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Fire Spirit
A mesmerizing new story from the master of supernatural horror - Ruth Cutter juggles family life with her career as a top arson investigator, but a series of horrific fires leaves her baffled. The victims seem to have nothing in common except the unnatural intensity of the fire that engulfed them . . . and the creepy kid who haunts each crime scene. But these are no ordinary fires. Can Ruth overcome her scepticism in time to save her family and avert the coming apocalypse?
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2010
12 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Graham Masterton
423 books1,987 followersGraham Masterton was born in Edinburgh in 1946. His grandfather was Thomas Thorne Baker, the eminent scientist who invented DayGlo and was the first man to transmit news photographs by wireless. After training as a newspaper reporter, Graham went on to edit the new British men's magazine Mayfair, where he encouraged William Burroughs to develop a series of scientific and philosophical articles which eventually became Burroughs' novel The Wild Boys.
At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.
Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.
Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.
He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.
Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.
He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.
At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.
Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.
Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.
He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.
Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.
He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 28, 2020
I still think of the 'creepy kid'...
June 27, 2016
Review of FIRE SPIRIT by Graham Masterton
An acknowledged long-term master of the macabre delivers one of his absolute best in FIRE SPIRIT, an electrifying horror novel that will not just curl your hair, but ignite it. The world as you know it, the world of the living, is backdropped by Hell, which is a place of torment but not the destination only of the wicked. According to this storyline, Hell contains Nine Circles, which are populated by souls according to the nature of their demise. For example, the Ninth Circle contains burn deaths, the Eighth Circle drownings, and those are the two we are concerned with here.
Now a caution: if you are at all over-empathetic or don't like horror extremes, take a miss. FIRE SPIRIT is full-on gore, in detail, and contains multiple scenes of ugly, brutal violence, horrifying deaths, and abuse (adult and minor). If you've read Mr. Masterton before, you know that often he doesn't scruple with the violence and horror. I'd estimate that FIRE SPIRIT is every bit as extreme, perhaps more so, than MASTER OF LIES.
Barring that, this novel is so well written, the characters are so expanded (multiple characters--the secondary players are not just stage mannequins, but really developed), the metaphysics is so well explained, even to the very rational arson investigators, and the plot line is tautly developed. I was immediately caught up in the story and unable to set it aside. For fans of Graham Masterton and aficionados of well-played extreme horror, this is a win-win.
An acknowledged long-term master of the macabre delivers one of his absolute best in FIRE SPIRIT, an electrifying horror novel that will not just curl your hair, but ignite it. The world as you know it, the world of the living, is backdropped by Hell, which is a place of torment but not the destination only of the wicked. According to this storyline, Hell contains Nine Circles, which are populated by souls according to the nature of their demise. For example, the Ninth Circle contains burn deaths, the Eighth Circle drownings, and those are the two we are concerned with here.
Now a caution: if you are at all over-empathetic or don't like horror extremes, take a miss. FIRE SPIRIT is full-on gore, in detail, and contains multiple scenes of ugly, brutal violence, horrifying deaths, and abuse (adult and minor). If you've read Mr. Masterton before, you know that often he doesn't scruple with the violence and horror. I'd estimate that FIRE SPIRIT is every bit as extreme, perhaps more so, than MASTER OF LIES.
Barring that, this novel is so well written, the characters are so expanded (multiple characters--the secondary players are not just stage mannequins, but really developed), the metaphysics is so well explained, even to the very rational arson investigators, and the plot line is tautly developed. I was immediately caught up in the story and unable to set it aside. For fans of Graham Masterton and aficionados of well-played extreme horror, this is a win-win.
October 26, 2014
Annoying story. Even more annoying is the fact that I've read amazing stories from Masterton.
May 16, 2025
Wciąż daję 7, bo przyjemnie mi się to czytało i skończyłam ją przy jednym posiedzeniu, jednak mam parę uwag. Pomysł świetny. Mógłby jednak autor skupić się bardziej na historii, niż na tych wszystkich obrzydliwych obrazach, które nam zaserwował ze szczegółami. Bo przy zakończeniu zabrakło wyjaśnień i tekstu. Było za szybkie i trochę za łatwe.
Lubię te szczegóły o rozpoznawaniu pożarów, które przekazuje nam główna bohaterka.
Lubię te szczegóły o rozpoznawaniu pożarów, które przekazuje nam główna bohaterka.
August 6, 2024
za dużo fikcji i takich po prostu obrzydliwych rzeczy niż „inteligentnie” strasznych no ale był plot twist więc ok
April 5, 2011
It really isn't fair for me to rate this book, or review it, because horror is NOT my genre. I don't like it. At all. I read this book because ... well because I am taking a fiction break from my non-fiction. And it looked like a short, easy read.
It turned out to be even shorter than I thought because once I figured out the pattern to the chapters, I skipped each chapter that related the part of the story where some innocent person was brutalized.
I didn't mind the supernatural parts of it. I didn't believe or not believe it, I just didn't care one way or another. At least as it was used in this book. I have read Dean Koontz books in the past because I enjoyed the way he took supernatural ideas and wrote a story around them as if they were real, not supernatural. But this kind of supernatural stuff, well, it just did nothing for me.
Having said all that, I did read it, and finished it even. But I won't be reading any more horror books for a very, very long time.
It turned out to be even shorter than I thought because once I figured out the pattern to the chapters, I skipped each chapter that related the part of the story where some innocent person was brutalized.
I didn't mind the supernatural parts of it. I didn't believe or not believe it, I just didn't care one way or another. At least as it was used in this book. I have read Dean Koontz books in the past because I enjoyed the way he took supernatural ideas and wrote a story around them as if they were real, not supernatural. But this kind of supernatural stuff, well, it just did nothing for me.
Having said all that, I did read it, and finished it even. But I won't be reading any more horror books for a very, very long time.
August 30, 2013
It's very well written though utterly morbid...
I rate it 5 because the writer did a very good job at writing this unforgettable horror novel. I also rate it 0 because it leaves very ugly imprint.... The average is 3...
And... note to self: I should not choose such distressing books for my reading shelf anymore...
I rate it 5 because the writer did a very good job at writing this unforgettable horror novel. I also rate it 0 because it leaves very ugly imprint.... The average is 3...
And... note to self: I should not choose such distressing books for my reading shelf anymore...
July 13, 2017
From the very beginning Masterton is clear that Fire Spirit is going to offer up very bad things, happening to fairly good people. Mostly men doing very bad things to women. There's a strong vibe of Black Angel here, which if you like your horror dark (pitch black) then Fire Spirit will keep you entertained. The tension is lacking in places however the plot remains tight, both geographically and in terms of the number of characters to follow. There is a solid enough mystery leading up to the final chapters and although formulaic Masterton delivers an interesting and gruesome tale.
October 20, 2025
A good rump although a very over trodden story of heaven and hell. Very old-fashioned but enjoyable although long winded! The older books by Graham Masterton are definitely better than this one but if you can put it on audiobook so that you can listen to it while you are doing other stuff and it isn’t taking up your proper reading time, then it’s easy enough to just let it wash over you. No more Graham Masterton for me, I think the best has been seen already.
October 13, 2025
A dark gruesome horror. A fire investigator, investigates a series of fires where the victims died in a mysterious way. When the element of supernatural seeps in, she now has to keep an open mind in order to fix things. Great story, crazy ending.
This book has a lot of sexual assault so if this is something you don’t like reading about I would avoid this book or tread lightly.
This book has a lot of sexual assault so if this is something you don’t like reading about I would avoid this book or tread lightly.
December 12, 2017
i did not enjoy this one at all. too much rape. too much violence. and the dog dies. nah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2020
Cool and scary
May 4, 2021
wayyyy too rapey. I finished it by skipping past rapes 3, 4, and I believe 5, but still felt sullied by it.
January 14, 2025
Really interesting concept, I liked this a lot. The characters were so well written but I did feel like the last page or so were rushed and added on.
January 26, 2026
pomysł mi się bardzo spodobał, bohaterowie i cała historia jak była opisana. bardzo polecam
May 4, 2022
Frustrating read. Not for me.
August 28, 2014
Spoilers below
This book was such a let down for me because I've read books by this author before and enjoyed them but this failed. My biggest problem was how 2 of the 'arson attacks' were portrayed. Now I'm a big fan of Stephen King horror books because people act realistically when fighting for their life! They get a burst of adrenaline and do things they didn't think they were capable of, like in the saw movie when the guy saws off his own foot to survive. Their survival instinct kicks in, they have the need for self-preservation like a normal human. Here what do we get? The second attack is on a woman in her own house where she is thrown onto a glass table that breaks beneath her, the fact she didn't use a glass shard to fight is just stupid. She could have failed because there were 3 attackers but the fact she didn't even fight in a life-threatening situation is bizarre.
The 4th attack is the most absurd! The female victim is handed a knife by the attackers. Yes handed a weapon and she doesn't use it on them!! Whaa...at?! They force her to kill her horses by saying they'll spare her favourite and she is supposed to love the animals like family yet she does the deed eventhough it breaks her heart, so why is she able to kill who she loves again and again but not attempt to strike the attackers??? Was the heroic moment of fighting back saved for the heroine at the end because it felt lack-luster since the 3 men who were built up as a huge threat got taken out in seconds.
Another problem I have is how disjointed the book felt with the pov changes sometimes in the same chapter. One moment Ruth is with her daughter, next second an attack scene is taking place. This back and forth between two scenes didn't work for me. Also the repetitiveness of the attacks got old real quick, especially the rape aspect, I felt like the purpose was to shock the readers with gory details and one-up the previous attack such as a young woman then it was an old woman. Come on this is such a cheap tactic like in the cinema when they use sudden loud noises to scare you in a horror movie. It startles(disturbs) you sure but it's not the work of a talented writer.
Last but not least why were the police so incompetent they didn't even know 3 men were with the horse lady when she supposedly went crazy and slaughtered her horses before being set alight outside the stables? Why was the crime scene analysed so poorly? Ruth has top of the class knowledge about science and equipment to help her with her arson cases so you would think the police have similar people hired who checked the stables while her team dealt with the outside.
This book was such a let down for me because I've read books by this author before and enjoyed them but this failed. My biggest problem was how 2 of the 'arson attacks' were portrayed. Now I'm a big fan of Stephen King horror books because people act realistically when fighting for their life! They get a burst of adrenaline and do things they didn't think they were capable of, like in the saw movie when the guy saws off his own foot to survive. Their survival instinct kicks in, they have the need for self-preservation like a normal human. Here what do we get? The second attack is on a woman in her own house where she is thrown onto a glass table that breaks beneath her, the fact she didn't use a glass shard to fight is just stupid. She could have failed because there were 3 attackers but the fact she didn't even fight in a life-threatening situation is bizarre.
The 4th attack is the most absurd! The female victim is handed a knife by the attackers. Yes handed a weapon and she doesn't use it on them!! Whaa...at?! They force her to kill her horses by saying they'll spare her favourite and she is supposed to love the animals like family yet she does the deed eventhough it breaks her heart, so why is she able to kill who she loves again and again but not attempt to strike the attackers??? Was the heroic moment of fighting back saved for the heroine at the end because it felt lack-luster since the 3 men who were built up as a huge threat got taken out in seconds.
Another problem I have is how disjointed the book felt with the pov changes sometimes in the same chapter. One moment Ruth is with her daughter, next second an attack scene is taking place. This back and forth between two scenes didn't work for me. Also the repetitiveness of the attacks got old real quick, especially the rape aspect, I felt like the purpose was to shock the readers with gory details and one-up the previous attack such as a young woman then it was an old woman. Come on this is such a cheap tactic like in the cinema when they use sudden loud noises to scare you in a horror movie. It startles(disturbs) you sure but it's not the work of a talented writer.
Last but not least why were the police so incompetent they didn't even know 3 men were with the horse lady when she supposedly went crazy and slaughtered her horses before being set alight outside the stables? Why was the crime scene analysed so poorly? Ruth has top of the class knowledge about science and equipment to help her with her arson cases so you would think the police have similar people hired who checked the stables while her team dealt with the outside.
April 9, 2021
Trup ściele się tu gęściej niż w niektórych kryminałach, bo dochodzi do serii pożarów, w których ginie wielu ludzi. Ich ciała nie wyglądają jak ofiary normalnych pożarów, ale zajmująca się tymi sprawami Ruth Cutter nie potrafi wskazać żadnej racjonalnej przyczyny. W dodatku na miejscu każdego pożaru pojawia się ten sam, dwunastoletni chłopiec. Ruth nie chce przyjąć tego do wiadomości, ale wszystko wskazuje na to, że pożary są wywoływane przez istoty z najgłębszego kręgu piekła... Przy Mastertonie mam zawsze poczucie, że jego horrory to co najwyżej taka klasa B. Nie żadne inteligentne straszenie, ale po prostu krwawa jatka, zjawy i potwory, które chcą się mścić. Nie inaczej jest tutaj. Raz na jakiś czas mogę wciągnąć taką książkę i bawić się dobrze – i tak właśnie było. Mogłabym narzekać na to, że akcja jest powtarzalna (dochodzi po prostu do kolejnych, coraz bardziej popapranych morderstw i pożarów) i że brak tu suspensu, jakiegoś elementu tajemnicy i zaskoczenia, ale nie uważam, żeby to były jakieś ogromne wady tej książki. Czytało się dobrze, był lekki dreszczyk emocji (chociaż nie powiem, żeby Masterton jakoś specjalnie straszył – choć pewnie zależy od tego, czego się boicie), zgrabnie poprowadzona fabuła – nic więcej nie oczekiwałam. Mam czasem tak, że potrzebuję prostej, niewymagającej książki – i ta właśnie taka była.
Po więcej moich recenzji zapraszam na Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niefikcyjna/
Po więcej moich recenzji zapraszam na Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niefikcyjna/
July 14, 2025
🔥Duch ognia🔥
Graham Masterton to bardzo płodny brytyjski pisarz, twórca horrorów, ale także wielu innych gatunków, nawet poradników o seksie. Autor jest znany na całym świecie. Ciekawostką jest fakt, że bardzo lubi Polskę, jego żona była Polką, w jego książkach często wykorzystuję polskie motywy (np. jedzenie) i uwielbia Kraków. Nie jestem aż tak wielką fanką tego autora, ale miewam na niego fazy, tak jest i teraz. Widziałam nowe wydania „Ducha ognia”, ale wypożyczyłam z biblioteki poniższe.
Ruth pracuje jako inspektor pożarowy i zna się na ogniu. Rozwiązała w przeszłości wiele spraw, ale nie spodziewa się tego co teraz ją spotka. Dostaje wezwanie do spalonego kobiecego ciała i żadne racjonalne wyjaśnienie, nie pasuje do tej sprawy. Na dodatek zaczyna się za nią pałętać jakiś niepokojący chłopiec. Wkrótce dochodzi do kolejnych dziwacznych morderstw i podpaleń. Córka Ruth wydaje się wiedzieć coś więcej o tych sprawach.
Książka na dwa posiedzenia, ciekawa i przyjemnie napisana (mimo tematyki 😉). Z jednej strony jest ona pełna obrzydliwych i brutalnych scen, ale nie przestraszyła mnie ona aż tak. Miałam czasami wrażenie, że autor bardziej woli epatować tymi strasznymi scenami niż lepiej rozwinąć historię. Trochę to wszystko jest za szybkie i za łatwe.
Polecam wszystkim tym, którzy lubią spoglądać w ogień i mają ochotę na gorącą letnią lekturę.
Graham Masterton to bardzo płodny brytyjski pisarz, twórca horrorów, ale także wielu innych gatunków, nawet poradników o seksie. Autor jest znany na całym świecie. Ciekawostką jest fakt, że bardzo lubi Polskę, jego żona była Polką, w jego książkach często wykorzystuję polskie motywy (np. jedzenie) i uwielbia Kraków. Nie jestem aż tak wielką fanką tego autora, ale miewam na niego fazy, tak jest i teraz. Widziałam nowe wydania „Ducha ognia”, ale wypożyczyłam z biblioteki poniższe.
Ruth pracuje jako inspektor pożarowy i zna się na ogniu. Rozwiązała w przeszłości wiele spraw, ale nie spodziewa się tego co teraz ją spotka. Dostaje wezwanie do spalonego kobiecego ciała i żadne racjonalne wyjaśnienie, nie pasuje do tej sprawy. Na dodatek zaczyna się za nią pałętać jakiś niepokojący chłopiec. Wkrótce dochodzi do kolejnych dziwacznych morderstw i podpaleń. Córka Ruth wydaje się wiedzieć coś więcej o tych sprawach.
Książka na dwa posiedzenia, ciekawa i przyjemnie napisana (mimo tematyki 😉). Z jednej strony jest ona pełna obrzydliwych i brutalnych scen, ale nie przestraszyła mnie ona aż tak. Miałam czasami wrażenie, że autor bardziej woli epatować tymi strasznymi scenami niż lepiej rozwinąć historię. Trochę to wszystko jest za szybkie i za łatwe.
Polecam wszystkim tym, którzy lubią spoglądać w ogień i mają ochotę na gorącą letnią lekturę.
January 19, 2016
This novel involves some gobbledygook about a spirit that comes back as a Creepy Kid to burn people to cinders and the fire expert who has to be persuaded to believe in the supernatural and defeat him/it. But the story seems like more of an excuse to describe the brutal rapes and humiliation of several women in a manner that did not seem essential to the story and was extremely unpleasant to read (and not in the fun horror way that such novels can be unpleasant).
I'm giving this book two stars because it was at least not as bad as The Ninth Nightmare (Night Warriors), which was unreadable, but I cannot give it more than that because it is still sub-standard compared to other Masterton novels to which I have given three-star reviews. (I gave The 5th Witch three stars, and I just can't justify giving this one the same rating.)
I'm giving this book two stars because it was at least not as bad as The Ninth Nightmare (Night Warriors), which was unreadable, but I cannot give it more than that because it is still sub-standard compared to other Masterton novels to which I have given three-star reviews. (I gave The 5th Witch three stars, and I just can't justify giving this one the same rating.)
January 29, 2017
This book starts out extremely gory - which I enjoy but it's not for everyone. Some scenes are quite disturbing and towards the middle of the book I was struggling. But the story itself was enjoyable, although the development of the characters doesn't really go very far - but at only around 250 pages there wasn't much chance for it anyway.
A good - if a little too gory - horror novel that creeps you out without going into lots of backstory, which some might like but for others they might feel that it lacked development.
A good - if a little too gory - horror novel that creeps you out without going into lots of backstory, which some might like but for others they might feel that it lacked development.
July 26, 2014
another very real character,which makes the book
February 2, 2015
Very disturbing in places. The first chapter sets the scene in this regard. Not a book that I would recommend any young person to read as it contains quite explicit rape scenes.
November 22, 2016
I have recently become a fan of Masterton's books, and although I felt that it may not have been as good as some of the others I have read, it was still a gripping read.
January 20, 2017
OK but I think the author has written better books (I am enjoying the crime novels at the moment). While I appreciated the horror and action I just felt the tension was lacking.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews