first hundred pages or so, the book really takes a turn towards the boring side. Charlie and her father spend the rest of the book trapped in a government prison. Here we meet the horrible character John Rainbird, a Native American assassin who has a "fancy" for shoes. Rainbird is probably one of the worst characters I have found in King's writings. King characterizes him as a person who enjoys killing others, even little Charlie. Frankly, this is just sickening. Rainbird isn't even an interesting or devishly likable character. Too much time is also spent characterizing Cap Hollister, another boring villian. The chapters in which the characters are in prison are slower than a turtle crossing the street. There are entire chapters in which Charlie's father is characterized as getting fat and losing his ability and basically just sitting around and doing nothing. Other chapters further detail the disturbing character of Rainbird or Charlie's events in prison. Who cares? Where's the action? The action does pick up near the end, but it is woven into some type of stupid plot twist to try to free Charlie from enternment. I won't tell you how the story ends, but I found it thoroughly disappointing...even more disappointing that the endings of most King novels. Overall, Firestarter just moves too slowly to maintain interesting. Novels that were more than twice as many pages as Firestarter (The Stand, IT) moved much faster and were quite readable. Firestarter wasn't. It took me about four months to actually finish it because it was so boring. I wouldn't recommend it. Check out some other works by King instead.
Rating:
Summary: "Firestarter - an edge of your seat thrill ride"
Review: I was plainly browsing the shelves in my library when I saw this book. I thought 'What the heck' and took it. It was my first Stephen King novel. I started reading it as soon as I got home and was quite interested. After about a week, when I finished, I was not happy. It didn't really have as much suspense and horror as I expected King to have. There were several fights and people with supernatural powers but I didn't get what I expected from a Stephen King novel.
It wasn't a dissapointment because I had enjoyed several chapters very much and there were some very gory and disgusting moments (a guy clawing his eyes out) though that was too much. You're right. "Firestarter" does sound cool though it's not that simple. The story is about Charlie McGee, the child of Andy and Vicky McGee. In 1968, Andy and Vicky had participated in a drug test just for money. They had made the biggest mistake of their life for when they married and had a baby in the next year, the baby (Charlie) was born with a supernatural power, the ability to start fires when ever she's mad at someone. Extra: By the way, Charlie is a girl and not a boy despite the name. Anyway, the drug agency (The Shop) hears of this child and wants her to do their work. They kill Vicky and now Andy and Charlie are on the run. Sometimes, Charlie can control her ability but other times she can't. She even uses her ability to fight the drug agency's men, especially in the end where she destroy's the whole building. But I don't want to give the whole book away or how it ends. I, again, remind you that this might not be King's best but it will keep you entertained. You should rent it before buying it though. That's all. 4 stars. CAUTION: This book does include gory images and strong language (Particularly the "F" word every 50 pages)
Rating: 
Summary: A poor representation of Stephen King's true abilities
Review: I've read many books by Stephen King including "The Stand", the first five of the "Dark Tower" series, "Thinner", "Misery", etc. All of them have left me speechless about how someone could weave a story from nothing, into something that left me craving for more. After my completion of Firestarter however, I was not wanting more, and in fact, I could've done with less. Many of Stephen King's novels are written in a sense that he had some sort of great inspiration, but sadly "Firestarter" seemed to lack inspiration of any sort. If you've read the story, you're well aware that it's about a little girl named Charlie that has the ability to create fires using only her mind... I hope this strikes you as weird, considering it's so basic compared to some of King's other wiritings, such as "The Stand" where he wrote 1000+ pages about an apocolyptic plague that overthrew the better part of the planet, it just strikes me as funny that King would even joke about writing about a mutant who really can't even be called a mutant, seeing is that she has every human charactaristic everyone else did, except the ability to light fires. The plot was was well written, I can give him that, but his development of the characters was something I cannot give him. The story starts off talking about Andy and Charlie, and throughout the entire book, you only learn a few things about them. Overall I think this book could've been written better. I'm giving it a three out of five because I think King was in a slump, and we all get into those time after time.
Rating:
Summary: A poor representation of Stephen King's true abilities
Review: I've read many books by Stephen King including "The Stand", the first five of the "Dark Tower" series, "Thinner", "Misery", etc. All of them have left me speechless about how someone could weave a story from nothing, into something that left me craving for more. After my completion of Firestarter however, I was not wanting more, and in fact, I could've done with less. Many of Stephen King's novels are written in a sense that he had some sort of great inspiration, but sadly "Firestarter" seemed to lack inspiration of any sort. If you've read the story, you're well aware that it's about a little girl named Charlie that has the ability to create fires using only her mind... I hope this strikes you as weird, considering it's so basic compared to some of King's other wiritings, such as "The Stand" where he wrote 1000+ pages about an apocolyptic plague that overthrew the better part of the planet, it just strikes me as funny that King would even joke about writing about a mutant who really can't even be called a mutant, seeing is that she has every human charactaristic everyone else did, except the ability to light fires. The plot was was well written, I can give him that, but his development of the characters was something I cannot give him. The story starts off talking about Andy and Charlie, and throughout the entire book, you only learn a few things about them. Overall I think this book could've been written better. I'm giving it a three out of five because I think King was in a slump, and we all get into those time after time.
Rating:
Summary: A Thriller With Bad Character Development
Review: This book is the tale of Andy and Charlie McGee. A normal looking American father and daughter on the outside, in their own eyes ordinary people cursed with extradionary powers, in the eyes of the "shop" (a.k.a. the CIA) a dangerous experiment gone wrong and a threat to "national security". Andy McGee and his wife voluntereed for a psychological science experiment in college for money, not suspecting the true nature of the experiment or what drugs they were exposed to through I.V. drips. They are tripping on hauleceniginic drugs for 72 hours or so and he and his wife discover that they have psychic powers. She is a low level telekanatic, (she can move things with her mind) but can only do small things like shut doors from across the room. He has psychic powers of pressuasion. He cannot read minds or see the future but he can control the minds of other people. For instance if he told someone to jump in front of a bus they would have to do it despite themselves. He calls this "pushing" people but he does not use this power unless he has to. The power takes a huge toll on his health and gives him headaches. His wife and he vaugly remember the science experiment in college but have largly blocked it from their minds. Their child has abilities that far surpass either of theirs. She can set things on fire with her mind and it takes no physical toll on her, in fact the more she uses her power the better she feels. She is pretty much a Goddess, although she can be killed with a bullet or posion or whatever, however she could burn down an entire forest and as she matures she becomes more and more powerful, one day she could have the power of a nuclear explosion. The agents from the "shop" watch her parents and her, Andy suspects this because when they leave the house and come back things are rearanged. The "shop" agents panaick when they lose sight of Charlie for a few days, they think that the family is about to go on the run. Instead Charlie is at a sleepover at a friends. They barge into the house, torture Andy's wife by pulling out her fingernails (ouch!) until she reveals her daughters whereabouts. They then kill the wife and plan to kill her husband and kidnap the child. Andy finds his wife dead in the basement and catches up to the agents at Charlie's friend's house. He deals with them ruthlessly (they just tortured and killed his wife) and then goes on the run with Charlie. Eventually the agents find them and force a confrontation, something they very much regret after Charlie lets them have it. Eventually they capture Charlie and an American Indian "shop" agent pretends to be her janitor and befriends her through manipulation. This character (I forget his name) is great. He is evil but intelligent and resoursful. He puts on an act as a Vietnam POW who is still traumatized by his experinces as a prisoner of war. He finds his way into Charlie's heart and talks her into cooperating with the "shop" experiments. Charlie eventually understands what is occuring and loses it. This book has a great climax, Charlie really lets loose her power. One of the best endings King has ever written.
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