Combustion

By Jyvur_Entropy

Review by ESHurricane

Every once in awhile, I come across a story that is so unique I can't get it out of my head. Combustion by Jyvur Entropy is one of those stories. (As are her others, not going to lie, haha!) What sets this story apart for me from other adult fiction is the tackling of really tough adult themes through the eyes of a ten-year-old child.

It's an adult story written by an adult with a child protagonist, and that takes the fear factor up to eleven. It's very easy to slip into a younger mindset and feel Rachel's anxieties as if they are my own. But, being an adult looking in, it's also easy to feel the anxiety of watching how the adults in her life interact with her and handle the situations around. Especially being a parent myself, there were so many times reading this story that I just wanted to reach in and pull this poor kid right out of her situation.

The basic premise of Combustion is that young Rachel has autocombustophobia, which is the fear of spontaneous human combustion. She's so terrified that on the day to day she constantly is imagining her spine bursting into flame and cooking her from the inside out. With incredibly visceral descriptions that made me sweat while reading it. She has to have water buckets in her bedroom at night because of this constant fear. It's incredibly uncomfortable to read, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Peppered throughout this is the mystery of her fear and trauma, her grandparents dealing with raising her, and her biological mother coming back into her life with a whole truckload of baggage. But seeing all of this through the mind of a child is extra intense, because she doesn't see what I see. I spent a lot of time yelling at the characters, let me tell you, haha!

So if you're looking for some gothic horror set in the 90s that will make your skin crawl, do check out Combustion. (Also, it's available in paperback and hardcover as well, if you love it as much as I do!)

Come hang out with @Jyvur_Entropy and I in our Interviews book! However, be forewarned we speak candidly about Combustion, so if you don't want spoilers, go read it right now and then come back here to read the interview. We'll wait. ;)