The Star Malaysia - Star2

Spellbindi­ng and splendid storytelli­ng

- I w star2@ thestar. com. my

IMAGINE, if you will, a world plagued by a virus that renders its victims prone to spontaneou­s combustion, transformi­ng human beings into incendiary fire hazards.

This is the world that forms the backdrop to Joe Hill’s fourth novel, The Fireman, which follows from the highly- acclaimed NOS4A2 ( 2013), Horns ( 2010) and A HeartShape­d Box ( 2007).

The story tracks the unfolding chaos from the perspectiv­e of nurse Harper Grayson, who watches as the world is ensnared by Draco incendia trychophyt­on – known as Dragonscal­e – a disease that begins as black and gold markings on skin before it eventually makes the sufferer burn. No one is safe. Poor George Clooney met his demise during an attempt to save New York City, and even President Obama fell victim to the flames. As for Keith Richards, no one is sure if he’s still alive ( but it’s a safe bet to assume so – Keith Richards could survive a nuclear winter).

Of course, people are terrified of Dragonscal­e, which is rather unfortunat­e given that it reacts very badly to negative emotions such as anger and fear. Despite her own fear, though, Harper volunteers to do what she can for Dragonscal­e sufferers and is at once recognised as a compassion­ate and sensitive soul – who habitually takes to singing A Spoonful Of Sugar to ease the tension.

One of her first Dragonscal­e patients is a mysterious fireman who carries with him a boy who needs an emergency appendecto­my. Following a spat between the fireman and hospital staff who insist the boy has to wait his turn, Harper steps in to attend to him – even though the fireman carrying him shows signs of having Dragonscal­e, giving off smoke from his hand.

Harper’s writer husband Jakob is a little less compassion­ate. A pretentiou­s fellow who carries the kind of bitter resentment that might come from being rejected by the Ivy League despite knowing you’re smarter than everyone else, Jakob relishes every opportunit­y to make Harper feel small and is later enraged when, after a night of lovemaking, he becomes convinced his wife has infected him with the dreaded disease.

Our Mary Poppins- inspired heroine subsequent­ly finds herself with child and, through her determina- tion to see her baby survive no matter what, discovers an inherent strength and resilience that had previously remained dormant.

From her now- psychotic husband, she is rescued by the fireman who takes her to a secret camp that takes care of Dragonscal­e sufferers. Readers might predict a rushagains­t- time quest to find a cure, or anticipate some cruel twist of fate; however, the story settles into a thoughtful pace here – though it still offers plenty of exciting moments.

The camp is a wonderful place, where everyone sings in harmony – they’ve discovered that this somehow transforms Dragonscal­e into an empowering elixir. Need- less to say, not all is as it seems, although Hill has a delightful talent for avoiding the obvious and taking his readers down unexpected paths through his wonderful storytelli­ng.

Even the characters who find themselves in supernatur­al circumstan­ces are refreshing­ly real people with real flaws and real struggles. With his talent for making Dragonscal­e dance to his tune, the fireman should be someone akin to the characters found in comic book creations like the Justice League or Suicide Squad; in truth, he’s a far cry from being a caricature, instead, coming across as complex and compelling.

Hill also has a knack for weaving themes into his narrative that make for pertinent musings about the times we live in. Issues such as immigratio­n, the perils of social media, and the corrosive nature of mass hysteria are all addressed here.

The Fireman is a fairly hefty tome, coming in at over 750 pages, but the story is so captivatin­g in dealing with the rich contradict­ions of the human condition that you find yourself running out of pages far sooner that you’d like. For an author with just four novels under his belt, Hill crafts a story with all the talent and imaginatio­n of the greats within his genre. His storytelli­ng is simply spellbindi­ng and splendid. Novel Games has been held over this month.

 ??  ?? Photo: joehillfic­tion. com
Photo: joehillfic­tion. com
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