The Fireman

By Joe Hill. Oh. My. Goodness! I tore through this engrossing novel in three days (it's about 750 pages long). A plague has entered the world. Known as Dragonscale, it is a highly contagious, deadly spore that first marks the afflicted with beautiful black and gold patterns then later causes them to spontaneously combust. The resulting fires and mass hysteria creates an apocalyptic world. Harper Grayson is a nurse treating hundreds of infected patients, until her hospital burns down. She and her husband Jakob had made a pact; if they become infected, they will commit suicide together rather than burn to death. But when Harper finds the telltale black and gold markings, she realizes she wants to live, at least until she can bring the pregnancy she just learned of to term. She had seen at the hospital infected women give birth to healthy babies and wants to give hers a chance. Jakob becomes convinced she has infected him and becomes unstable. He tries to kill her, eventually joining a Cremation Crew, vigilantes who roam the streets killing anyone who is infected. Enter the Fireman, a mysterious stranger wearing a fireman's jacket and carrying a halligan, who can control the fire within him left by the Dragonscale and who uses that fire to protect the hunted and avenge the wronged. A fabulous read.