Marvellous, easy to read, engaging story about a world changing event, vigilantes, heroes, a fire-spirit (my favourite character could be Sarah), supernatural abilities, cults, power-cuts, a journey, salvage operations, mycology, a tunnel, a fire-truck, and salvation. Influences to the novel: Mary Poppins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers), Atlas Shrugged, Martha Quinn, Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits), The Road, J K Rowling (indeed, Hill uses the term "Dumbledoreish" to describe one of his characters), and Graham Greene.
"Inspiration:
Ray Bradbury, from whom I stole my title,
my father, from whom I stole all the rest,"
Indeed Joe Hill's novels are much the same as his dad's, you can't help but wonder if there is more meaning in the dedication than meets the eye.
I enjoyed the Fireman's favourite song was Romeo And Juliet by Dire Straits.
One of the prisoners had the Graham Greene quote on his chest ("It is impossible to go through life without trust: that is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself").
I revelled in discovering the Coda at the back, "What if there was a Bit More Story?" - just one paragraph, but a lovely touch to the end of this novel. ( )

I loved the idea behind this book. A mysterious spore plague that manifests like literal dragon scales on people's skin and then causes them to spontaneously combust? Yes, please! Unfortunately, a great premise was squandered by uneven pacing and an overly long, monotonous execution.

The characters fell flat, too. The heroes were heroic, the bad guys extra bad, all without the shades of grey that make up human complexity. I really wanted more nuanced personalities to engage with.

Kate Mulgrew's narration of the audiobook was the highlight of my experience with this book. Her voice is dynamic, engaging, and captivating.

Overall, this story had all the ingredients to cause an inferno, but only ended up smoldering lightly. ( )

Wonder if the author intended the protagonist to be unlikeable, or if I just hated her? Would have given 4 stars if it weren’t for that little ninny. ( )

I can’t think of any way to review this without spoilers, so even though this will be a very brief review, I’m spoiler tagging this entire post. It’s also probably not very coherent, but here it is:


The Fireman offers an interesting take on the dystopian post-apocalyptic story. We see what happens when a society is so enamored with a charismatic leader that they surrender their individual liberties for the promise of safety. We see peer-pressure for conformity and intolerance for dissenting opinions carried to its inevitable conclusion.

We look at the mechanics of a developing mob mentality, understanding why and how a group of individuals surrenders themselves to the pleasure of becoming one with the group. How those ordinary people can be so secure in their righteousness that the end justifies the means, and how those means may start with small breaks in our moral code but may grow to terrible atrocities.

Unfortunately, the actual vehicle that carries these ideas is problematic. I found the romance awkward and implausible. The attempt to provide a semi-scientific explanation for the disease fell flat for me as it seemed contradictory to actual events in the story. There were also enormous plot holes and other contradictory events. I found it wholly implausible that a school nurse (disclosure: I’m an RN with 2 decades of experience) would have the knowledge and skills to provide the sort of field medicine that our heroine routinely engaged in. And finally, I found it wholly implausible that a group of intelligent and resourceful individuals would be so stupid as to take the “Martha Quinn Island” story at face value. In this day and age, only fools and the cognitively impaired would unreservedly believe something they found on the internet.


Audiobook version. Kate Mulgrew's performance was excellent. ( )

This book has joined a very exclusive list on my bookshelf - those which I did not finish.
I got halfway, which was in May, and when reviewing my outstanding booklist in December, I realised that it was just too boring to finish. ( )