The Fireman has had quite a bit of hype before the release. A famous and favorite author of mine is publishing yet another novel? A strange virus that makes the sickly spontaneously combust? Of course I want to grab this the second it gets on the market! A killer excerpt (linked at the bottom of this review) grabbed me from the get-go and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this novel since. Unfortunately I couldn't crack this open until a couple of months after release - not by my choice. Yet I've managed to successful dodge any reviews that might spoil me. Unfortunately, this is a novel that does not lives up to the hype, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my experience or that this is a bad book. 
 The first thing I noticed is Hill's attention to detail in the creation of his characters. More than just a story about a terrible (almost humorously so) virus, The Fireman is a novel about the human psyche under stress. Jakob, Harper's husband, is the absolute dreamiest man ever. Like, so perfect I wondered if this was originally written specifically for women as a romance novel. Basically, Joe Hill knows how to make a woman swoon and could be a very successful romance author if he wanted to (but please don't because I love your books the way they are). All good things must come to an end, though, and it's not really a spoiler when I say this sweetness didn't last long. A handful of chapters later, it's time to get the hell out of Dodge. Turns out her perfectly sculpted husband is actually a complete nut. Even though I knew what to expect of Jakob the Psycho, I was caught off guard by the grand reveal. I found Jakob's transformation into his true self over such a short period a beautiful work of art - the absolute best to absolute worst person. That's just the beginning. Every character Harper meets along her journey is carefully crafted and vividly expressed. Many you will despise and a few you will love. 
 Some readers may actually hate Harper. She sings to people at the hospital, is a fictional reincarnation of Mary Poppins, and wishes Julia Andrews would portray her in a movie adaption of her life. She's the type of person who would be joyfully skipping at 4:30AM on a chilly morning without a cup of coffee. Harper is the light in a dark world, the sweet among the sour. She often doesn't fight hard enough to get out of trouble, or, in the first place, even try to avoid trouble in this very dangerous world. She's kind of dense, but really she just loves the simple things in life and that's pleasing to me. I love who she is, despite her faults. Jakob's juxtaposing personality traits are very similar to how Harper stands out against the rest of the world. 
 Apocalyptic type novels with global pandemics have been very popular this decade. I always worry that the tipping point in quality works has been met, but I continue to be surprised. Of all the diseases I have seen in literature, Dragonscale is the most beautiful. Intricate designs in black and gold flakes weave across the host's body as they're slowly consumed by the virus. It even seems that the designs are tailored to the person's own passions in life. Okay, occasionally, there might be smoke coming out of someone's ears and a few people turn into balls of flaming flesh for no reason at all, but hey! At least they look good while doing that, right? The disease origins aren't fully explained, which is a bit of a let down, but reasons are hinted at. We also don't know how the rest of the world is managing or how widespread the sickness is. Harper's community is almost entirely cut off from society. News broadcasts are limited to the radio which has been taken over by "healthy" vigilantes bent on purging the world of the ill. The outside world perhaps doesn't matter because all that remains are living and the dead - even being sick doesn't ultimately matter. 
 Planet Earth keeps on spinning despite the tragedy unfolding in north east United States. While communications are still strong early on, the rest of the world acknowledges something terrible is going down, but doesn't seem involved in curing or aiding the inflicted. Honestly, quite a actually realistic response. Even in reality, the worst could be unfolding in some unnamed country and the majority of the world looks the other way. That's exactly the same scenario in The Fireman. It's every man for themselves except for the few that take it upon themselves to cleanse the population. This is a very 2016 centered novel. Who knows how well it'll age filled with obscure pop culture and current presidential election references. Even ISIS is given as one of the many possible reasons why the virus started. 
 Another downside is the length. I love long novels, don't get me wrong, but some novels are unnecessarily long. The Fireman is one of those novels. Joe Hill writes beautifully, but describes things very in-depth. I don't think this novel in particular needed that. At some moments I thought "Alright, let's get to the point." Those points that I often complained did come into play later on, but much later on. I do not believe they needed that much build up - especially at the exact moments they were brought up - to express their eventual importance. 
 Honestly, I'm not quite confident in what to rate this book as it's something I liked, but maybe didn't love yet is objectively a good book. The Fireman is an interesting look at our society with a splash of romance, violence, and thrills. I'm glad I read it; I just wish the novel was a few hundred pages shorter. 
 ------------------ 
 Read an excerpt here. 
 Author Joe Hill's Website | Tumblr | Twitter 
 ------------------ 
 I received an eARC of The Fireman by Joe Hill from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 
 My Blog | Instagram | Twitter