Firestarter

Charlie McGee is a young girl who can start fires with her mind. A government agency wants to use that ability for its own purposes. That is the dreadful hook of Stephen King’s Firestarter: a child with far too much power, and adults who see what she can do before they see her.

The fear here is less about flames than about who gets to decide what Charlie is for. Pyrokinesis sounds briefly convenient when the kettle takes too long, right up until the words “government agency” arrive and spoil the evening. The danger has a human face, even if Charlie’s ability belongs somewhere stranger.

This is one for readers who like their horror mixed with science fiction, especially when the frightening question is what people might do with something they cannot control. I’d save it for a dark, quiet night, preferably with the kettle already boiled. The thought of a child caught between her own power and other people’s plans is unsettling enough without any help from the weather.

What stays with me about the premise is its small, awful imbalance: Charlie is a person, but the agency wants a use for her. I’ll keep the tea. They can keep their plans.