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Combustible: A Post-Apocalyptic Road Trip
The End No One Saw ComingAn outbreak of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) has mankind teetering on the edge of extinction. People are going up in flames from every corner of the globe. Panic has led to lockdowns and the complete breakdown of society, but there is no escaping the inevitable. Love in the Time of the ApocalypseSam and Aja watched their marriage implode just as everyone around them was going up in smoke. Forced to sequester in their small apartment, tempers flare hotter than a crematorium. The SHC pandemic and forced proximity has only made things worse. Waiting for the end seems a better alternative than waking up to another day. Hope in the Great White NorthRumor has it that there’s a Canadian town called Consumption that is free from cases of SHC. Sam steals an RV, refusing to leave his estranged wife behind. Along with his best friend, they embark on a road trip through a vast and weird wasteland, picking up an odd cast of characters along the way. Will they find salvation? Can the flickering flame of love be rekindled amidst a planet on fire? When it’s your last rodeo, hang on for dear life and ride it out. The end of the world was never so strange. "Combustible is explosive! A hot new take on the end of the world." Brian Keene, author of The Complex and Ghoul“Showcases the best the genre has to offer—body horror, an unknowable and terrifying threat, a post-apocalyptic world told from the perspective of an every-man, and a marriage disintegrating in real time. I absolutely loved it." - Laurel Hightower, author of CROSSROADS and BELOW
402 pages, Paperback
Published January 20, 2024
9 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Hunter Shea
66 books1,009 followersHunter Shea is the author of over 25 books, with a specialization in cryptozoological horror that includes The Jersey Devil, The Dover Demon, Loch Ness Revenge and many others. As part of the new horror line at Flame Tree Press, his novel Creature has gained critical acclaim. His novel, The Montauk Monster, was named one of the best reads of the summer by Publishers Weekly. A trip to the International Cryptozoology Museum will find several of his cryptid books among the fascinating displays. Living in a true haunted house inspired his Jessica Backman: Death in the Afterlife series (Forest of Shadows, Sinister Entity and Island of the Forbidden). In 2011, he was selected to be a part of the launch of Samhain Publishing’s new horror line alongside legendary author Ramsey Campbell. When he’s not writing thrillers and horror, he also spins tall tales for middle grade readers on Amazon’s highly regarded Rapids reading app.
An avid podcaster, he can be seen and heard on Monster Men, one of the longest running video horror podcasts in the world, and Final Guys, focusing on weekly movie and book reviews. His nostalgic column about the magic of 80s horror, Video Visions, is featured monthly at Cemetery Dance Online. You can find his short stories in a number of anthologies, including Chopping Block Party, The Body Horror Book and Fearful Fathoms II.
A lifetime New Yorker, Hunter is supported by his loving wife and two beautiful daughters. When he’s not studying up on cryptozoology, he’s an avid explorer of the unknown, having spent a night alone on the Queen Mary, searching for the Warren’s famous White Lady of the Union Cemetery and other mysterious places.
You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com.
An avid podcaster, he can be seen and heard on Monster Men, one of the longest running video horror podcasts in the world, and Final Guys, focusing on weekly movie and book reviews. His nostalgic column about the magic of 80s horror, Video Visions, is featured monthly at Cemetery Dance Online. You can find his short stories in a number of anthologies, including Chopping Block Party, The Body Horror Book and Fearful Fathoms II.
A lifetime New Yorker, Hunter is supported by his loving wife and two beautiful daughters. When he’s not studying up on cryptozoology, he’s an avid explorer of the unknown, having spent a night alone on the Queen Mary, searching for the Warren’s famous White Lady of the Union Cemetery and other mysterious places.
You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 22, 2025
The book started strong with mysterious SHC (spontaneous human combustion) cases popping up and the neighborhood coming to an end. Then Sam, Dave and Aja decide to go to Consumption/Canada. Will the end of the world stop there? The road trip is entertaining and reminded me a bit on Richard Laymon without Hunter's obsession for big tits and nips. LOL. But somehow there weren't any new elements coming in after the plot was set. It went on and on. Somehow I got lost on the way. Expected a bit more intriguing suspension, a bit more horror, a bit more desperation among the characters. So it was rather a bit comic horror (LOL the sneeze factor) without the sparkle from the beginning. It dragged a bit after halfway through. Had expected a bit more fuel to the fire to be honest. Overall a solid road trip but nothing too spectacular. Recommended for Hunter fans and those interested in SHC!
March 29, 2024
It's time for a great American RV road-trip, Hunter Shea style! Only problem is, our traveling couple, Sam and Aja, hate each other. And they've decided to hit the road in the midst of a new pandemic, one in which people spontaneously combust with a spark as simple as a sneeze. OK, so, two problems, I guess.
Combustible is a rip-roaring fun read, chockful of burning bodies and much of humanity at its lowest and most dangerous. When we meet Sam and Aja it's on the cusp of their break-up, right as the world is going to hell and the two are forced into quarantine. Soon, they're the only couple left in their New York apartment building and supplies are running low. Sam decides to high-tail it out of there, hijacking a mobile home to hit the road on little more than a rumor. Supposedly, up in the wilds of Canada, the small town of Consumption has proved resistant to the plague of spontaneous human combustion (SHC for short). But Sam, regardless of how much he and Aja hate each other, can't leave his still-legally-married wife behind and convinces her to ride along with him and his best friend, Dave, to the Great White North.
To say they hit a few bumps along the way is putting it mildly. And Sam isn't exactly the best road warrior to be stuck in a tin can with for prolonged periods. The dude has a penchant for toxicity and some shameful boundary issues, oftentimes mistaking marriage for ownership. He longs to put an entire continent between himself and Aja, then insists she come along for the ride so, I guess, they can continue berating each other to death. It's not long before they encounter other survivors and jealousy rears its head. Although Sam may insist he no longer loves Aja, he doesn't want anybody else to have her either, even as he starts to fall for another one of their newfound companions.
Sam, in short, is a whiny loser, one that's more likely to hurt himself in a fight than anybody else. He also has some questionable ideas about quarantining in the midst of a pandemic -- he's against it, until it's his own health on the line, noting that the government's response of quarantining in the midst of SHC was as much of a mistake as it was during COVID-19. Because apparently having human matchsticks running around willy-nilly to go up like a Roman candle in a crowded market or movie theater is better than doing so in one's own home? I won't pretend to understand the logic, but, I imagine, neither does inconsistent and irrational Sam.
Despite the frustrating and tiresome male lead, who narrates the entire journey in first-person, and enough textual errors (misspellings, transposed words, and even a few name-change goof-ups, like Aja becoming Aha and the sudden and very random appearance of a Crag, who I'm not even sure which character that was supposed to be) that point toward this book needing at least one more round of proofreading, Combustible is actually heck of a lot of fun, and not just because Sam brains himself a few times in his stupidly stubborn attempts to be a big, bad manly man. There's plenty of humor, even if Sam and Aja's near-constant bickering and verbal abuse wears thin and constantly prompts the question of why the hell they stick with each other, leading to an ending that doesn’t feel emotionally honest or earned. Shea does a fine job constructing a few fiery action set-pieces, and the allure and mystery of Consumption provides compelling motivation and a spark of hope in a world that is quickly burning itself to death. Besides, where else in horrordom might a packet of pepper prove to be a lethal weapon?
Combustible is a rip-roaring fun read, chockful of burning bodies and much of humanity at its lowest and most dangerous. When we meet Sam and Aja it's on the cusp of their break-up, right as the world is going to hell and the two are forced into quarantine. Soon, they're the only couple left in their New York apartment building and supplies are running low. Sam decides to high-tail it out of there, hijacking a mobile home to hit the road on little more than a rumor. Supposedly, up in the wilds of Canada, the small town of Consumption has proved resistant to the plague of spontaneous human combustion (SHC for short). But Sam, regardless of how much he and Aja hate each other, can't leave his still-legally-married wife behind and convinces her to ride along with him and his best friend, Dave, to the Great White North.
To say they hit a few bumps along the way is putting it mildly. And Sam isn't exactly the best road warrior to be stuck in a tin can with for prolonged periods. The dude has a penchant for toxicity and some shameful boundary issues, oftentimes mistaking marriage for ownership. He longs to put an entire continent between himself and Aja, then insists she come along for the ride so, I guess, they can continue berating each other to death. It's not long before they encounter other survivors and jealousy rears its head. Although Sam may insist he no longer loves Aja, he doesn't want anybody else to have her either, even as he starts to fall for another one of their newfound companions.
Sam, in short, is a whiny loser, one that's more likely to hurt himself in a fight than anybody else. He also has some questionable ideas about quarantining in the midst of a pandemic -- he's against it, until it's his own health on the line, noting that the government's response of quarantining in the midst of SHC was as much of a mistake as it was during COVID-19. Because apparently having human matchsticks running around willy-nilly to go up like a Roman candle in a crowded market or movie theater is better than doing so in one's own home? I won't pretend to understand the logic, but, I imagine, neither does inconsistent and irrational Sam.
Despite the frustrating and tiresome male lead, who narrates the entire journey in first-person, and enough textual errors (misspellings, transposed words, and even a few name-change goof-ups, like Aja becoming Aha and the sudden and very random appearance of a Crag, who I'm not even sure which character that was supposed to be) that point toward this book needing at least one more round of proofreading, Combustible is actually heck of a lot of fun, and not just because Sam brains himself a few times in his stupidly stubborn attempts to be a big, bad manly man. There's plenty of humor, even if Sam and Aja's near-constant bickering and verbal abuse wears thin and constantly prompts the question of why the hell they stick with each other, leading to an ending that doesn’t feel emotionally honest or earned. Shea does a fine job constructing a few fiery action set-pieces, and the allure and mystery of Consumption provides compelling motivation and a spark of hope in a world that is quickly burning itself to death. Besides, where else in horrordom might a packet of pepper prove to be a lethal weapon?
February 9, 2024
Well, this was fire (sorry)!
This was a blast of a post-apocalyptic romp.
Equal parts funny and horrifying, I loved our motley crew and was really hoping they'd all make it through without going poof. (I will not tell you if they did or not.)
Our end-of-world scenario was a fun one and, hey, the author is bringing spontaneous human combustion back.
Absolutely entertaining!
Achoo! (If you know, you know.)
This was a blast of a post-apocalyptic romp.
Equal parts funny and horrifying, I loved our motley crew and was really hoping they'd all make it through without going poof. (I will not tell you if they did or not.)
Our end-of-world scenario was a fun one and, hey, the author is bringing spontaneous human combustion back.
Absolutely entertaining!
Achoo! (If you know, you know.)
May 1, 2024
For fans of Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brain Keene, The Stand by Stephen King
This was a thoroughly entertaining novel! Spontaneous Human Combustion is wiping out the population and no one knows why. Eventually, people realize sneezing seems to signal your destruction, so people do their best to plug their nose and avoid things like pepper and dust. There's a couple that has separated just as the apocalypse begins, so they're stuck in the same apartment together. The quarantine begins the book and covers maybe a quarter of the length before they hit the road with Sam's best friend. But Sam and his wife are at each other's throats, making travel awkward. Along the way to Canada (where there is supposedly a town untouched by combustion), the group picks up some people that, for better and worse, impact their lives during the journey.
I had a lot of fun reading this book, not only because I love apocalyptic stories but because of the relationships between the characters. The dueling between Sam and his wife is one you'll get quite invested in, especially once some other people from the road get into the mix. It was like a soap opera at the end of the world. By the time I was hitting the half way mark, I did not want to put this down. I'm sure I'll reread it one day even though I rarely read books more than once (there's too many stories out there and not enough time!).
Hunter Shea continues to remind me why I'm a fan (and that I need to further expand my collection of his titles)!
This was a thoroughly entertaining novel! Spontaneous Human Combustion is wiping out the population and no one knows why. Eventually, people realize sneezing seems to signal your destruction, so people do their best to plug their nose and avoid things like pepper and dust. There's a couple that has separated just as the apocalypse begins, so they're stuck in the same apartment together. The quarantine begins the book and covers maybe a quarter of the length before they hit the road with Sam's best friend. But Sam and his wife are at each other's throats, making travel awkward. Along the way to Canada (where there is supposedly a town untouched by combustion), the group picks up some people that, for better and worse, impact their lives during the journey.
I had a lot of fun reading this book, not only because I love apocalyptic stories but because of the relationships between the characters. The dueling between Sam and his wife is one you'll get quite invested in, especially once some other people from the road get into the mix. It was like a soap opera at the end of the world. By the time I was hitting the half way mark, I did not want to put this down. I'm sure I'll reread it one day even though I rarely read books more than once (there's too many stories out there and not enough time!).
Hunter Shea continues to remind me why I'm a fan (and that I need to further expand my collection of his titles)!
July 8, 2024
Hunter Shea Brings the Heat!
Combustible is a wild story set in a world gutted by a plague of spontaneous human combustion. The outlandish plot is driven by deep characters you’ll fall in love with. That is where this book truly shines. It’s violent and emotional, and always keeps you guessing. If you’ve never read Hunter Shea, this is a great place to start. Highly recommended.
Combustible is a wild story set in a world gutted by a plague of spontaneous human combustion. The outlandish plot is driven by deep characters you’ll fall in love with. That is where this book truly shines. It’s violent and emotional, and always keeps you guessing. If you’ve never read Hunter Shea, this is a great place to start. Highly recommended.
June 11, 2024
I finished Combustible by Hunter Shea last night and loved it!! I love the lightheartedness with which he portrays the end of the world in what I can only think of his own voice! Highly recommend!
July 28, 2024
Welcome to the rodeo at the end of the world!
Wow, for a Hunter Shea book, "Combustible" was just plain crazy - and an excellent way to start off my latest run on his offers (3 downloaded and ready to fire away)[ha! fun with puns, so hot right now!]. And if you've read even half as many of his deliciously frightening tales as I have, you know that's saying something. But I don't know what has me more discombobulated: the fact that there really is no hardcore horror - and no CRYTPIDS either! he cried - involved at all (home invasions and the whole SHC thing excluded) or that I couldn't shake the fact throughout that Shea was writing about things not directly mentioned in the story whatsoever. Like, has anyone checked if he needs a hug? Oh and I'm rating this somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars, I'll let you decide, because that's the least of my concerns right now, what with my allergies acting up…
These were the days of Revelation, and that made some folks pretty damn happy.
No seriously, I haven't been this thrown off by a book and, well, my expectations in a long while. It's sort of like the time I read "Influenca" by Alexander Nader, one of my absolute favorite urban fantasy writers. The fact that this story was about Internet influencing gone wrong and not even one troll or half-breed ogre showed up had me reeling. But it's also one of the best books in Nader's catalogue, so go figure. Same with "Combustible": this is a tale with some absolutely kick-you-in-bad-places human emotion involved, as this "jolly road-trip through the apocalypse" is at its heart an examination of human love and loss and all the squishy parts in between. From A to Z the characters are about as full-blown real as you'll find! And when those scenes with not just tooth-grinding emotion but also top-notch action fly by, well, it just gets you really hot under the collar. Hm, not my best one there… then again, I didn't exactly burn the midnight oil to get this review ready…
Opinions were like assholes. Everyone had one and they were usually pretty crappy.
Again, I'm not sure exactly if what I read was what the story was REALLY about. Obviously, none of us really had a big, rollicking fun time when COVID was at its worst (and many of those in power were only helping it along), which also included a phase where I didn't get a chance to be with my father when he died of cancer. And I say that noting my wife has just taken 2 of those disgusting feeling nasal swab tests in the past 48 hours as we're all still paranoid as hell about it (thank goodness it appears to just be "normal" bronchitis, so… yay?). It was definitely stressful and I know my own family life was not easy to get through, with emotions running ragged as we all tried to navigate even the most mundane of tasks (remembering our "permission forms" just to walk the dog twice a day sticks in my mind). Granted, the city didn't burn to the ground just because there were a rash of octogenarians passing away, but that time has left scars on us all for a variety of reasons.
No one could predict that the world would come to a crashing end because of a pandemic…
And the sheer firebomb (sorry) that is marriage and that Shea captures perfectly can never been underestimated in terms of the complications that can arise. Good gravy, why do we all go into it thinking we'll!!! be the ones that have it easy and never threaten the statistics because our love is pure and wholesome and good god what is this on your phone you bitch? Oops, did I say that part out loud? Yeah, I don't get how we've ever managed to survive in this day and age where everything is available for viewing, scanning, and liking 'til we're blue in the face. Of course, I say the same about the days of yore where we tried to do the same withOUT the Internet and being contact-able at any given moment, so what do I know? Like one of the characters says at one point: "You’d think marriages would cut all the petty crap out and grow stronger at a time like this." Yeah, right. But Shea manages to make the suffering his main characters are going through - and definitely then those that get caught in the cross-fire (oops) around them - extremely powerful, even to the point of discomfort. I'll just be outside if you need me…
We’re broken. There’s no going back and fixing this.
Overall, I thought then that this surprisingly character-driven story - the apparently volcanic-spore-borne disease is really secondary if you manage to ignore that humanity is busy burning away like an out-of-control forest fire - was an exceptional journey. So many of these road-trip-esque tales drag and get bogged down in "the real monster is man" scenarios but Shea kept it original, where the pacing was magnificent, even when we were stuck in a relatively small RV along the way. If I had to compare it to any similar tale that I'd read in the past, I would probably nod towards Chuck Wendig's "Wanderers" duo, what with the strange "disease" and journey involved there (although to be fair, "Combustible" isn't quite that epic in either size or the overwhelming emotional rollercoaster those two books sent me through). And yes, I wish the editing had been much better as there were far too many hiccup-y typos and other mistakes throughout, but someone will catch those eventually and send them up in smoke. Or some pun with kindle in it. C'mon folks, work with me here, I'm not exactly setting things aflame here… wait, do you smell bacon?
Wow, for a Hunter Shea book, "Combustible" was just plain crazy - and an excellent way to start off my latest run on his offers (3 downloaded and ready to fire away)[ha! fun with puns, so hot right now!]. And if you've read even half as many of his deliciously frightening tales as I have, you know that's saying something. But I don't know what has me more discombobulated: the fact that there really is no hardcore horror - and no CRYTPIDS either! he cried - involved at all (home invasions and the whole SHC thing excluded) or that I couldn't shake the fact throughout that Shea was writing about things not directly mentioned in the story whatsoever. Like, has anyone checked if he needs a hug? Oh and I'm rating this somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars, I'll let you decide, because that's the least of my concerns right now, what with my allergies acting up…
These were the days of Revelation, and that made some folks pretty damn happy.
No seriously, I haven't been this thrown off by a book and, well, my expectations in a long while. It's sort of like the time I read "Influenca" by Alexander Nader, one of my absolute favorite urban fantasy writers. The fact that this story was about Internet influencing gone wrong and not even one troll or half-breed ogre showed up had me reeling. But it's also one of the best books in Nader's catalogue, so go figure. Same with "Combustible": this is a tale with some absolutely kick-you-in-bad-places human emotion involved, as this "jolly road-trip through the apocalypse" is at its heart an examination of human love and loss and all the squishy parts in between. From A to Z the characters are about as full-blown real as you'll find! And when those scenes with not just tooth-grinding emotion but also top-notch action fly by, well, it just gets you really hot under the collar. Hm, not my best one there… then again, I didn't exactly burn the midnight oil to get this review ready…
Opinions were like assholes. Everyone had one and they were usually pretty crappy.
Again, I'm not sure exactly if what I read was what the story was REALLY about. Obviously, none of us really had a big, rollicking fun time when COVID was at its worst (and many of those in power were only helping it along), which also included a phase where I didn't get a chance to be with my father when he died of cancer. And I say that noting my wife has just taken 2 of those disgusting feeling nasal swab tests in the past 48 hours as we're all still paranoid as hell about it (thank goodness it appears to just be "normal" bronchitis, so… yay?). It was definitely stressful and I know my own family life was not easy to get through, with emotions running ragged as we all tried to navigate even the most mundane of tasks (remembering our "permission forms" just to walk the dog twice a day sticks in my mind). Granted, the city didn't burn to the ground just because there were a rash of octogenarians passing away, but that time has left scars on us all for a variety of reasons.
No one could predict that the world would come to a crashing end because of a pandemic…
And the sheer firebomb (sorry) that is marriage and that Shea captures perfectly can never been underestimated in terms of the complications that can arise. Good gravy, why do we all go into it thinking we'll!!! be the ones that have it easy and never threaten the statistics because our love is pure and wholesome and good god what is this on your phone you bitch? Oops, did I say that part out loud? Yeah, I don't get how we've ever managed to survive in this day and age where everything is available for viewing, scanning, and liking 'til we're blue in the face. Of course, I say the same about the days of yore where we tried to do the same withOUT the Internet and being contact-able at any given moment, so what do I know? Like one of the characters says at one point: "You’d think marriages would cut all the petty crap out and grow stronger at a time like this." Yeah, right. But Shea manages to make the suffering his main characters are going through - and definitely then those that get caught in the cross-fire (oops) around them - extremely powerful, even to the point of discomfort. I'll just be outside if you need me…
We’re broken. There’s no going back and fixing this.
Overall, I thought then that this surprisingly character-driven story - the apparently volcanic-spore-borne disease is really secondary if you manage to ignore that humanity is busy burning away like an out-of-control forest fire - was an exceptional journey. So many of these road-trip-esque tales drag and get bogged down in "the real monster is man" scenarios but Shea kept it original, where the pacing was magnificent, even when we were stuck in a relatively small RV along the way. If I had to compare it to any similar tale that I'd read in the past, I would probably nod towards Chuck Wendig's "Wanderers" duo, what with the strange "disease" and journey involved there (although to be fair, "Combustible" isn't quite that epic in either size or the overwhelming emotional rollercoaster those two books sent me through). And yes, I wish the editing had been much better as there were far too many hiccup-y typos and other mistakes throughout, but someone will catch those eventually and send them up in smoke. Or some pun with kindle in it. C'mon folks, work with me here, I'm not exactly setting things aflame here… wait, do you smell bacon?
March 2, 2024
'The human body burns at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit in a crematory.'
The end of the world as we know it due to spontaneous human combustion. I laughed pretty damn hard for a book featuring people randomly bursting into flames. Part road trip comedy and part apocalypse thriller, this has a similar tone to something like Zombieland. It is so fun and entertaining!
'Spontaneous. Human. Combustion. I mean, what the fuck?'
The end of the world as we know it due to spontaneous human combustion. I laughed pretty damn hard for a book featuring people randomly bursting into flames. Part road trip comedy and part apocalypse thriller, this has a similar tone to something like Zombieland. It is so fun and entertaining!
'Spontaneous. Human. Combustion. I mean, what the fuck?'
September 9, 2024
Short Version: Hunter Shea's semi-surreal, mildly comic novel involving a road trip through an American landscape infected with spontaneous human combustion works on a broad structural and set-piece level but fails overall due to the tiresome voice of its narrator, many typos, and a tendency towards repetition. Cautiously recommended for those who like quirky/unique apocalypse novels, especially if you like relationship drama to be a primary focus, but I would suggest you read other Hunter Shea novels (which overall I found more entertaining) instead.
== The Long Version ==
The slightly surreal journey novel is one the great devices in literature. Books like Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn tapping into that sense of wonder and displacement by turning various set-pieces into allegories of the personal experience. Not necessarily surreal in the definitive sense of the term but still strange and odd enough that as a whole the many experiences and stops along the way take on a sense of caricature. Perhaps loving. Perhaps scathing. Usually at least a bit comical.
In this broad category, Combustible plays its party fairly well. Roughly paralleling some of the experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic lock-down, it posits a much louder backdrop: the disease causes people to spontaneously combust if they sneeze. As Sam and Aja, a married couple going through the early days of a break-up/divorce, are forced to stay together to try and navigate to some safer location, they embark on a cross-country trip across the United States searching for the town of Consumption in Canada. There's the chubby sidekick character, the dog that seems immune, the violent version of Girl, Interrupted, the wannabe cowboy who quotes (among other things) Big Trouble in Little China. You have a socialist rodeo at the end of the world, the rest stop hippies, and an insane goth teen at a Cracker Barrell. People shove tampons up their nose to stop from sneezing, attack intruders with lawn darts, and squabble over which RVs to steal.
You get the point. It is outsized and does a great job of reminding you that during a pandemic all the open space in the world does not combat the sense of isolation inside of a tiny space. Especially when you deal with break-ups and emotional experiences that you now cannot escape. The pandemic brought out a lot of soul searching. This aspect the novel gets spot on.
The reason that I stopped reading this one, twice, and was ready to finally mark it as abandoned before deciding to just speed read the back half is because Shea made the really strange decision to hinge the entire novel on the voice of a petulant man-child that expresses absolutely everything in very slow, fairly selfish terms infested with his own limited worldview. I'm sure this technique could work and some applause is deserved for so transforming the flow of the book into this stilted, limiting voice but it just drained any ability for me to enjoy the various tricks that Shea was performing.
Even some of Sam's general tiresomeness might have been alleviated if it was not used as a strange excuse to put such large swaths of the novel into "redditor folksy." The book traverses a lot of relationship issues and issues of racism and abuse and addiction and puts it all in this kind of juvenile sheen like a freshman in college trying to write about real world experiences that he read through other people's blog posts. This gets really evident once they get to Canada and there's this sense that the country is just some of kind of no-man's-land. The little nods to everyday life dry up and get replaced by "The Great White North" so abruptly it is jarring. Doubly so in the way this gives Shea some odd excuse to dive into Western themes of First Nation people vs settlers with the main crew taking on the role of settlers.
Add in the fact that the book has its fair share of typos (there's a section where "flour" is spelled "flower" every single time and I had to stare at it a good minute because I thought it was meant to be some sort of joke and maybe it is, I have no idea). I flagged some of them on the app and then just gave up. Tossing in other repetitions where sections will add nothing new, bloated sections, and general pacing issues it ends up feeling like a book that needed an editor to shine.
Which is a shame because I would love to see the more polished version of this. Spontaneous Human Combustion meets surreal American journey is exactly the sort of novel that could have swung for the bleachers.
== The Long Version ==
The slightly surreal journey novel is one the great devices in literature. Books like Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn tapping into that sense of wonder and displacement by turning various set-pieces into allegories of the personal experience. Not necessarily surreal in the definitive sense of the term but still strange and odd enough that as a whole the many experiences and stops along the way take on a sense of caricature. Perhaps loving. Perhaps scathing. Usually at least a bit comical.
In this broad category, Combustible plays its party fairly well. Roughly paralleling some of the experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic lock-down, it posits a much louder backdrop: the disease causes people to spontaneously combust if they sneeze. As Sam and Aja, a married couple going through the early days of a break-up/divorce, are forced to stay together to try and navigate to some safer location, they embark on a cross-country trip across the United States searching for the town of Consumption in Canada. There's the chubby sidekick character, the dog that seems immune, the violent version of Girl, Interrupted, the wannabe cowboy who quotes (among other things) Big Trouble in Little China. You have a socialist rodeo at the end of the world, the rest stop hippies, and an insane goth teen at a Cracker Barrell. People shove tampons up their nose to stop from sneezing, attack intruders with lawn darts, and squabble over which RVs to steal.
You get the point. It is outsized and does a great job of reminding you that during a pandemic all the open space in the world does not combat the sense of isolation inside of a tiny space. Especially when you deal with break-ups and emotional experiences that you now cannot escape. The pandemic brought out a lot of soul searching. This aspect the novel gets spot on.
The reason that I stopped reading this one, twice, and was ready to finally mark it as abandoned before deciding to just speed read the back half is because Shea made the really strange decision to hinge the entire novel on the voice of a petulant man-child that expresses absolutely everything in very slow, fairly selfish terms infested with his own limited worldview. I'm sure this technique could work and some applause is deserved for so transforming the flow of the book into this stilted, limiting voice but it just drained any ability for me to enjoy the various tricks that Shea was performing.
Even some of Sam's general tiresomeness might have been alleviated if it was not used as a strange excuse to put such large swaths of the novel into "redditor folksy." The book traverses a lot of relationship issues and issues of racism and abuse and addiction and puts it all in this kind of juvenile sheen like a freshman in college trying to write about real world experiences that he read through other people's blog posts. This gets really evident once they get to Canada and there's this sense that the country is just some of kind of no-man's-land. The little nods to everyday life dry up and get replaced by "The Great White North" so abruptly it is jarring. Doubly so in the way this gives Shea some odd excuse to dive into Western themes of First Nation people vs settlers with the main crew taking on the role of settlers.
Add in the fact that the book has its fair share of typos (there's a section where "flour" is spelled "flower" every single time and I had to stare at it a good minute because I thought it was meant to be some sort of joke and maybe it is, I have no idea). I flagged some of them on the app and then just gave up. Tossing in other repetitions where sections will add nothing new, bloated sections, and general pacing issues it ends up feeling like a book that needed an editor to shine.
Which is a shame because I would love to see the more polished version of this. Spontaneous Human Combustion meets surreal American journey is exactly the sort of novel that could have swung for the bleachers.
June 3, 2024
Originally posted on the book blog Creature From the Book Lagoon.
*Trigger warning: Animal death.
Now this is one unique take on a post apocalypse story! 😮 Who knew a sneeze would set you on fire?! The story is definitely creative. It also feels like a story inspired by what people went through during Covid lockdown ( the tension and cabin fever, not so much spontaneous human combustion…. although maybe?)The closed in spaces, tensions between love ones, all the emotions and stress of being cooped up for too long….
There is a lot of friction between several of the main characters. I get that we needed a little marital problems to add to this high tension set up, and I DO understand why Aja, the wife, did what she did to Sam…. and Sam is pretty stubborn too. BUT. I really could NOT stand Aja!!! 😡 Holy cow she is beyond frustrating!! I get she was lonely and sad but she was such a c u next Tuesday through 90% of the book!! Even the macho cowboy was less annoying then here, and that is really saying a lot because he was meant to be disliked. The added marriage problem made Aja more unlikable, and it was hard to feel symapathetic for her, even if she didn’t really mean to hurt Sam.
Aside from hating on Aja, the characters were pretty good. Everyone was flawed but they have good chemistry. It was nice to see people come together in their time of need. The best character is the BESTEST BOY EVER, Miracle. A very happy husky who LIVES through the whole book!! So mo worries there. Yay!!!
Brief warning though, there are a few animals that do not make it. A few just mentioned and not “seen”. There were one or two animals that had a quick death on page. Nothing too graphic though and it is over super fast. Pretty easy to just skip the few sentences that talk about it. 🙂
I really loved the apocalypse road trip! It was fun seeing other people out there just trying to live and not being a total dick to one another. I was excited to see the progress the group made and I was hopeful they would all survive (except Aja. It would be ok if she took one for the team. >.> ). The big twist felt a little obvious. The book waned a little bit leading up to and at the reveal, but it picks up again quickly to deliver a sizzling finale! The end is perfect (except for Aja. Did I mention I wasn’t a big fan of her yet?).
Combustible is a fun and terrifying post apoc tale. Fresh and creative version of how the world ends! Realistic characters, exciting road trip, a good boy doggo that survives. ❤ This is such an entertaining road trip through lockdown that feels familiar, you know, except for all the people catching on fire.
*Trigger warning: Animal death.
Now this is one unique take on a post apocalypse story! 😮 Who knew a sneeze would set you on fire?! The story is definitely creative. It also feels like a story inspired by what people went through during Covid lockdown ( the tension and cabin fever, not so much spontaneous human combustion…. although maybe?)The closed in spaces, tensions between love ones, all the emotions and stress of being cooped up for too long….
There is a lot of friction between several of the main characters. I get that we needed a little marital problems to add to this high tension set up, and I DO understand why Aja, the wife, did what she did to Sam…. and Sam is pretty stubborn too. BUT. I really could NOT stand Aja!!! 😡 Holy cow she is beyond frustrating!! I get she was lonely and sad but she was such a c u next Tuesday through 90% of the book!! Even the macho cowboy was less annoying then here, and that is really saying a lot because he was meant to be disliked. The added marriage problem made Aja more unlikable, and it was hard to feel symapathetic for her, even if she didn’t really mean to hurt Sam.
Aside from hating on Aja, the characters were pretty good. Everyone was flawed but they have good chemistry. It was nice to see people come together in their time of need. The best character is the BESTEST BOY EVER, Miracle. A very happy husky who LIVES through the whole book!! So mo worries there. Yay!!!
Brief warning though, there are a few animals that do not make it. A few just mentioned and not “seen”. There were one or two animals that had a quick death on page. Nothing too graphic though and it is over super fast. Pretty easy to just skip the few sentences that talk about it. 🙂
I really loved the apocalypse road trip! It was fun seeing other people out there just trying to live and not being a total dick to one another. I was excited to see the progress the group made and I was hopeful they would all survive (except Aja. It would be ok if she took one for the team. >.> ). The big twist felt a little obvious. The book waned a little bit leading up to and at the reveal, but it picks up again quickly to deliver a sizzling finale! The end is perfect (except for Aja. Did I mention I wasn’t a big fan of her yet?).
Combustible is a fun and terrifying post apoc tale. Fresh and creative version of how the world ends! Realistic characters, exciting road trip, a good boy doggo that survives. ❤ This is such an entertaining road trip through lockdown that feels familiar, you know, except for all the people catching on fire.
February 15, 2024
Hunter Shea returns with his latest, an end of the world story focused on a young married couple on the verge of divorce while trying to stay alive.
While Shea is more known for his monster/cryptid novels, there is none of that here. This story focuses on the human element and the will to survive.
A young couple faced with their ending marriage make the choice to travel together as a pandemic rages across America (and the world?) that causes people to burst into flames when they sneeze. They've heard of a safe community in Canada, and it's their only hope as they watch the world around them decrease in population and burn down.
Along the way, they pick up a couple of others who join their cross country quest for safety.
This is a great story. I'll have to be honest, I did not expect the ending at all. Bravo for that twist. If you've never read anything by Hunter, this is a great place to start.
While Shea is more known for his monster/cryptid novels, there is none of that here. This story focuses on the human element and the will to survive.
A young couple faced with their ending marriage make the choice to travel together as a pandemic rages across America (and the world?) that causes people to burst into flames when they sneeze. They've heard of a safe community in Canada, and it's their only hope as they watch the world around them decrease in population and burn down.
Along the way, they pick up a couple of others who join their cross country quest for safety.
This is a great story. I'll have to be honest, I did not expect the ending at all. Bravo for that twist. If you've never read anything by Hunter, this is a great place to start.
February 23, 2024
Who could believe a sneeze could start a fire? Well, in the dystopian world Hunter Shea has created here, it certainly can - and, as a result, the population has found an entirely new use for tampons!
I found myself riveted by this story. I simply had to know how it worked out for the disparate bunch of misfits escaping to Canada, drawn by promise of a town where the plague of Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) decimating the world's population was apparently unknown. What ensued was a road trip like no other.
I am a long-term fan of Hunter Shea - one of horror's most versatile writers. He has the ability to make me laugh, cry, cringe (at the scary stuff) and feel moved by the plight of his characters and the circumstances they face. I experienced instances of all these emotions in Combustible and had a damned good time while I was reading it. Great storytelling, More please!
I found myself riveted by this story. I simply had to know how it worked out for the disparate bunch of misfits escaping to Canada, drawn by promise of a town where the plague of Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) decimating the world's population was apparently unknown. What ensued was a road trip like no other.
I am a long-term fan of Hunter Shea - one of horror's most versatile writers. He has the ability to make me laugh, cry, cringe (at the scary stuff) and feel moved by the plight of his characters and the circumstances they face. I experienced instances of all these emotions in Combustible and had a damned good time while I was reading it. Great storytelling, More please!
July 24, 2024
This is first non-creature feature novel I have read by Hunter. It’s a parable to the Covid pandemic but with a dark comedy twist. This book had me laughing out loud at many points. Spontaneous combustion was the virus at play and main characters were in constant danger while on the run from the illness. Of course there were those who were arrogant and ignorant of the situation and they paid. Sound familiar? I also liked the shout out to Laurel Hightower towards the end of the book.
I’d like to thank the author for the novel. He asked that I write a review.
4 Stars****
I’d like to thank the author for the novel. He asked that I write a review.
4 Stars****
September 12, 2024
What fun. I loved that this little horror started of right from the beginning of the havoc. We got to know the main characters, and while I didn't love either of them, I was involved. At times I wished that one or the other would just go ahead and sneeze, or make up. The supporting characters are a little more colourful and do a good job of bringing the levity and drama. The combustible part was awesome, crazy, yes, but I loved it. A really good apocalyptic tale.
June 18, 2024
This was a quite different take on a world-ending pandemic - spontaneous human combustion!!! And I loved it!!!! ❤️
I loved the MMC, Sam, and the banter between him and his wife, Aja, had me cracking up, as did their crazy road trip to find Consumption in Canada!!! This was a wild ride that I did not want to put down!! Highly recommend!! 🙌
I loved the MMC, Sam, and the banter between him and his wife, Aja, had me cracking up, as did their crazy road trip to find Consumption in Canada!!! This was a wild ride that I did not want to put down!! Highly recommend!! 🙌
September 23, 2025
A post apocalyptic tale with a creepy and creative cause. If you like the fight-your-way-across-the-wasteland vibe of THE STAND, you are going to love this one. The thrills and chills in this one are nothing to sneeze at. (You'll get that one when you read it.) Open page one, buckle in, and enjoy the ride.
March 30, 2024
Shea did it again.
He crafted a unique story driven by a simple sneeze.
The world was creative and the character really drove it home for me.
This is why anything Shea puts out, I am going to pick it up.
He crafted a unique story driven by a simple sneeze.
The world was creative and the character really drove it home for me.
This is why anything Shea puts out, I am going to pick it up.
March 24, 2024
Amazing book, I love to read his brain, especially with a few beers and chips and salsa.
June 17, 2025
As the world burns, Sam, Aja, and Dave head to Consumption, a Canadian town where hope lingers.
As the world burns, Sam, Aja, and Dave embark on a desperate journey to Consumption, a rumored safe haven untouched by the inferno. Spontaneous human combustion has turned society into chaos, leaving them to navigate a landscape of horror, madness, and survival. Along the way, they encounter unforgettable allies and terrifying threats, each step pushing them closer to the truth behind the flames. Combustible is a gripping post-apocalyptic thriller of hope, resilience, and the fight to endure—grab your copy today!
• ASIN: B0F7Z8X3C5
• Publisher: Dark Wolf Books
• Publication Date: 6/17/2025
• File Size: 5.2 MB
• Print Length: pages
• Genre: US Horror Fiction - Dystopian Fiction - Dystopian Science Fiction
As the world burns, Sam, Aja, and Dave embark on a desperate journey to Consumption, a rumored safe haven untouched by the inferno. Spontaneous human combustion has turned society into chaos, leaving them to navigate a landscape of horror, madness, and survival. Along the way, they encounter unforgettable allies and terrifying threats, each step pushing them closer to the truth behind the flames. Combustible is a gripping post-apocalyptic thriller of hope, resilience, and the fight to endure—grab your copy today!
• ASIN: B0F7Z8X3C5
• Publisher: Dark Wolf Books
• Publication Date: 6/17/2025
• File Size: 5.2 MB
• Print Length: pages
• Genre: US Horror Fiction - Dystopian Fiction - Dystopian Science Fiction
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