Book review: The Fireman

STEPHEN KING’s son Joe Hill has his own successful run of novels, including Horns, which was made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe. 

Joe Hill

Gollancz, €24.50;

ebook, €12.25

His fourth, The Fireman, is a welcome change to the ‘end of humanity’ genre.

A mysterious, fatal virus is spreading though the world; named Dragonscale, it takes over the person until one day they spontaneously combust.

The story centres on school nurse Harper Grayson, who finds out she is pregnant, but also suffering from this virus.

Her plan is simple.

She must learn to control the fire and survive long enough to give birth, and avoid her husband who blames her for ‘sentencing him to death’ and is out for revenge.

In order for her to stand a chance of survival, she must learn from a stranger, The Fireman, who has harnessed the illness.

The plot is in no way a slow-burner.

Hill creates a fast-paced thriller, with twists in every chapter.