Do you like a little bit of horror in your pornography? Or maybe a lot of pornography in your horror? Because if so, hoo boy, Chuck Buda has got a doozy for you with the first in his aptly titled Gushers series, The First Cut.
What ever are a bunch of sex-starved high school seniors supposed to do as they bide their time for graduation and the start of college but form a secret society among themselves to get their rocks off? What seems like a good idea quickly escalates into something more as power-hungry Zoe leads them off into darker realms with some cult-like practices, with some support from her second-in-command Spencer, a young man with a strong interest in the Dark Arts, and a lot of hot tub orgies. A lot. Of hot tub. Orgies.
The First Cut comes with a reader advisory warning, and Buda ain't messing around there. This sucker is explicit in its erotic endeavors and nothing is left to the imagination as Zoe leads all the boys around by their nether regions, and even a pair of the kid's parents engage in some secret extramarital shenanigans. There's plenty of taboo titillation throughout, but since this is a horror book some scenes veer pretty far from the Penthouse Letters style as these characters' hook-ups go from amorous to aberrant. All kinds of bodily fluids gush and spill and mix together as the group seek new thrills and new highs.
Cutting through all the sex and violence is a surprisingly sweet center in Aiden and Leah, the quiet ones of the group who find their friendship deepening and blossoming into something more meaningful as their closest friends grow ever more hedonistic. Their relationship isn't without its fair share of complications, obviously - being in an insane sex cult presents its own fair share of hurdles - but Buda makes good use of their position in the story as the moral middle, their mostly-normal relationship providing a necessary and much-needed break from the more extreme craziness.
Narrating all this madness is Lillie Ways, who delivers an even-keel and professional reading. She differentiates character voices enough to make those conversations lacking dialogue tags easy to follow, and keeps the book's 54 short chapters moving along a nice pace for its six hour run-time. All in all, The First Cut provides a pleasing, at times surprising, aural experience.
Readers looking for some hot-and-heavy erotic horror in the split veined style of the Hot Blood anthologies should have a good time with The First Cut. These cherry-popping cultists will do you right...just before they do you very, very wrong.
Chuck Buda's THE FIRST CUT was primed for a four star rating. And then it all fell apart. Still, its a solid three star, but I do have a few issues that really hurt my high opinion of the book. Regardless, I feel Buda upped his game in THE FIRST CUT. He ain't done yet!
First, this book is loaded with sex and debauchery. No punches are pulled. It is downright smutty during some scenes and unapologetic when it does so. The full frontal depravity is something to be celebrated. It's a shining part of the book and is never gratuitous. The smut drives the plot (and subplot) forward. In fact, I was more obsessed with the subplot of the book than the main plot.
That is where my big issue with the book lies. There is a really engaging subplot and Buda totally drops the ball on it. I mean about three quarters of the way through the book the story line is just left behind. I understand that this is a series but this is more of a "totally forgot I was writing a subplot" type of situation. And since I was very into that story line I was upset it never went anywhere as it should have. There is also a murder that takes place that kinda gets left in limbo also.
Still, THE FIRST CUT is visceral. Its dirty and grimy and sexy. Those parts of the books are to be celebrated. There is enough to keep me reading through this series (if only to pray we get back to the subplot again). As I stated already, from all I've read of Buda previous, this is his strongest effort yet. I look forward to more of the GUSHERS series.
Spencer had been a fan of the occult since the fifth grade. He had discovered a book by Robert Anton Wilson called Cosmic Trigger. In it, the author delved into many facets of the occult and secret organizations. As a fan of science fiction and fantasy, the concepts intrigued him. As an intelligent mind, advanced far beyond his classmates, the information mesmerized him. It led to weekend long retreats in the public library to learn more about occult practices. The Internet revealed more options. Underground websites, chat rooms, and dozens of Aleister Crowley books later, Spencer knew enough to get started.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will.
Mr. Buda is a responsible Author and put a disclaimer at the very beginning of the book.As it should be for adult content. I applaud him for that. This is a vampire book without the traditional vampires.We have a group of board kids that come from the upper middle class.Some more intelligent than others and a few with delusions of grandeur.Like Zoe & Spencer. Dabbling in the Dark Arts is seldom what you expect them to be.Being a teen and wanting adventure and the occult is never recommended. This group of kids could be classified as "The It Crowd" I suspect.They attend Tenafly High School.They are a few months away from graduation. Most of the kids in this group have been friends for many years and heave a level of comfort and acceptance with each other, well as much as you can have during the hormonal teen years. Our little Secret Society "The First Cut" consist of Aiden, he is the shy one and follower without much fuss and very down to earth.Aiden has had a crush on Leah since they were kids. Leah, is also quiet and she and Aiden could be perceived as the ghost of the group, just going along with the others. Todd is the braunnny jock type that doesn't shy away from a fight. He rebels against authority.Jordyn is a bit of a wannabe Diva but she isn't quite self-assured enough yet.She and Todd are close.Zoe is the Diva and she thinks she is the leader, Spencer wants to be Zoe's right hand guy he is super smart.Truth be told Zoe wouldn't have been able to pull off "The First Cut" without his incantations and knowledge of the dark arts and how to draw power from them.Yet Spencer is little more than Zoe's flunky. Then there is Ryan, is the obnoxious loud pretty boy with the smooth charm most girls fell for. So most of this group just thought it was something to do for fun and to talk up(Without giving details) to the outsiders to make them wish they were that cool.Most of this clan was in the dark as to what was really going on. It was every young man's dream to have sex with multiple "Smokin Hot" girls at once or have multiple girls on him at one time. This little group would have no idea how far off the reservation Zoe and Spencer had gone till one of them wanted out. This is the first book in the series more will be coming in 2017. Mr. Chuck Buda did a great job with this book and story line, it has graphic sex scenes in it, but he warned the reader upfront of the Adult content.To me it showcased the vulnerability of youth, following the crowd blindly, not thinking ahead of what you are really getting yourself into and the consequence of your actions. At the end of the book the character's think they have walked away virtually unscathed. But I think we will see in the books to come, just how wrong they are.
This story is wrong in all the right ways! It hits the taboo sweet spots with a disturbingly satisfying mix of the occult, sex, blood, vulgarity, and teenage hormones gone wild. But it also makes quite a statement about the divisive us/them mentality that turns "clicky" teens into the raging hateful debaters we see on social media these days. In that way, this book works as both an over-the-top fun story and a bit of social commentary that is even more fitting now than when this story was first written. I wish the ending was more climactic, but it is a set up for the next book in the series. And while it's hard to feel empathy for a protagonist named "Aiden," getting to learn the anatomy of every main character totally makes up for that horrible name. I recommend listening to the audiobook while walking the dog - my neighbors loved hearing the female narrator give every dirty detail of sex magick orgies :) Tell 'em Uncle Cholly sent ya!
This novel is exactly what it claims to be: something else. I find myself saying that a lot with Chuck Buda's books. This was an interesting tale that I don't think I would have picked up had it been written by someone other than an author on my list. It was not horror as horror is typically described, but then again nothing by this author is. The sex is warned about, but wow did I not expect what I read. It is graphic. It is disturbing. It is properly categorized as horror, though I'm not sure it's in the way that author intended. Don't get me wrong, the story is great. The characters are great and you'll find yourself rooting for/against these kids as you learn about their lives. It is not my ideal novel, but I will be continuing the series after how attached I have gotten to the characters.
Where do I start? Oh yeah, damn this book was good! It pulled me in with the characters quickly and got me invested into in them quickly and when things started getting bloody and sexy I cared what happened to Aidan and Leah. Something I’ve noticed with Chuck Buda’s writing is the many knows how to write gore. Although in my opinion this isnt overly gory (Buda balances both the gore and sex with an expert hand) when we get gore Buda really nails it. This is the fourth book I’ve read by Chuck Buda and he’s quickly becoming a writer whose work hits my sweet spot.
I went in thinking it was a different take on vampires as the back cover said, but came out with a different opinion. There is a hint of vampirsim, but it's more social satire with high school outsiders forming their own clique and then excluding any others from it. Then the sex ramped it up to something else. I'd label it more erotic thriller than horror straight out. Genre mashing that kept me wondering how it'd end. There's sex and gore and suburban drama for the whole messed up clan.