Rereading FIRESTARTER. Does Stephen King’s Classic Hold Up?

00:00 Some casual sexism, a bit dated due to it being published in 1980
01:10 When the ordinary is horrific
01:34 When supernatural superpowers was weird and inconceivable
02:32 SPOILERS from here on out!
02:43 Setting audience expectations astronomically high, and ratcheting up the tension
03:06 Stephen King’s self-insert, and who the story is really about
04:06 Overcoming addiction as a mental trick
05:33 Acting like a stoned idiot as an act of heroism
06:08 Government agency versus a normal father and daughter
07:00 Overreliance on a computer instead of using common sense
07:41 It’s one of my favorites by Stephen King

Here’s a literary analysis of the novel “Firestarter,” reflecting on its themes, its era, its audience, and its impact.