Book Review - The Fireman

The Fireman

Joe Hill

747 pages
6.5 Stars
Fiction/ Disease/ Apocalypse /

The world is ending in a new plague - Dragonscale - a spore instead of a germ, with origins unknown. The spore (which brought to mind Lemony Snicketts Unfortunate Events) bonds with the human body both inside and out, the visible symptoms are beautiful but deadly swirls of gold and black on a hosts skin. The spore is highly flammable and will eventually spontaneously combust for reasons unknown, burning the host alive. It is at the hight of the epidemic that nurse Harper Greyson discovers she is pregnant and infected with the fatal disease. Determined to survive for her unborn child (research shows that the disease is not transmitted in utero) she watches her husbands mind unravel as civilization collapses around her. As her husband mental state deteriorates he becomes a danger to Harper, himself and everyone around them, intro Fireman. 

*this piece is straight from the back of the book  "A mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged. In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke. "

Joe Hill is Stephen Kings son, and I find myself comparing the two constantly. I seem to have some hyperawareness towards their similarities and differences, which I am sure is a common but frustrating occurrence for both authors. I came across the novel by chance, cruising through a Chapters and the cover caught my eye. I did make a huge mistake when I went into this book; I had really strong opinions of how it was going to be, who the characters were and how much I was going to love it. I really Liked the novel but it was nothing like I had thought it would be. and there was some disappointment because of that.
In the end this wasn't my favourite Hill novel, but it was still a great read. I think if my headspace had been different my rating would probably be higher than it is.