The Fireman

Starred review from February 15, 2016
In Hill's superb supernatural thriller, the world is falling apart in a maelstrom of flame and fury. A spore dubbed Dragonscale infects people, draws patterns on their skin, and eventually makes them spontaneously combustâand it's rapidly spreading. School nurse Harper Grayson volunteers at a local hospital in Concord, N.H., until it burns down. Soon she discovers that not only is she infected but she's also pregnant. As the beautiful filigreed markings of Dragonscale start to flourish on her body, she vows to do anything to bring her baby safely into the world. Her husband, Jakob, doesn't want the baby and attacks Harper when he realizes she wants to keep it. Harper flees and encounters John Rookwood, a near-mythical figure known as the Fireman. He takes her to Camp Wyndham, where the infected have learned to control and harness what they call the Brightâthe flames that smolder just beneath their skin. Harper finds purpose there, but Jakob has found a purpose too: he's joined the Cremation Crews, brutal marauders who kill the infected on sight. When the peace of the camp is threatened, Harper, John, and their friends band together. The good-hearted Harper is a captivating heroine, the peaceful eye in a storm of evil that threatens to harm everyone she holds dear, and it's impossible not to root for her. Hill has followed 2013's NOS4A2 with a tremendous, heartrending epic of bravery and love set in a fully realized and terrifying apocalyptic world, where hope lies in the simplest of gestures and the fullest of hearts.

February 15, 2016

Like his father, Stephen King, Hill has a talent for depicting fascinating characters caught in terrible situations. In his latest novel (after NOS4A2) a terrifying infection is causing humans worldwide to spontaneously combust. The bacteria, nicknamed Dragonscale, marks the skin of its victims with black and gold tattoo-like ribbons before they burst into flames. While working as a volunteer at the local hospital, elementary school nurse Harper contracts Dragonscale; she also discovers that she is pregnant. To escape the Cremator Squads hunting and killing infected people, she is aided by a mysterious man known as the Fireman, who brings her to a secret colony where victims of the disease have learned to enter "The Bright" and avoid self-combustion. As readers might imagine, this colony has dark secrets and things are not as they seem. A blossoming romance between Harper and the Fireman grows along with the suspense. VERDICT With a full cast of characters and multiple story lines to keep the reader hooked, Hill's enthralling sophomore effort hits another home run. [See Prepub Alert, 11/2/15.]--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

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