Library Journal Review
| Humanity worldwide is afflicted by a condition known as Dragonscale, with victims displaying beautiful black and gold markings that will eventually cause them to burst into flames. Nurse Harper Grayson knows it's incurable, but she's also seen infected pregnant women deliver healthy children-which is why she conceals her own markings, determined to give birth before the disease consumes her. As she flees uninfected vigilantes bent on her destruction, she discovers a group of fellow sufferers led by a madman, The Fireman, who can control the fire. VERDICT Horror buffs will take note of this latest offering by the Bram Stoker Award winner. (LJ 2/15/16) © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
Publishers Weekly Review
| In Hill's superb supernatural thriller, the world is falling apart in a maelstrom of flame and fury. A spore dubbed Dragonscale infects people, draws patterns on their skin, and eventually makes them spontaneously combust-and it's rapidly spreading. School nurse Harper Grayson volunteers at a local hospital in Concord, N.H., until it burns down. Soon she discovers that not only is she infected but she's also pregnant. As the beautiful filigreed markings of Dragonscale start to flourish on her body, she vows to do anything to bring her baby safely into the world. Her husband, Jakob, doesn't want the baby and attacks Harper when he realizes she wants to keep it. Harper flees and encounters John Rookwood, a near-mythical figure known as the Fireman. He takes her to Camp Wyndham, where the infected have learned to control and harness what they call the Bright-the flames that smolder just beneath their skin. Harper finds purpose there, but Jakob has found a purpose too: he's joined the Cremation Crews, brutal marauders who kill the infected on sight. When the peace of the camp is threatened, Harper, John, and their friends band together. The good-hearted Harper is a captivating heroine, the peaceful eye in a storm of evil that threatens to harm everyone she holds dear, and it's impossible not to root for her. Hill has followed 2013's NOS4A2 with a tremendous, heartrending epic of bravery and love set in a fully realized and terrifying apocalyptic world, where hope lies in the simplest of gestures and the fullest of hearts. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. |
School Library Journal Review
| America is burning-people and entire cities are going up in flames, thanks to a spore called Dragonscale that is infecting humans worldwide. Nurse Harper Grayson is in her element trying to help the afflicted at the local hospital, but when she becomes infected around the same time she discovers she is pregnant, her husband goes insane and tries to kill her. Harper escapes and finds refuge with other infected people at a rural camp. With the help of The Fireman (a mysterious man who can shoot fire from his fingertips) and others, Harper discovers the cause of Dragonscale and how to control it. While this entry is not as scary as Hill's Horns or Heart-Shaped Box, the horror of mob mentality will remind teens of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, and the author's father Stephen King's The Stand. With likable characters, glib dialogue, suspense, and inevitable doom, the book feels like a popular television series script, and teens will appreciate the pop culture references-Harry Potter, Narnia, The Walking Dead, Mary Poppins, and more. VERDICT An apocalyptic tale for fans of suspense and horror, even though the long length will deter reluctant readers.-Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
