When the World Burns: A Review of "Combustible" by Hunter Shea

Looking for your next fiery summer read? 🔥 Combustible by the ever-inventive Hunter Shea is here to light your TBR on fire—literally. This post-apocalyptic horror-thriller delivers a scorched-earth blend of dark humor, raw emotion, and relentless suspense that fans of dystopian fiction won’t want to miss. And guess what? You could win a copy for yourself! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway linked below.

This book tour is proudly sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours, bringing readers and authors together one spellbinding story at a time. Keep reading for my full review and discover why Combustible is one explosive read you’ll be thinking about long after the last ember fades.

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My Review of "Combustible" by Hunter Shea

In his latest infernal offering, Combustible, horror author Hunter Shea plunges us into a smoldering dystopia where spontaneous human combustion is not only real—it's relentless. Published by Dark Wolf Books on June 17, 2025, this genre-blending horror-thriller clocks in at 374 pages of sheer chaos, heartbreak, and flame-licked survival.

The premise is instantly gripping: people around the globe are inexplicably bursting into flames. No warning, no pattern—just ash and terror. Governments fall, the world goes quiet, and everything tastes of smoke. Amid this terrifying collapse, Shea introduces us to Sam and Aja, a fractured couple trapped together in a crumbling apartment. The emotional tinderbox between them is nearly as volatile as the world outside their windows.

But there’s a flicker of hope: a whisper of a town in Canada, oddly named Consumption, that has miraculously avoided the inferno. Driven by desperation and a sliver of love, Sam steals an RV and embarks on a brutal, oddly comedic road trip north, dragging along his best friend and picking up an unforgettable cast of misfit survivors along the way.

Shea’s signature style shines in the novel’s balance of horror and heart. The apocalyptic backdrop is terrifyingly vivid, but what grounds Combustible are its moments of raw human connection. His prose, sharp and darkly funny, gives weight to both the grotesque and the tender. There’s a scene in a ransacked store (excerpted above) that perfectly captures this balance—a poignant encounter turned fiery horror in just a few paragraphs.

The character work is another highlight. Sam is a relatable anti-hero, grappling with grief, guilt, and dwindling hope. Aja’s struggle with isolation and depression adds emotional depth, while the supporting cast brings quirky, often tragic levity to a grim journey. It’s The Road meets Shaun of the Dead—if you can picture that.

Thematically, Combustible digs into the idea of what remains when the world burns—literally and emotionally. Can love survive in a world like this? Can people hang onto decency and dreams when everything around them is turning to soot? Shea doesn’t offer easy answers, but he does leave the reader scorched, stirred, and maybe even hopeful.

For fans of Nick Harkaway’s The Gone-Away World and Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies, this is essential reading. If you like your horror laced with satire, your post-apocalypse with heart, and your fire imagery turned up to eleven, this book is for you.

Final Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥☆

Hunter Shea’s Combustible is a darkly clever, emotionally resonant, and entirely combustible tale of love and survival. Strap in, pack a fire extinguisher—and don’t look back.

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