Firestarter

The first time I read this, I had a hard time. The father, has the power to mental dominate other people. But his power comes at a price, it gives him terrible headaches. Those headaches are a lot like migraines. Reading and talking about migraines, for a person that gets them, is not an easy thing to do. In a way, it gives you your own phantom headaches. Ugh. That is what I remember about reading this book, having terrible headaches.

That and how cool it would be to be able to light fires with your mind and your will. Forget about the cost, I really wanted to be able to do that. I would have been happy to have the mental domination power - even if it was just to trick the bank into giving me tons of money.

I never did see this movie, even though I loved Drew Barrymore as a child. I think I may have to rent it.

The End Zone

I did not really think about the ending of this book as I was reading it. But it ended up being quite disturbing when I got there. John Smith arrives at a town hall meeting for a Representative, which is not that far off from what took place in Tucson, January of 2011. It was a very strange thing to be in the mind of an individual bent on assassinating a Representative and to be sympathetic to his plight.

John Smith has a car accident that leaves him in a coma for 4 years. When he comes out of his come he becomes telepathic – through touch. That means that when he comes into physical contact with someone, he can hear their thoughts but also see pertinent information about their future and their past. He touches Jimmy Carter and sees that he will be president. He touches his former girlfriend and tells her where her lost wedding ring is. It all seems innocuous enough, but what happens when you touch someone and see that they will destroy the peace in your nation? What is a man to do when he is armed with information that will change the world, for the better? 

In John’s case, he decides that he must end the life of a Representative from New Hampshire. That seems to be the only way that he can prevent what may well be a nuclear war. Given that I was there for the rest of the work, this seems plenty believable – John is a very sympathetic character and seems in control of his faculties and not insane. As readers we get to see that his target is insane and unethical and will do great damage.  

Reading about John’s entry into the building was no big deal. But as soon as the words ‘town hall’ came into play, my hair stood on end. I became fearful that I would be reading a replay of events last year. Thankfully John is a poor shot and he is the one that is released of his misery – all ends well. But it gives me chills to think that the man who shot Giffords may have had the most rational explanation in his mind for the atrocious act that he committed.

Next up: Firestarter