The End of the World Has Never Burned So Bright – Combustible Is Here!
What if the world didn’t end with a bang… but with a burn? That’s the question I set out to answer in my latest post-apocalyptic horror novel, Combustible — now available from the fine fiends at Dark Wolf Books.
I’ve written about swamp monsters, undead killers, mutants gone wild, haunted places and people, and cryptids that make Bigfoot look like a teddy bear. But this time, I wanted to dive into the raw, ugly horror of a world collapsing under the weight of something totally out of its control — where society isn’t just broken, it’s on fire. And not metaphorically.
In Combustible, people are literally exploding.
Not all of them. Just anyone who sneezes. Which means it’s coming for you, no matter what! And once it starts, there’s no stopping it. One second you’re sprinkling too much pepper onto your meatloaf, the next you’re a pile of smoldering ash.
Yes, spontaneous human combustion is real — in Combustible, at least. And while I could’ve gone full doom and gloom, I wanted to inject this chaos with a sharp edge of satire. Because let’s face it — if the world really did end due to something as normal as a sneeze, it would be terrifying and kind of hilarious.
This isn’t a quiet horror. It’s loud, visceral, brutal, and sometimes funny. And yet, at its core, it’s about love and survival — about a husband doing anything he can to protect his wife even though their marriage was in flames before the world followed suit.
You’ll laugh. You’ll cringe. You’ll smell burning hair (in your imagination, hopefully).
From flame-worshipping cults to roadside lunatics, no one’s safe and no meltdown goes unnoticed. It’s Zombieland by way of The Road, with a little bit of Warm Bodies sprinkled in for flavor.
A massive thanks to Dark Wolf Books, who jumped at the chance to publish this beast. These folks aren’t afraid to take chances on dark, bloody, emotionally raw horror — the kind that bites and burns. If you’re not already following them, you’re missing out on some of the best indie horror in the game.
If you’re a fan of horror with teeth, apocalypse tales with bite, and humor darker than the inside of a burnt-out SUV, Combustible is calling your name.
⚠️ Warning: May cause spontaneous laughter and/or anxiety the next time you feel a sneeze coming on.
📖 Available now in eBook and paperback:
👉 Get it on Amazon
New Book News: COMBUSTIBLE is Brining the Heat!
Ahoy to the hellions far and wide! It’s a new year, and I have a new book for you! This time around, get set for a road trip across the United States into the wilds of Canada while the world is burning down…from the inside out.
COMBUSTIBLE is like the ‘soup’ we used to let our kids make when they were little – it has a dash of just about everything. An apocalypse brought on by…hold on…spontaneous human combustion. Suspense. Terror. Body horror. Dark humor (because the end of humanity doesn’t have to always be so serious). And at the center of it all, a marriage in a tailspin as the world spins out of control.
I wrote the majority of Combustible in 2021 at the tail end of the pandemic. One thing that kept me going through all of that insanity was laughter, either with co-workers or friends that I couldn’t see in person, but through Zoom watch parties of Joe Bob’s Last Drive In Show or bad horror movies. The unrest and unease in the US specifically pre-dated the ‘Rona-demic. Through all of the fear and shouting, dissent and brand new victim culture, we lost the ability to take a step back and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
So, if you like a good end of the world story with healthy dashes of dark and light humor, ala just about any Jeff Strand book, Combustible was written for you.
About the book:
The End No One Saw Coming
An 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 Apocalypse
Sam 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 North
Rumor 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
Hunter Shea 