Mike Rocks
is, literally, in Hell. He’s given a choice by Lucifer himself – stay in the
nether region for the rest of eternity or return to earth and set up a Satanic
religion in Belfast. Mike takes the latter path, in part because he has his own
unfinished business, getting revenge on the people that sent him to Hell in the
first place. Before long, Mike’s mission is well underway, but then Cathy
Maguire, wannabe contract killer, crosses his path and things start to get
complicated.
This is a
unique story, I don’t think I’ve read anything like it previously. At first I
was asking myself, what’s this all about? The opening scenes of Fireproof are of Mike in Hell being
tortured by a strange creature before receiving his mission and getting on with
his own. Then Cathy appears, she seems quite a normal girl besides her desire
to murder people, starting with her boss.
However,
once I was in a few chapters I found it to be a good read, very well written,
entertaining (if you can put aside the ‘religious’ elements) and in places
funny. There is a good sense of place and the dialogue is sharp. The characters
can be distinctly peculiar, for example, there is Cadbury, a tramp who appears and
squats in Mike’s flat whilst he’s on a brief respite in Hell. He has a number
of very unusual qualities including the ability to read minds. Sounds odd? Yes,
but it does fit well in the story.
Towards the
latter part of the book, the tone changed somewhat as Mike builds the religion
and follows his own plan, but primarily because he grows much closer to Cathy. Fireproof becomes more a story of
redemption and relationships.
Rating? Four
Stars
Would add this to my bookshelf? Yes
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