The Fireman by Joe Hill- Book Review

I just returned from the first part of my vacation. On this part of my vacation, I brought only one book with me and that was Joe Hill's The Fireman. This was the book that has been haunting me all summer. I purchased it when it released in May and it has been sitting on my shelf taunting me with its 700+ pages, daring me to take the time to read it.

Last week, was the week I would finally do it. I started it on a Monday in Vermont, took it to Montreal for two more days, and finished it in NY on a Thursday. I am not sure how many hours it took, but I know I was jumping up and down for doing this feat. I normally have book ADD, so I am jumping between books like crazy, so sticking to one book was quite an achievement. So, how was it?

There has been a plague which has wiped out much of the human population. This plague called Dragonscale causes people to start to smoke and then eventually catch fire. The more people gathered together, the bigger the fire to the point of monuments disappearing.

Harper is a nurse who becomes pregnant with her husband Jakob's baby. Harper wakes up one day with Dragonscale. She has made a pact with Jakob that if she has it, she will kill herself. With a new baby, she changes her mind and runs from Jakob.

While in exile, she learns about a commune of people who have learned how to control the Dragonscale, so they do not catch on fire. One of their people, John, has learned how to control it so much that he can set parts of himself on fire without burning.

As things move forward, there is a group led by the Marlboro Man who is out to hunt and kill all those with the disease. There is also a division beginning in the commune that is loosely held together by their spiritual leader. When he falls under an attack and is injured, the commune starts to come apart at the seams. Can John step in as the rightful leader or is he too focused on his past? What about Harper as she learns about this commune and a member who left their community, what will she do as the group divides?

I have been describing this book to friends as a giant summer block buster movie in book form. It is a bit long, has a lot of background characters that don't get developed, has some parts that simply don't make sense (why shoot flaming arrows for fun while two groups are looking for you?), but is one of the summer block busters that are a lot of fun and well worth your time. 

I think the only negative, besides the length, is that the main story of the commune is one that has been told many times- the rightful leader won't be leader because he is struggling, so a zealot takes over tearing the camp apart, but that also may be a good thing in that the story doesn't get in the way as the characters are developed.

This is a great adventure story and wound up being a lot of fun. There is a bunch of action and even though there are unbelievable moments, it isn't something out of the realm of a big action book. It is a mammoth though.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Fireman by Joe Hill