Read: Sex Bunker Apocalypse
Feb. 22nd, 2024 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jajalalaWhat a treat to have short books to read! The last two books I've read (including this one) have been in the range of ~200 pages, which is kind of refreshing bc it means I can fly through them. So I started Sex Bunker Apocalypse sometime this weekend, I finished reading it just last night, because what a ride!
Sex Bunker Apocalypse (book one) by Adam Brink
This book Commits to the vibe. Sexy, full of heart, high-stakes, action of all kinds, there was just so much to enjoy? It's the story of three people who happen to end up in an old bunker-turned-sex-store while an apocalypse changes the earth outside. So the start of the story is mundane, with a great opening involving them all going to a BDSM meet up, then a slightly stressful but peaceful section where they're stuck in the sex shop/bunker with no clue what the hell is happening outside, and then the door finally opens and there is Chaos.
Ngl, when the door opens it's stressful--what comes in are antagonistic creatures with some weird eldritch/geometry-defying features that were freaky to read. Like my tolerance for scariness is admittedly low, I think an average person would not be that scared, but for what it's worth those creatures freaked me out! And the three who had been struggling with the isolation of the bunker but ultimately had found a comfortable routine with each other ended up torn apart, which also stressed me out!
But that ended up creating some good solid tension. When one of the characters is kidnapped, I had to keep reading out of hope that the others would be able to track him down and stage a rescue. The POV rotated between all three main characters, so I was always aware of what was happening even when they were separated, but I was still stressed! The general arc of "working towards meeting up again with this person torn away" made for a good driving goal that kept me reading. All the characters were sweet and had good dynamics together, so I was invested in seeing them unite. And although the world after the apocalypse was scary at first, it ends up being a somewhat magical/otherworldly apocalypse, so there's a lot of new interesting creatures and magic to enjoy.
And there were of course raunchy bits ;). Though I will say that although there's sex it is not erotica, in the sense that I think of erotica as something that's meant to immerse and arouse the reader. I bought this book directly from the author and he did specify beforehand "This isn't erotica," which I didn't know how to parse since it seemed pretty sexy, but having read it I understand now. I'm a big erotica fan so it made me a little sad when he said it wasn't that, but the raunchy vibes on this honestly fit the story perfectly.
These are spoilers, but some raunchy highlights:
1. One character who volunteered for the BDSM demonstration in the opening chapters ends up BEING ABANDONED by the rigger who was doing the demonstration as soon as the lights turn out and there's an apparent emergency--like he left her tied up on stage! Luckily her friends in the crowd come up and cut her out, and it was a good bonding moment, but I want vengeance on that rigger!
2. Right before the Sex Bunker gets invaded, one character put on a cock cage Just To Experiment (I mean, what else is there to do when trapped in a sex store for weeks....) and then GETS KIDNAPPED... and obviously OTHER things become much more relevant etc etc but I was like "Wait they never described him getting out of the cage..." and at first I was like "was this forgotten about in edits?" but NO eventually another character DOES confirm that yes, this character who has been kidnapped and going through probably the most stressful time in his life ever has ALSO been wearing a cock cage the entire time.
3. AND THAT COCK CAGE IS AN ESSENTIAL PLOT POINT... bc there's a whole evil seductress that's going to like, steal this character's magical power but to do so there has to be a climax inside of her and him willingly giving up his power, but she's super skilled at manipulation magic so it's like "noo he will be put under her spell and will willingly do this with her and give up his power"... but NOPE even when he gets manipulated in the end SHE CAN'T DO SHIT bc he's got that cock cage ;). It saved his life!
4. Sometimes tho I was kind of like "y'all are really having sex??? Now???" like after one character gets kidnapped the other two sob and wail but a few hours later one of them has a threesome with some elves. And another character with a broken leg who's starving/dehydrated is struggling to run away from his kidnappers but kind of randomly ends up in a merperson's swamp? And he ends up eating her out which like good for him BUT DUDE YOU NEED TO EAT SOME FOOD NOT PUSSY AND GET OUTTA THERE!
5. All elves are naked. It is part of their culture. Also means you can describe a sexy elf dick first thing.
Overall the story just felt COMMITTED to being what it was. There was no lampshading or hesitation or trying to be palatable, it was just VIBING in its own zany way throughout. It was also queer in a very grounded way, all the characters just were who they were, one of the main three was nonbinary, and all their relationships unfolded naturally without having to label it in a heteronormative way... It was weird, but weird in the way of freshness, where I felt like I was looking at a beautifully indulgent double-decker peanut butter sundae with pistachio and oreo crumbles drizzled in strawberry sauce, like maybe it's crazy but it's not like anything I've tasted and I wanna experience it! And to me, all the pieces ended up meshing. It felt very much To My Taste by the end.
So anyways this was a gem. I feel like sometimes I read a story and can kind of see the strings and tropes and intentions of the author, or I can see the narrow genre track it's trying to fit into, and it ends up boring me. Or sometimes I read a story and feel like I can predict every plot beat, not in a satisfying way but in a "well if there's this cue/trope then the character is supposed to do X in response or whatever, I guess that's what's going to happen because That's The Way It Is" instead of "That's the way that makes sense!" or "That's the way that's most fun!" Like when they introduce a love interest guy and there's not anything actually that hot or interesting about him but the main character just starts waxing poetic about his eyes and hair apropos of nothing and the reader is supposed to be like "Okay I guess that's the love interest so I'm supposed to cheer for him" instead of like, introducing an interesting character that meshes well and makes the reader think "Oh that guy's hot, I want to cheer for him to be the love interest!" AKA some stories I've read have given me a very toothless impression, where they are kind of just filling in the numbers and are afraid to do anything weird or challenging, they just try to replicate or prescribe what makes a story "good" without committing to any uniqueness of the story itself.
In contrast, this story felt like someone just being like "You know what would be really fun?" and running with it, creating an engaging read that embraces what makes it unique without trying to dampen any of it for palatibility. Ultimately I think the audience may be niche, I don't think everyone likes a story where genitals end up mentioned every other chapter but I AM THAT NICHE AUDIENCE THAT LOVES HEART, ACTION, AND RAUNCHINESS ALL MIXED TOGETHER so it hit the spot.
If you're interested, it turns out if you have kindle unlimited it's free on amazon! Otherwise, the ebook is $3 and the paperback is only $10.
TL;DR: I just had fun reading it!!!
This is part of a trilogy series, and this one ends in a good spot where there's not a huge cliffhanger, but there's plenty left open to explore. I think I'll probably try to hunt down the next two in the series somehow. I met the author tabling at Boskone, and it seems like he lives somewhere in Massachusetts? So I'm gonna keep an eye out and see if he'll go to ReaderCon as well. Then I can hopefully get the two others in the series as well. Worst case I can get it from Amazon at some point, but I'd like to support the author more directly when I can (and maybe get the books signed).
Next on the docket is Nascent Witch by Melissa Bobe. I actually started reading it on the train today, I'm still early in but hmm... My roommate I think started reading some of this author's horror novellas and liked them a lot, but this is a non-horror contemporary novel, and I'm feeling mid so far. The vibes are nice, but something about it is currently screaming "Young!" to me even though the main character is almost 28 years old. Might be a young adult writing style or vibe? I don't know. I'm gonna keep reading it, it's certainly not bad by any means, but I'm still early in and am not quite invested yet.
Sex Bunker Apocalypse (book one) by Adam Brink
This book Commits to the vibe. Sexy, full of heart, high-stakes, action of all kinds, there was just so much to enjoy? It's the story of three people who happen to end up in an old bunker-turned-sex-store while an apocalypse changes the earth outside. So the start of the story is mundane, with a great opening involving them all going to a BDSM meet up, then a slightly stressful but peaceful section where they're stuck in the sex shop/bunker with no clue what the hell is happening outside, and then the door finally opens and there is Chaos.
Ngl, when the door opens it's stressful--what comes in are antagonistic creatures with some weird eldritch/geometry-defying features that were freaky to read. Like my tolerance for scariness is admittedly low, I think an average person would not be that scared, but for what it's worth those creatures freaked me out! And the three who had been struggling with the isolation of the bunker but ultimately had found a comfortable routine with each other ended up torn apart, which also stressed me out!
But that ended up creating some good solid tension. When one of the characters is kidnapped, I had to keep reading out of hope that the others would be able to track him down and stage a rescue. The POV rotated between all three main characters, so I was always aware of what was happening even when they were separated, but I was still stressed! The general arc of "working towards meeting up again with this person torn away" made for a good driving goal that kept me reading. All the characters were sweet and had good dynamics together, so I was invested in seeing them unite. And although the world after the apocalypse was scary at first, it ends up being a somewhat magical/otherworldly apocalypse, so there's a lot of new interesting creatures and magic to enjoy.
And there were of course raunchy bits ;). Though I will say that although there's sex it is not erotica, in the sense that I think of erotica as something that's meant to immerse and arouse the reader. I bought this book directly from the author and he did specify beforehand "This isn't erotica," which I didn't know how to parse since it seemed pretty sexy, but having read it I understand now. I'm a big erotica fan so it made me a little sad when he said it wasn't that, but the raunchy vibes on this honestly fit the story perfectly.
These are spoilers, but some raunchy highlights:
SPOILERS:
1. One character who volunteered for the BDSM demonstration in the opening chapters ends up BEING ABANDONED by the rigger who was doing the demonstration as soon as the lights turn out and there's an apparent emergency--like he left her tied up on stage! Luckily her friends in the crowd come up and cut her out, and it was a good bonding moment, but I want vengeance on that rigger!
2. Right before the Sex Bunker gets invaded, one character put on a cock cage Just To Experiment (I mean, what else is there to do when trapped in a sex store for weeks....) and then GETS KIDNAPPED... and obviously OTHER things become much more relevant etc etc but I was like "Wait they never described him getting out of the cage..." and at first I was like "was this forgotten about in edits?" but NO eventually another character DOES confirm that yes, this character who has been kidnapped and going through probably the most stressful time in his life ever has ALSO been wearing a cock cage the entire time.
3. AND THAT COCK CAGE IS AN ESSENTIAL PLOT POINT... bc there's a whole evil seductress that's going to like, steal this character's magical power but to do so there has to be a climax inside of her and him willingly giving up his power, but she's super skilled at manipulation magic so it's like "noo he will be put under her spell and will willingly do this with her and give up his power"... but NOPE even when he gets manipulated in the end SHE CAN'T DO SHIT bc he's got that cock cage ;). It saved his life!
4. Sometimes tho I was kind of like "y'all are really having sex??? Now???" like after one character gets kidnapped the other two sob and wail but a few hours later one of them has a threesome with some elves. And another character with a broken leg who's starving/dehydrated is struggling to run away from his kidnappers but kind of randomly ends up in a merperson's swamp? And he ends up eating her out which like good for him BUT DUDE YOU NEED TO EAT SOME FOOD NOT PUSSY AND GET OUTTA THERE!
5. All elves are naked. It is part of their culture. Also means you can describe a sexy elf dick first thing.
Overall the story just felt COMMITTED to being what it was. There was no lampshading or hesitation or trying to be palatable, it was just VIBING in its own zany way throughout. It was also queer in a very grounded way, all the characters just were who they were, one of the main three was nonbinary, and all their relationships unfolded naturally without having to label it in a heteronormative way... It was weird, but weird in the way of freshness, where I felt like I was looking at a beautifully indulgent double-decker peanut butter sundae with pistachio and oreo crumbles drizzled in strawberry sauce, like maybe it's crazy but it's not like anything I've tasted and I wanna experience it! And to me, all the pieces ended up meshing. It felt very much To My Taste by the end.
So anyways this was a gem. I feel like sometimes I read a story and can kind of see the strings and tropes and intentions of the author, or I can see the narrow genre track it's trying to fit into, and it ends up boring me. Or sometimes I read a story and feel like I can predict every plot beat, not in a satisfying way but in a "well if there's this cue/trope then the character is supposed to do X in response or whatever, I guess that's what's going to happen because That's The Way It Is" instead of "That's the way that makes sense!" or "That's the way that's most fun!" Like when they introduce a love interest guy and there's not anything actually that hot or interesting about him but the main character just starts waxing poetic about his eyes and hair apropos of nothing and the reader is supposed to be like "Okay I guess that's the love interest so I'm supposed to cheer for him" instead of like, introducing an interesting character that meshes well and makes the reader think "Oh that guy's hot, I want to cheer for him to be the love interest!" AKA some stories I've read have given me a very toothless impression, where they are kind of just filling in the numbers and are afraid to do anything weird or challenging, they just try to replicate or prescribe what makes a story "good" without committing to any uniqueness of the story itself.
In contrast, this story felt like someone just being like "You know what would be really fun?" and running with it, creating an engaging read that embraces what makes it unique without trying to dampen any of it for palatibility. Ultimately I think the audience may be niche, I don't think everyone likes a story where genitals end up mentioned every other chapter but I AM THAT NICHE AUDIENCE THAT LOVES HEART, ACTION, AND RAUNCHINESS ALL MIXED TOGETHER so it hit the spot.
If you're interested, it turns out if you have kindle unlimited it's free on amazon! Otherwise, the ebook is $3 and the paperback is only $10.
TL;DR: I just had fun reading it!!!
This is part of a trilogy series, and this one ends in a good spot where there's not a huge cliffhanger, but there's plenty left open to explore. I think I'll probably try to hunt down the next two in the series somehow. I met the author tabling at Boskone, and it seems like he lives somewhere in Massachusetts? So I'm gonna keep an eye out and see if he'll go to ReaderCon as well. Then I can hopefully get the two others in the series as well. Worst case I can get it from Amazon at some point, but I'd like to support the author more directly when I can (and maybe get the books signed).
Next on the docket is Nascent Witch by Melissa Bobe. I actually started reading it on the train today, I'm still early in but hmm... My roommate I think started reading some of this author's horror novellas and liked them a lot, but this is a non-horror contemporary novel, and I'm feeling mid so far. The vibes are nice, but something about it is currently screaming "Young!" to me even though the main character is almost 28 years old. Might be a young adult writing style or vibe? I don't know. I'm gonna keep reading it, it's certainly not bad by any means, but I'm still early in and am not quite invested yet.
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Date: 2024-02-23 06:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-25 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2024-02-27 08:18 am (UTC)(My Kindle library continues to grow 😅)
Anyways here's to hoping that Nascent Witch gets out of that mid vibe but if you don't continue reading it that's totally fair too
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Date: 2024-02-27 04:30 pm (UTC)I'm still working on reading Nascent Witch, hoping to finish. I still feel similarly that it feels very young/debut... but I'm curious to see if there will be SOME sort of twist. I'll post when I finish, but I think it may be a book I overall don't like, but I'd like to get to the end so I can be articulate as to why I don't like it
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Date: 2024-02-27 10:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 04:31 pm (UTC)