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The Fireman A Novel Joe Hill Books

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The Fireman A Novel Joe Hill Books

Possible spoilers ahead

The first half of this book starts out fantastic. We see the slow decline of mankind and experience it with the main character, Harper. I can't really think of any disease more terrifying than one that could cause you to spontaneously combust without any sort of warning. I liked Harper for the most part, but she was pretty generic. Kind of a cardboard cut out nurse.

Of course, at about the halfway point, we do meet the thing more terrifying than the disease that causes you to spontaneously combust, self preserving, panicked humans. I think Carol is the most terrifying, but there is also Jakob Grayson, the Marlboro Man, and a whole slew of others. A good horror story all around. The horror never seems to end for Harper and her friends.

By that I mean, this book never seems to end. Don't get me wrong, I don't object to books being long. In fact- I like long. I think my objection to the length of this book comes from a lack of focus or clear direction. First the antagonist is the dragon scale itself, then it's her husband, Jakob Grayson, then its group think and Carol Storey, then it's the Governor of Maine. I thought this book was over when I was at the 75% mark. It felt over. We reached a huge climax, overcame it, and moved on. It should have ended. I thought that other 25% was acknowledgements and book previews, etc., etc. as my kindle app so often tells me I'm only 75% finished when the book is actually done. I was ready for someone to put these characters out of their misery.

That being said- I did enjoy the story overall. I like the fireman character. I adored Nick. I felt bad about Mr. Truffles. That seemed unnecessary. The horror was real. I will definitely keep on with Joe Hill. I don't think the drawn out ending outweighed the good story telling here, but it wasn't NOS4A2. If you want to read Joe Hill and haven't checked out NOS4A2 yet- start with that one.


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The Fireman A Novel Joe Hill Books Reviews

This is a hard book to review. On the one hand, it's well-written, with interesting characters and a unique plot. Yes, it's post-apocalyptic fiction, but it manages to be different all the same.

On the other, my God, but did this book need someone to tell Joe Hill to cut back several chapters. Moreover, he needs to stop stepping on his own plot twists. There are only a few plot twists here that are not spelled out ahead of time what will happen. Before we even meet a particular character, we are told by The Fireman that the character is untrustworthy and might turn into a villain. So it is no surprise at all when that exactly comes to pass. Later, characters often speculate on what will occur, only for that exact thing to happen. For example, the cat. It's clearly a bad idea to bring the cat. Two characters spell it out. But do they bring the cat? Yes, they do. Does it turn out to be a bad idea? Yes it does.

And our characters, despite all they go through, are curiously accepting of one plot point, something I could not for the life of me understand. I won't say more for fear of revealing too much.

Overall, it's an extremely engaging read that slows down far too much in the middle and would have benefited from an editor slashing about a third of it. I wish the ending were different, but I respect it nonetheless (except for the fate of the cat).

P.S. There is a hidden ending to this book. Do yourself a favor and read the credits until the very end.
P.P.S. Kate Mulgrew's narration is amazing.
Wow ... such high hopes. I was very disappointed in this book. The premise sounded promising - a virus that cause people to burst into flames - and the opening chapter was riveting. But after that Hill's story progresses at a snail's pace. I was most disappointed because I'd enjoyed all of his other novels immensely. It's unfair to add that he's Stephen King's son, but that being the case is partly why my expectations were so high (though I've had something of a love/hate relationship with his offerings over the past few years).
Honestly, the worst thing I can say about this book is that it was boring, and in the end, I didn't really care who lived or died. I had no emotional attachment to any of the characters. I can't help but feel like this book could have benefited mightily from a better editor who could trim it down from 600-plus pages to 300.
Possible spoilers ahead

The first half of this book starts out fantastic. We see the slow decline of mankind and experience it with the main character, Harper. I can't really think of any disease more terrifying than one that could cause you to spontaneously combust without any sort of warning. I liked Harper for the most part, but she was pretty generic. Kind of a cardboard cut out nurse.

Of course, at about the halfway point, we do meet the thing more terrifying than the disease that causes you to spontaneously combust, self preserving, panicked humans. I think Carol is the most terrifying, but there is also Jakob Grayson, the Marlboro Man, and a whole slew of others. A good horror story all around. The horror never seems to end for Harper and her friends.

By that I mean, this book never seems to end. Don't get me wrong, I don't object to books being long. In fact- I like long. I think my objection to the length of this book comes from a lack of focus or clear direction. First the antagonist is the dragon scale itself, then it's her husband, Jakob Grayson, then its group think and Carol y, then it's the Governor of Maine. I thought this book was over when I was at the 75% mark. It felt over. We reached a huge climax, overcame it, and moved on. It should have ended. I thought that other 25% was acknowledgements and book previews, etc., etc. as my kindle app so often tells me I'm only 75% finished when the book is actually done. I was ready for someone to put these characters out of their misery.

That being said- I did enjoy the story overall. I like the fireman character. I adored Nick. I felt bad about Mr. Truffles. That seemed unnecessary. The horror was real. I will definitely keep on with Joe Hill. I don't think the drawn out ending outweighed the good story telling here, but it wasn't NOS4A2. If you want to read Joe Hill and haven't checked out NOS4A2 yet- start with that one.