Will I love The Fireman?

This pandemic thriller might just be my favourite post-apocalyptic story of all time. The premise is so original, the world-building so visual and rich, and the lead character Harper is a real badass and pregnant (super unusual in ANY story, never mind a thriller like this).

Joe Hill is a masterful storyteller.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but The Fireman has it all––a pandemic that causes its afflicted to spontaneously combust (called Dragonscale because Spinal-Tap Drummer Disease was too long), a plucky pregnant nurse determined to have a healthy baby in spite of the odds (which includes an unhinged husband and a blood-thirsty post-apocalyptic death squad), a commune that has figured out a way to live with the disease, and a lone wolf that wears a fireman’s jacket who has somehow learned how to control his fire.

The characters are so real they still live… show more.

I’ve always heard that burning to death is the worst way to go. Well, Hill decided to set the world on fire with spontaneous combustion brought about by a spore. Despite how awful this would be in reality, Hill brings us a shred of hope, of light. The Fireman is a story about human connection. Sometimes those connections can spell disaster, they can be abused or misunderstood, but they’re also what save us. This book is a flame in the dark.