Draco Incendia Trychophyton—also known as Dragonscale—is a deadly spore that causes people to spontaneously combust. Theories on its origin range from the melting ice caps to biological weaponry to a simple evolutionary turn. Elaborate—beautiful, even—black and gold tattoo-like markings identify those who are infected. Because there is often no warning before a person ignites and there is no cure, paranoia and hysteria spread like, well, wildfire. Eventually, cities burn and civil order dissolves, with ruthless and sinister Quarantine Patrols and Cremation Crews driving the infected into hiding. 

The titular character of Joe Hill's fourth novel (following, most recently, NOS4A2), John Rookwood, is not an actual fireman, but a mysterious, charismatic Englishman. He wears a firefighter's uniform because it not only hides his markings, but also allows him to be in the open without arousing suspicion. The heart of the book, though, is Harper Grayson, an elementary school nurse with compassion, gumption and an affinity for Mary Poppins. Harper is infected, frightened, alone and pregnant when John leads her to an underground community of infected folk who show her that it is possible to live in harmony with the spore. Soon, though, it becomes clear that safety does not always lie in numbers and that there is as much to fear inside the camp as outside.

With plenty of pop-culture references and playfully meta moments (like when characters discuss what they would do if they were in a movie or book), The Fireman is a bona fide, post-apocalyptic page-turner that's equal parts touching and pulse-pounding, surprising and awe-inducing. The icing on the metaphorical cake? Easter eggs referencing his father Stephen King's works—ranging from Hill's use of "shine" as a verb of the supernatural variety to one character murderously swinging a shovel "like a croquet mallet"—pepper the book, delighting this fan of both writers.

 

This article was originally published in the May 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Terrifically virulent, Draco incendia trychophyton, aka Dragonscale, leaves victims covered with striking black and gold marks before they suddenly shudder into flames. When Harper Grayson finds that she has the damning marks, she determines to stay alive long enough to birth her child, even as Cremation Squads hunt down the infected and one man—the Fireman, a victim who's learned to keep the fire at bay—protects the hunted. With a 200,000-copy first printing.

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

Humanity worldwide is afflicted by a condition known as Dragonscale, with victims displaying beautiful black and gold markings that will eventually cause them to burst into flames. Nurse Harper Grayson knows it's incurable, but she's also seen infected pregnant women deliver healthy children—which is why she conceals her own markings, determined to give birth before the disease consumes her. As she flees uninfected vigilantes bent on her destruction, she discovers a group of fellow sufferers led by a madman, The Fireman, who can control the fire. VERDICT Horror buffs will take note of this latest offering by the Bram Stoker Award winner. (LJ 2/15/16)

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 combust—and 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 Bright—the 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. (May)