William Morrow & Co. | Book Chatter

The Fireman
By Joe Hill
William Morrow & Company, Hardcover, 9780062200631, May 2016, 768pp.

The Short of It:

Find a cool, shady spot, grab a cold drink, and kick back because The Fireman is the hot read of the summer.

The Rest of It:

Draco Incendia Trychophyton is a plague which causes people to spontaneously combust. As people across the country become infected with “Dragonscale”, the hospitals in each big city try their best to contain it but there is no cure.

Harper Grayson, a nurse who took special care not to become infected, finds herself covered in “scale” and when her husband Jakob finds out, he doesn’t react the way she expects him to. Instead, she ends up with a group of people who have come together for survival. This group has figured out a way to live with the scale. Led by an unlikely hero in a bright yellow coat and fireman’s hat, they create a world where survival is possible.

I love read-alongs and this book was perfect to read as a group. It’s long (700+ pages) but I read it in under a week and never once felt its length. It’s got plenty of good storytelling, lots of action and some likable characters for you to cheer for. There is also one really bad seed. There’s one in every bunch.

What stood out:

Lots of name dropping and pop culture references
Hill is Stephen King’s son and I felt it in the writing (a plus!)
Reads like a movie and Fox has taken it on for development.
Definitely not horror even though it’s marketed that way.
We all felt that it should have been called, The Nurse.
Despicable characters are great fun to bash on Twitter.

I received a review copy of this book so imagine my surprise when another blogger pointed out material that was not in my review copy. Yes!! A slightly different ending given the additional material she provided. So if you have the review copy, seek out a finished copy so you can read that very last bit.

I was hoping for a good chunkster to read this summer and this was it. It’s a lot of fun and reading it with a group just made it that much better. I highly recommend it.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Ramblers
By Aidan Donnelley Rowley
William Morrow & Company, Hardcover, 9780062413314, February 2016, 400pp.

The Short of It:

Rambling through life, two friends attempt to forget about the past with glorious New York as the backdrop.

The Rest of It:

Clio and Smith are two close friends from college. Like sisters, they’ve relied upon one another and have experienced both the good and bad that life has to offer. Now, successful and doing pretty well on their own, they’ve each found love and but no matter how comforting the idea of “love” is, they are guarded because of past hurts.

Everyone is reading this book right now and I’ll tell you why. Mostly, because of the glorious New York setting which doesn’t really get going until the last half of the novel but once you get to it, you can’t help but fall in love with the city. The other reason for its popularity, is that it’s a love story cushioned in-between some heavier issues such as mental illness. It’s not fluffy and light but I will admit that the first half had me doubting this. You really need to push through that first half to get to the good stuff.

What I liked a lot, is how the author made Clio and Smith the focus of the story and not the men in their lives. This gives them an independent edge which I think is missing in a lot of stories where love is the central focus. These two women have experienced loss and although hurt, they are cautious and yes, hopeful that there is something better just around the corner.

Final thoughts? The first half and the second half could have been more balanced, but if you stay with it, I think you will find it to be an enjoyable read.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…