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rickijill 's review for:
The Fireman
by Joe Hill
I'm going to begin with the truth: I chose this book because Joe Hill is my oldest daughter's all-time favorite author. For years, ever since she found Horns and every volume of his award-winning comic series Locke and Key, I've heard about this man's writing. So even though anything post-apocalyptic or horror-related is my least favorite genre, I chose to read and review this book because I knew the writing would be impeccable.
Hill, and my daughter's very different literary taste, did not disappoint.
In The Fireman, Hill has created a world that's been set on fire. Homes, schools, hospitals all burn not at once, but when someone inside bursts into flames after being infected by Dragonscale. Somehow, despite the abject strangeness of this way the world is ending (one unpredictable explosion after the next) Hill manages to use pop culture references and characters so relatable, the reader can't help but almost find this new reality to be normal. I found myself loving some characters and wanting to shake others. You meet Harper, a caring nurse who loves Mary Poppins; Allie, a gritty teenager-turned-adult who's trying to help as much as she can in this environment; as well as Nick, Allie's younger brother, who's also been stretched beyond his years. Nick is deaf and uses sign language to communicate, something that is exquisitely translated. As a side note, I applaud Hill's consistent and sensitive (from what I've been told of Locke and Key) inclusion of characters with disabilities in his writings.
Finally, the reader will also meet the Fireman. Since I don't want to post any spoilers, this is all I will say regarding him: trust the man.
This book is both gruesome and exceedingly frustrating at times due to secondary characters who just won't cooperate. Even so, it brings beauty and love in the most unlikely places. If there ever is a spore that infects us all and ends the world as we know it, I hope there is a Harper out there somewhere, reminding us all that we can still find kindness even when all hope is certainly lost. Because in Hill's world of fire, even if you already have gone up in flames, there is still hope.
Disclosure:
I received a copy of The Fireman from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Hill, and my daughter's very different literary taste, did not disappoint.
In The Fireman, Hill has created a world that's been set on fire. Homes, schools, hospitals all burn not at once, but when someone inside bursts into flames after being infected by Dragonscale. Somehow, despite the abject strangeness of this way the world is ending (one unpredictable explosion after the next) Hill manages to use pop culture references and characters so relatable, the reader can't help but almost find this new reality to be normal. I found myself loving some characters and wanting to shake others. You meet Harper, a caring nurse who loves Mary Poppins; Allie, a gritty teenager-turned-adult who's trying to help as much as she can in this environment; as well as Nick, Allie's younger brother, who's also been stretched beyond his years. Nick is deaf and uses sign language to communicate, something that is exquisitely translated. As a side note, I applaud Hill's consistent and sensitive (from what I've been told of Locke and Key) inclusion of characters with disabilities in his writings.
Finally, the reader will also meet the Fireman. Since I don't want to post any spoilers, this is all I will say regarding him: trust the man.
This book is both gruesome and exceedingly frustrating at times due to secondary characters who just won't cooperate. Even so, it brings beauty and love in the most unlikely places. If there ever is a spore that infects us all and ends the world as we know it, I hope there is a Harper out there somewhere, reminding us all that we can still find kindness even when all hope is certainly lost. Because in Hill's world of fire, even if you already have gone up in flames, there is still hope.
Disclosure:
I received a copy of The Fireman from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.