Firestarter, by Stephen King is a tightly plotted thriller that is hard to put down. It is about a secret government agency, called The Shop, a father with the mental ability to "push" people into doing what he wants, and his daughter, who has the gift or curse of pyrokinesis.

This isn't the first time King has dealt with telekinesis. His first book, Carrie, also used telekinesis as a plot device. But it did so through the prism of high school adolescence. Firestarter takes a different approach. One theme of the novel is about the repercussions of an unaccountable government. While, pyrokinesis isn't real. Parts of the story are based in reality. The story was certainly inspired by the famous experiments done at Harvard University by Timothy Leary. During these experiments, college students were given LSD and studied.

I enjoyed the book and think it's worth a read. It has strong characters, a fast paced plot, and a good ending. I give it four stars out of five.

Originally reviewed on my blog at http://www.AustinJamesHere.blogspot.com