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The Fireman: A Novel
Escrito por Joe Hill
Narrado por Kate Mulgrew
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From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.
The fireman is coming. Stay cool.
No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies-before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she's discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob's dismay, Harper wants to live-at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.
Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads-armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn't as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter's jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.
In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman's secrets before her life-and that of her unborn child-goes up in smoke.
Ações de livro
Comece a ouvirDados do livro
The Fireman: A Novel
Escrito por Joe Hill
Narrado por Kate Mulgrew
Descrição
From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.
The fireman is coming. Stay cool.
No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies-before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she's discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob's dismay, Harper wants to live-at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.
Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads-armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn't as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter's jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.
In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman's secrets before her life-and that of her unborn child-goes up in smoke.
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Avaliações
A spore is infecting people at an alarming rate, made worse by the fact that it usually results in spontaneous combustion. Harper is a nurse who had made a pact with her husband that if they became infected, they would kill themselves. But Harper is pregnant when she discovers the telltale signs of the spore, and she decides she wants to live until she gives birth. Her husband, who believes killing the infected is the only solution, is enraged, and Harper flees for her life. This isn't just an outbreak horror story. It's also about hope and resilience and religious cults and mob rule and medicine and family. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it.
The Fireman by Joe Hill is a novel about a plague, Draco Incendia Trychophyton, also known as Dragonscale.I love how Hill brings his characters to life, and the world he creates is chilling. With incredible writing, I recommend this book to anyone who loves dystopian tales.
Well now, Joe Hill has thrown me for a bit of a loop with The Fireman. It fascinates me that he has managed to write an entirely different sort of book than I expected, and yet it still has me entirely enraptured. This book was excellent, and further proves to me that Hill's books will always be an auto-add to my reading list.
If you want to know a secret about me, I'm thoroughly intrigued by the concept of group think. The fact that people have the ability to completely lose themselves in fanaticism is terrifying and yet fascinating. Hill already had me sold with the idea of the Dragonfire sparking the end of the world. When he took it a step further, into the territory of cult behavior, I was helpless to look away.
Better still, are the somewhat paranormal elements that play a part in this story. Harper's story already had me hooked. A pregnant woman, burning from the inside out, caught up in a place where the people aren't at all who they seem. Then she was introduced fully to John, the fireman, and everything took on a whole new sheen. There was no possible way I was going to be able to resist this story. It grabbed my emotions by the reins and pulled. Hard. I was immersed from beginning to end.
Let's be honest, I already knew I was going to enjoy this book. What really impressed me was how much I enjoyed it, despite it not being at all what I expected. I was anticipating horror. I got that, for sure. Just not quite in the manner I was expecting. Hill is teaching me that sometimes the horror that people can create is often much more terrifying than any monster could ever be. Long story short, this was great. It needs a spot on your reading list.
If you want to know a secret about me, I'm thoroughly intrigued by the concept of group think. The fact that people have the ability to completely lose themselves in fanaticism is terrifying and yet fascinating. Hill already had me sold with the idea of the Dragonfire sparking the end of the world. When he took it a step further, into the territory of cult behavior, I was helpless to look away.
Better still, are the somewhat paranormal elements that play a part in this story. Harper's story already had me hooked. A pregnant woman, burning from the inside out, caught up in a place where the people aren't at all who they seem. Then she was introduced fully to John, the fireman, and everything took on a whole new sheen. There was no possible way I was going to be able to resist this story. It grabbed my emotions by the reins and pulled. Hard. I was immersed from beginning to end.
Let's be honest, I already knew I was going to enjoy this book. What really impressed me was how much I enjoyed it, despite it not being at all what I expected. I was anticipating horror. I got that, for sure. Just not quite in the manner I was expecting. Hill is teaching me that sometimes the horror that people can create is often much more terrifying than any monster could ever be. Long story short, this was great. It needs a spot on your reading list.
The Fireman is a post-apocalyptic novel, where the culprit is a spore called Dragonscale (a bit of a Game of Thrones ripoff for the name although the disease is far different). Dragonscale causes those who carry it to light on fire under stressful conditions and propogates itself by transferring the spore to others through the ash. It’s really kind of an ingenious spore. This wipes out much of the population and brings out the worst in people. The infected are in a camp in New Hampshire trying to survive but they also learn how to control the spore, which has its pluses and minuses.I thought this was probably the best Joe Hill novel that I’ve read, which have been a little hit or miss. The writing is strong and the characters are well-developed. The disease brings out the worse of the survivors. By and large, they are trying to kill the infected, without having a full understanding of the disease. The worst character is Harper Willow’s husband. Even before she contracted the spore, he was a total nitwit. The only redeemable characters in the novel are a small circle of those close to Harper, including the Fireman, a British microbiologist who has complete mastery of the spore and can even manifest it out of his body. Both the concept of the execution of the story are good. I did have a couple of issues with the novel. For one thing, the whole stone in the mouth thing at Camp Windham was supremely irritating. Also, it was a bit too dim of a view of humanity for my liking. I would think some of the non-infected would be redeemable. But on balance this was a strong novel that I would recommend.Carl Alves - author of The Invocation
I like Stephen King, and Hill proudly demonstrates being one of his dad's constant readers throughout this book to a degree I haven't seen before. King references were a rapid fire constant through the narrative - and the book itself pretty much answers the question "What would it look like if The Stand and Firestarter had a baby, in 2016?".
There was a pretty long lull in the middle that left me wondering if I wanted to continue. Think of half of The Walking Dead, season two (no really - think of it, because he's aiming directly at tWD fans with this book). I like moving into a book and living there a while, but not when it feels like sating this desire is the only reason for the page count.
It's not clear why the book is even called The Fireman. He's not the main character... and remains, to the end, almost one-dimensional.
The story seems to carefully follow a Walking Dead trajectory. Perhaps Hill wants to write for tWD, or maybe the sets, scenes, effects and pacing seem custom fit for a screenplay (small screen) that made Hill's proud declaration that the film rights were sold seem like the real goal - and therefore a little cringe-worthy... seeing as though I just read the book.
If you wanted it to be primarily enjoyed on screen, and celebrate this in a first edition of your book... maybe it isn't suited for prose? Is that an illogical assumption?
I'm going 3 stars though, because I liked the little pokes at Constant Readers - and I loved seeing the mechanics of earlier work expanded upon and made modern for a readership 30ish years after the originals. Firestarter was in 1980... so the vibe feels sort of zeitgeisty, in a world where Stranger Things recently made a splash.
I really hope his work continues to improve, and that he continues to be the Constant Writer his family of readers wants to grow older with. Maybe don't have 9 months pregnant women literally carrying grown men around on their shoulders so much in future efforts, though.
There was a pretty long lull in the middle that left me wondering if I wanted to continue. Think of half of The Walking Dead, season two (no really - think of it, because he's aiming directly at tWD fans with this book). I like moving into a book and living there a while, but not when it feels like sating this desire is the only reason for the page count.
It's not clear why the book is even called The Fireman. He's not the main character... and remains, to the end, almost one-dimensional.
The story seems to carefully follow a Walking Dead trajectory. Perhaps Hill wants to write for tWD, or maybe the sets, scenes, effects and pacing seem custom fit for a screenplay (small screen) that made Hill's proud declaration that the film rights were sold seem like the real goal - and therefore a little cringe-worthy... seeing as though I just read the book.
If you wanted it to be primarily enjoyed on screen, and celebrate this in a first edition of your book... maybe it isn't suited for prose? Is that an illogical assumption?
I'm going 3 stars though, because I liked the little pokes at Constant Readers - and I loved seeing the mechanics of earlier work expanded upon and made modern for a readership 30ish years after the originals. Firestarter was in 1980... so the vibe feels sort of zeitgeisty, in a world where Stranger Things recently made a splash.
I really hope his work continues to improve, and that he continues to be the Constant Writer his family of readers wants to grow older with. Maybe don't have 9 months pregnant women literally carrying grown men around on their shoulders so much in future efforts, though.
This was good. Really good. I have had this book for years but for some reason, I never got around to reading it. I should not have waited so long because this book is fantastic. I was hooked by this story right away and there was never a dull moment. I listened to this book every spare moment that I could find and really enjoyed the experience.I probably read this book's summary back when it was released but I went into this book with no idea what it was about. Based on the title, I thought it was about a fireman. There is a fireman in the book but this story is really about a whole lot more than that. This story follows Harper, a nurse, as the world tries to deal with the new outbreak everyone is calling Dragonscale. People with Dragonscale seem to spontaneously burst into flames killing themselves and endangering those around them. I do enjoy a good end of the world story and I appreciated the fact that this one is a little different than anything I have read before. The Dragonscale is dangerous and people are scared and some are taking things into their own hands. When Harper is infected, she must fight for her life and ends up finding her way to a community filled with others like her. She doesn't do it alone though. She has help from the fireman. This book took me on quite the journey. At the start, I was really curious about this new illness and was kind of mesmerized by how it was described. I loved seeing how the world was dealing with the situation at the hospital and in the world. I understood Harper's need to survive and keep going. The community she found was fantastic until it wasn't. I found the community's changing dynamics to be very well done. There was plenty of action and things that really couldn't be explained that kept the story really interesting. Kate Mulgrew did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. She was able to handle a large cast of characters incredibly well. Each character had a very distinctive voice and I felt a lot of emotion in her reading. She has a very pleasant voice and I thought that she read the story at a perfect pace. I found this book easy to listen to for hours at a time. I think that her performance increased my enjoyment of the novel.I would recommend this book to others. This was an epic story filled with great characters and a lot of excitement. I am so glad that I finally decided to pick this one up and cannot wait to read more of Joe Hill's work.I received a digital review copy of this book from William Morrow via Edelweiss and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library via Hoopla.
I can't think of a single thing that I didn't like about this book, and I'm not sure what took me so long to read it. I loved the premise, the writing is solid, the characters are fantastic, and the story just flows along wonderfully.
It had a decent plot but it just felt flat. There was a vague undercurrent of suspense, horror etc but I really didn't gel with the characters at all.
I really enjoyed this, although I wouldn't say it's great writing or even very unique. I found a lot of similarities to The Stand, which I guess if you are going to follow a standard for a post apocalypse story The Stand is a great one to take from. Even though it's rather huge I found it to be a quick read and I really loved some of the characters. Unfortunately I predicted the ending pretty exactly, which I was a little disappointed about.Overall I recommend it if you like post apocalypse books, but don't expect spectacular writing and just enjoy the story for what it is.
I received an e-arc of this book last week. I finally started to read it last night and couldn't put it down. Nowadays, that kind of book, one so good, is a very rare find for me. Even good books, I can put aside when I should be sleeping but not this one.
The novel is a fascinating twist on the 'end of the world as we know it' genre. It isn't a prepper tale- a weak frame of a novel supporting prepping instructions (what foods to store, how to store them, what weapons to stockpile, etc.). While the novel explores shades of religious fanaticism and 'end times' human psychology, it is done in a recognizable setting with a tint of fantasy and horror that cushions the lessons the author wants you to leave then novel with.
The ending surprised me- not exactly the way I wanted the end to be for certain characters that I couldn't help but become invested in, but it was done very well. I can't recall the release date for this novel, but I think it is soon. Go pre-order a copy, you won't be disappointed.
The novel is a fascinating twist on the 'end of the world as we know it' genre. It isn't a prepper tale- a weak frame of a novel supporting prepping instructions (what foods to store, how to store them, what weapons to stockpile, etc.). While the novel explores shades of religious fanaticism and 'end times' human psychology, it is done in a recognizable setting with a tint of fantasy and horror that cushions the lessons the author wants you to leave then novel with.
The ending surprised me- not exactly the way I wanted the end to be for certain characters that I couldn't help but become invested in, but it was done very well. I can't recall the release date for this novel, but I think it is soon. Go pre-order a copy, you won't be disappointed.
Hill's big, rollicking, end-of-the-world epic almost seems like a homage to his father, Stephen King. With a wink to the audience, Hill lets loose a barrage of thrills and chills that satisfies deeply.
This author was new to me. I had never heard of him before. Initially I was attracted to the book because of its colour and then the blurb of the book really drew me in. I was fascinated by the story of a deadly disease called dragonscale and how it affected people. After reading the book I researched the author and discovered that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. I was glad that I found this out afterwards rather than before I read it otherwise I may have not even picked it up. Why? Because I'm not a Stephen King fan. However, I never regretted reading it - far from it. It is classed as a horror book but I wouldn't class it that way. I have read some horrific books even though they weren't horror books. This book had some horrific scenes in it but not enough for me to class it as horror. This is part of why I'm not a fan of Stephen King because his horror books are really horrific.
The book, whilst long, had short chapters which flowed easily from to the other even across books (it was divided up into books). It was very easy to read and the style of writing made you feel as though you were right there with the characters. The characters are many and varied. From the beginning of the book we are introduced to Harper Grayson who is a nurse at a local hospital. She is married to Jakob who turns out to be a psychopath driven to kill her and their unborn child. This desire in Jakob was driven by his fear that Harper had infected him and their child with dragonscale because she contracted the disease herself.
We are then introduced to many other characters in quick succession but this didn't leave the reader feeling as though they were drowning in a massive array of characters. This aided the book's smooth, consistent, and quick flow.
In order to really appreciate this book you need to read it for yourself. I loved it and would recommend it to any one who likes this sort of book. I think after some time has elapsed I would probably try reading this book again which is not something I do often with books unless it's really good.
The book, whilst long, had short chapters which flowed easily from to the other even across books (it was divided up into books). It was very easy to read and the style of writing made you feel as though you were right there with the characters. The characters are many and varied. From the beginning of the book we are introduced to Harper Grayson who is a nurse at a local hospital. She is married to Jakob who turns out to be a psychopath driven to kill her and their unborn child. This desire in Jakob was driven by his fear that Harper had infected him and their child with dragonscale because she contracted the disease herself.
We are then introduced to many other characters in quick succession but this didn't leave the reader feeling as though they were drowning in a massive array of characters. This aided the book's smooth, consistent, and quick flow.
In order to really appreciate this book you need to read it for yourself. I loved it and would recommend it to any one who likes this sort of book. I think after some time has elapsed I would probably try reading this book again which is not something I do often with books unless it's really good.
The book that goes on and on and on. Great story. World building is great with an incurable disease. Likeable and hateful characters move the story along,
I really liked NOS4A2, and had high hopes for another good Joe Hill book. In reading and listening to over 300 books in the past 6 years or so I've never stopped reading 1/4 of the way through and skip to the ending. Until this book. It started off ok, decent concept. But he gets hung up on explaining things and telling side stories that add nothing but page counts to the story. The ending was just as bad. I recommend skipping this phone book sized book. Try an author who isn't using his pappy's success to avoid having a real job. Try an unknown indie author instead...
So what you should take from this review is that I binged this book so hard and have had no sleep. It's one of those kind of books. I will not write a decent review because I'm tired and can't, and for the first half of the book, I could write ten pages on nearly every page that would be comprised of half baked allegories. This book would be amazing for a book club. Unhelpful complaints and spoilers will follow, don't read further.
Not the cat! And why the Maggie Atwood? I did keep thinking about the flood trilogy the whole time. Also singing, really? People wouldn't need dragon scale they would be perfectly happy with gas and matches if that was my gig. They would send my group to the library and ask us to be quiet, not sing, and glow in our own little universes. Yeah, I need a nap.
Not the cat! And why the Maggie Atwood? I did keep thinking about the flood trilogy the whole time. Also singing, really? People wouldn't need dragon scale they would be perfectly happy with gas and matches if that was my gig. They would send my group to the library and ask us to be quiet, not sing, and glow in our own little universes. Yeah, I need a nap.
Was prompted to listen to this after listening to an interview with Joe Hill about it that I found intriguing. Had not read any of his books before. Kate Mulgrew narrates the audiobook and she is phenomenal. Some great passages that were quotable and thought provoking, and found the basic premise interesting, but too much gore and absurdity for me.
I have read and enjoyed Joe Hill's previous work. The best thing I can say about this book is that I finished it. The premise sounded great. A plague has infected the world in the form of dragon scale which causes it's sufferers to burn alive. Nurse Harper Willows finds herself pregnant and infected. She barely escapes from an attempt on her life by the baby's father and she is determined to bring her baby into the post apocalyptic hell. She begins a journey to find a safe place to have her baby and along the way encounters the titular fireman who some how has manged to control his dragon scale. The bulk of the book is filled with characters who deal with the affliction in very different ways. At times the book had a very Walking Dead vibe, kill the inflicted, fear those who aren't. The last 100 pages were probably the best of the whole book. It gave a glimpse into how great this story could have been if the author had tightened the story and removed about half the book. Like his father Joe loves to throw in random pop culture references like Harry potter (a lot), Game of Thrones, and Hunger Games. He went too far when he killed J.K. Rowling who of course nobly spent the last months of her life trying to save as many dragon scale victims as possible. I don't know what Joe Hill's fascination is with Martha Quinn, a person I have not given a thought to since the 80's. The thought that the book would get better is what drove me to the end. I think there was a really good story here but it got lost in a lack of editing. The characters were not developed and I didn't care about any of them and couldn't describe them because they were all indistinct. The one character I cared about, the orange cat, was killed off, thanks Joe. That pretty much sums it up for me, I cared more about a cat in this book than any of the characters. It will be a long time before I pick up another Joe hill book. I am sincerely hoping your daddy doesn't let me down with The Outsider.
Great story. Really deserves 4 1/2 stars, but loses 1/2 a star for getting Dire Straits stuck in my head.
And honestly don't know what book the blurb on the back was describing, but it sure wasn't this one.
And honestly don't know what book the blurb on the back was describing, but it sure wasn't this one.
I'd heard good things about this book so as my first Joe Hill thought I'd try it. I did enjoy it a lot.
A new plague has descended upon the world. This plague, known as Draco incendia trychophyton, known as Dragonscale for short, is a spore, which ends in spontaneous combustion, the host self-igniting in a ball of flame. One victim is the protagonist, Harper Grayson, who contacts the illness as a nurse tending a patient carrying the disease. She discovered that she had the disease after a night of lovemaking with her husband. When she awakes displaying signs of the disease, the two of them agree to a suicide pact. However, she changes her mind shortly after when she discovers that she is pregnant. Her husband insistent on implementing the suicide, tries to kill Harper. However, Harper escapes and finds refuge in a hidden community with similar victims of the disease. The populace have learned how to prevent the impending conflagration. Harper has found a sanctuary where she feels protected and feels safe to deliver her baby. However, paradise can have enemies -- from the outside or inside.While reading this book, I was reminded of the AIDS epidemic during the final decades of the 20th century. Although it became know how Dragonscale was spread, this knowledge did not stop irrational fears which resulted in the extermination of many of its victims. A thought-provoking bit of speculative fiction about how a good-natured humanity can quickly turn violent when fear takes control.
I was lucky enough to get a review copy of Joe Hill's next novel from the publisher. It's set in an apocalyptic world, where an infectious fungus causes people to spontaneously combust. The main character is an infected and pregnant nurse who is aided by a fireman with the ability to control fire. The nurse escapes from a psychotic husband to a campground full of infected people who have learned how to avoid combustion by group singalongs.The the book drags quite bit. It's obvious that the camp is only going to be a temporary solution. The infected are surrounded by people who would kill them if they were discovered. The camp's leader seems to be turning into a religious fanatic. Anyone who doesn't fit is ostracized. It's blatantly obvious after a couple of chapters that things are going to fall apart there, but we still spend about half the book in the camp before the hero sets out on a quest to find a new refuge in Martha Quinn's Island.Frankly I don't think this is Hill's best work. The novel suffers from a bit of bloat, and would have been much better if the camp scenes had been trimmed a bit. That said, it was still enjoyable if predictable read.
If you loved Cell by Stephen King, you have to read this book! Just like everything else Joe Hill has written, the character development and pacing of this are spot on! It isn't overly gruesome, but frightening and touching at the some time. I am amazed that spontaneous combustion could seem so plausible and realistic.
Joe Hill has created another amazing and creepy world, with realistic characters in a dire situation. Harper thinks the dragon scale that adorns her skin is a death sentence. But, it opens her eyes and mind to a new reality. She is a strong, determined character who has lived her whole life in her husband's world, but the infection changed that. I don't want to give the story away, so I won't say much. I loved the characters and the story. It's a long book, but worth every page. It's not nearly as creepy as NOS4A2, but scary in its own way. I will say that one of the characters mentioned Christmasland and I shivered (so that book still affects me...). Anyway, if you like Joe Hill, read this, you won't be disappointed.
Disappointing. A big book that felt suffocatingly claustrophobic. Interesting premise, without doubt, but ultimately plodding; it needed to be at least a third shorter. Even the 'genetic' use of cultural markers used so successfully elsewhere to anchor the story in the everyday were overused -- buckets instead of deft brush strokes.
Positively STELLAR!!!!! I mean, I know writing runs in the family but damn!!!! I was impressed with story progression and keeping with the main character and the story line. Need more novels, please, spawn of Stephen and Tabitha King. You're excellent ♡♡
I'm not finishing this, no matter what I need Goodreads to say in order to get it off my current lists. I have no real problem with the way the book is written, the language, the skill, but the story was unrelenting. No happy endings here, nor hope of one, even in the early pages. It was just too much - too much pain, and not enough - well, not any - hope. This is an unfair criticism, and says more about my life right now than it does about the author.
Amazing book. I think this could be his best yet.
I think the thing I appreciate most about Joe Hill's characters is that it is rarely the monsters who are monstrous. The so-called normal humans, by far, are the most monstrous--for me that rings true. The characters in general in Hill's books often find themselves in awful situations, yet not (sadly) unimaginable ones. Our world is too extreme for even this horror to be outside of the realm of current experience. But despite all that horror, the protagonist characters in these books are beautiful people--people I wish I knew in real life, though I am certainly glad enough to know them in fiction.
Maybe I'm getting old and cynical, but I don't cry often at books these days. I cried at this one--because of how human and kind and vulnerable the so-called monsters are. And how human and vulnerable the so-called normal humans are. We're all a mess, and this book captured that state so very well.
Thank you, Joe.
I think the thing I appreciate most about Joe Hill's characters is that it is rarely the monsters who are monstrous. The so-called normal humans, by far, are the most monstrous--for me that rings true. The characters in general in Hill's books often find themselves in awful situations, yet not (sadly) unimaginable ones. Our world is too extreme for even this horror to be outside of the realm of current experience. But despite all that horror, the protagonist characters in these books are beautiful people--people I wish I knew in real life, though I am certainly glad enough to know them in fiction.
Maybe I'm getting old and cynical, but I don't cry often at books these days. I cried at this one--because of how human and kind and vulnerable the so-called monsters are. And how human and vulnerable the so-called normal humans are. We're all a mess, and this book captured that state so very well.
Thank you, Joe.
Mostly pleasant book, which is an odd, but accurate, descriptor for what is a plague narrative with all the accompanying social collapse. The ending jumps the shark and I thought the book lost momentum about 3/4s through.
This is a great book. I would not have guessed I would enjoy it so much. The first Joe Hill book for me. I don't tend to read horror so pretty much avoid authors known to write horror but I had heard that it was really good and it had made several best of lists. This is great story set in contemporary times. There is a lot of references to what is occurring in the world today. This is an apocalyptic story and the author makes it so believable. I liked the beginning where the author references J.K. Rowling, Mary Poppins, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Bradbury. And finally his mother for the mycology that makes the story so believable. The story grabs right away and pulls you along. It's a tense, action story that will make a sit on the edge of your chair movie. A lot of great characters in the story. Very little sexual explicit subject matter yet present in the the story which makes the author even more skilled in my opinion. The writer gives us the details of this virus and how people might react. The setting is the U.S. and it is New England setting. Very readable, I listened to the audio, performed by Kate Mulgrew, who did a great job! I think the author delivered a great book. The story would be one of overcoming the monster. It used mythology (phoenix, etc).
I tentatively stepped into this story and was soon swallowed up by it. The characters were achingly real and the book so fast paced that I had to slow down when I reached the half-way mark so that I could savor it - I did not want it to end! Joe Hill is an amazing author who's been gifted with a talent that few possess. I always share my books with the few reader friends I have but this one will be hoarded for my personal library to be reread some day.