The Fireman by Joe HIll

The Fireman by Joe Hill



                The official name for the infection was Draco incendia trychophyton but most people simple referred to it as Dragonscale. You can see it on the skin, black lines swirling across the body with gold flecks. It becomes really apparent when someone has it if they happen to burst into flames or simply start smoking. The first burner Harper saw was outside of the school where she worked as a nurse. School closed after that incident. Then Harper decided to volunteer at the hospital which was severely understaffed after the outbreak. It wasn’t until after Harper found out she was pregnant that she saw the black lines on her own body. Her husband Jakob was disgusted with the thought of contracting the infection and even more disgusted with the idea of Harper keeping the baby. He leaves furious and returns with the twisted notion to take both of their lives. The Fireman had other plans. Harper had only made his acquaintance on one occasion while working at the hospital. But the night he showed up to rescue her was the night everything in her life changed and she slowly began to learn the power coursing through her own Dragonscale.
                The Fireman is intense from beginning to end. From the very first page I was intrigued and fascinated and most importantly invested. Dragonscale seemed to be a devastating and uncontrollable infection that was destroying the world as we know it. Harper was a well-developed, thoughtful character who I immediately liked. I felt the exact opposite about her husband Jakob. Then there was the Fireman, who was completely cloaked in mystery. Character building and development was on point and well executed. World building was just as incredible. Just the right amount of fear and desperation, mixed with a little fundamentalism. I was hooked.

                This book was so damn good. The story was constantly moving forward and the pacing was perfect. There was never too much going on at one time but there were never any dull moments either. I really enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the concept and how the story played out. The ending wasn’t totally unexpected but still enjoyable. This book is over 700 pages and I finished it in three days! I couldn’t put it down. I was so compelled by the story and I wanted so badly to see how everything ended. Hill did a great job in creating and developing this story. The literary references were a plus that I definitely enjoyed. I give this novel 5 out of 5 stars.  

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