And wait for the sting in the tail…įull of 1980s pop culture references (Joe Hill was born in 1972), from Martha Quinn the MTV VJ to Stephen King novels, The Fireman will suck you in. This novel can be roughly divided in four parts: the premise, in which we get to know Harper the “everything will be fine” part (it’s hard to discuss it avoiding spoilers, so please follow me) the “descent into Hell” and finally the payoff. Harper is the central character, and the fireman is obviously very relevant in the story (hey, the novel is called The Fireman), but there are numerous not-so-minor characters who play important roles – and each of them is painted in a brilliant way, making them memorable and perfectly individual. As the author said himself some time ago, this is a book “about being happy in the face of darkness”. The Fireman is a post-apocalyptic book about hope. And here I’ll stop discussing the plot: you’ll need to read the novel to find out what happens next and what’s the importance of the English fireman in the story. She can’t go to work anymore, her husband runs away from her afraid to be infected… there’s no more hope in the world. At that point, her life (and her marriage to a man named Jakob) takes a different turn. Going against orders and protocol, Harper helps him straight away, thus earning the fireman’s gratitude.īut one day Harper catches Dragonscale herself – just as she finds out she’s pregnant. One day, a fireman with an English accent – himself showing the signs of Dragonscale – brings in a deaf boy who seems to be seriously ill.

Nurse Harper Grayson is a happy, positive woman, constantly quoting Mary Poppins and singing A Spoonful of Sugar. Before it kills, it covers people in beautiful tattoo-like black and gold lines. It’s called draco incendia trychophyton, but people call it Dragonscale. Humanity is going to end, there’s no way out: a spore is spreading, a spore that causes people to simply autocombust. The Fireman, review by Marco Piva Dittrich for Sugarpulp MAGAZINE: a post-apocalyptic book about hope by New York Bestselling Author Joe Hill.

Joe hill the fireman review