The Fireman by Joe Hill

"A unique and interesting take on survival in a world cast into anarchy by a highly contagious disease. It was a good read but not a quick one and though at times the task of reading felt daunting, overall, it had a lot of good, startling moments and the ending really struck hard." 
3 Stars
Pros: An interesting premise, a group of infected people banding together to try and weather out the horror that the world has become/John Rookman and his tall, dark, mysterious, stranger vibe
Cons: Harper was a good person but a little naive at times and her relationship with John Rookman (the Fireman) felt rushed and forced.

Full Review: 
The world suddenly finds itself infected with a dangerous contagion called Dragonscale. The rash is black and gold and highly contagious, and the victims, at very little provocation can suddenly burst into flames and burn to death. Harper, volunteering as a nurse at the Portsmouth Hospital in New Hampshire soon find herself infected and her whole world changes.

Fleeing her deranged and hysterical husband who thinks its best that they kill themselves together and end it all, she's rescued by John Rookman and Allie Storey. They too are infected with Dragonscale and live in a community of survivors with the disease. It's called Camp Wyndham and everyone there has the disease bu they've managed to control it by finding "harmony" and entering a state of rapture called "The Bright." It's a little Jesus Pleasus, bible thumping at first and Harper is skeptical but when she finally finds harmony and joins the Bright as well, everything seems to be on the up and up.

But the fact still remains that they're in hiding, they have to be, since the world is in chaos and there are Cremation Crews, rounding up people and killing indiscriminately to save themselves from the diseae. And Winter has come, food is running low and there's a thief in their midst. And Harper deals with all of this as best she can, trying to emulate her favorite character of Mary Poppins to keep a positive attitude.

But with tensions rising in the Camp because of the thief, even Harper begins to struggle. And in a rescue mission to save two men that John Rookman has found, the leader of the Camp, Father Storey, admits that he knows who the thief is and he needs Harper's help on how best to handle a volatile situation. Things only grow worse as once the two men are brought back to Camp, Father Storey is suddenly attacked, suffering a serious blow to the back of the head that leaves him in a coma. Harper helps him as best she can and the leading of the Camp is taken over by Carol Storey, Father Storey's daughter. She's a woman who's both practical and deeply emotional, fully believing that the only way they will find salvation and peace is to enter the Bright as often as possible.

She holds Harper solely responsible for the well being of her Father and goes so far as to threaten to take Harper's baby away (once it's born) and to keep it at Camp and send Harper off into the world, if her Father dies. She does this to make sure that if Harper is caught by a Cremation Crew and tortured for information about the Camp, she won't talk because the life of her child will hang in the balance. Harper knows that Carol's grasp on reality and sanity are quickly slipping away and so she bands together with others from the Camp to try and create a plan to escape, silently, non-violently if they can avoid it.

But of course, it all comes to head and nothing works as they had planned. And the ending, I knew something big was going to happen but it was still a shock.

I enjoyed this book overall but I think it was so involved and long that at times I found myself feeling it a chore to read it. I'm glad I read it but it wasn't a "can't put down" page turner. And sometimes, Joe Hill kind of makes you feel like an idiot. His writing style, or his characters, there's an arrogance about them that's off putting.

I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in post apocalyptic survival stories and who is a fan of Joe Hill's work already. It's not as good as Horns or Heart Shaped Box but it did have its moments.