8114 by Joshua Hull

8114 Reviews

• 
  thevampireslibrary

  books be getting a bit too fucking scary lately. Review soon. P.s it's real good
  
  Some initial thoughts
  
  A supernatural horror that had me ricocheting from page to page in a constant state of WTF Almost nauseating in its perpetual and unrelenting atmopshere of dread, this ain't nothing like Mouth.
  
  Review:
  
  8114 is a story that would translate well on screen but that's  no surprise given the author is the screen writer of Glorius, after reading Hulls debut Mouth I instantly knew this was an author I'd read anything by, you know when you just kind of know? Theres only a few other authors that's happened with but it's like sliding on your favourite comfy pair of slippers you haven't worn in a while, familiar and at the same time new, am I making sense? I'm being complimentary I swear. 8114 is nothing like Mouth, which shows  the breadth of Hull's literary prowess, where Mouth was, in my opinion a feel good cosy horror (for those of us so far in the horror trenches a carnivorous monster does little to detract from the cosy vibe) this was quite honestly, terrifying, but still had that dark humorous edge that Hull wields masterfully giving the reader a good chuckle before subjecting them to psychological distress. A supernatural horror that had me ricocheting from page to page in a constant state of WTF, almost nauseating in its perpetual and unrelenting atmosphere of dread. There is such an insidious and claustrophobic atmosphere that clings to the periphery of this book threatening to tighten its grip at any moment I was in a constant state of suspense (and stress). Was that too poetic, this was just a damn good book by a damn good writer, I'm really excited for any future books he has in store.
• 
  Horror Reads

  This novel is a nightmare inducing supernatural horror that gets more horrific as it goes along. Some of the images and scenes will stay with you for a long time after you've read it.
  
  A man has a podcast about a missing friend from his childhood, attempting to get to the bottom of where he went. But everyone soon turns on him when it's revealed that his friend was never missing. He and his mother have been hiding from an abusive man. Now, because of the popularity of that podcast, he has put their lives in danger.
  
  When our protagonist is summoned home, he's informed that his best friend has committed suicide and horrific details soon come to light. He decides to get to the bottom of it because he, and everyone else, believes his childhood home is cursed and in that long abandoned home is where his friend went to kill himself.
  
  And, man, from that setup this book takes us on a terrifying and unrelenting ride that doesn't stop. Dreadful things begin to happen, horrifying deaths occur, and brutal supernatural events take place. It's a gruesomely disturbing narrative which I love.
  
  There are many pop culture references which give some dark humor along the way. Our protagonist is the narrator and he's not an altogether good man at all. In some ways he's deeply flawed and has many regrets. But as he tries to get to the bottom of what's happening to him and his friends, it gets progressively more unsettling and bloody.
  
  I thought this book was a banger and would highly recommend it for horror fans.
  
  I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.
• 
  Richard Propes

  It's likely not a surprise that I find myself a fan of the creative world of Joshua Hull, an Indiana-based author, screenwriter, and filmmaker whose work I've been reviewing since his early days as a filmmaker and whose co-writing of the indie horror film "Glorious" helped land him the Hoosier Award from the Indiana Film Journalists Association of which I'm a member.
  
  So, it's also not likely a surprise that when the I came upon the opportunity to check out Hull's first full-length novel "8114" I jumped at the chance.
  
  While it may seem as if I approached this review with an inherent bias, I've never been shy about writing middling or even negative reviews when necessary. Friends included. Okay, mostly ex-friends.
  
  Hull has always been immersed in the indie horror scene, or so it seems, but it was the 2022 film "Glorious," which he co-authored with David Ian McKendry, that largely vaulted him into a bit of a hazy national spotlight. Hull followed that up with the winning novella "Mouth," in which Hull's creative sensibilities burst to life and it became apparent that he was a burgeoning literary voice and one of the more refreshing horror voices to arise on the scene in quite awhile.
  
  With "8814," Hull cements his growing stature as a horror writer with a novel that is both terrifying and terrifyingly funny at times.
  
  If you're familiar at all with the creative world of Joshua Hull, it won't surprise you that he sets the story in "8114" smack dab in the real-life town of Pendleton, Indiana where he really has spent a good majority of his life.
  
  It may be a little more surprising that "8114" is inspired by his childhood home, a thought that becomes a little more terrifying the deeper one dives into the compelling, difficult to shake novel.
  
  "8114" centers around Paul Early, the beleaguered host of a small-time, somewhat controversial podcast who returns to his hometown of Pendleton following the mysterious death of a high school friend.
  
  One of Hull's many gifts as a writer is character development, a gift that comes vividly to life in "8114." Hull's Paul is a spiritually demented sadsack, the kind of guy you want to like but can't and the kind of guy who seems destined to live out some sort of life on the fringes. Much of "8114" centers around Paul's childhood home, now an abandoned house with a sordid history that keeps getting more and more sorded.
  
  114 is a terrifying horror novel investigating the mysterious death of a high school friend through an embattled podcast and hallucinatory hauntings at the abandoned house of his childhood. While you don't necessarily like Paul, he's nearly impossible to hate thanks to Hull's ability to keep us wondering about the full spectrum of what's going on in "8114." Are we dealing with something supernatural? Are we dealing with the otherworldly perpetuating of the cycle of trauma?
  
  Either. Or. Maybe both. You'll have to decide.
  
  While it's easy to compare Hull to any number of other indie horror writers, I must confess I found myself time and again flashing back to my time with Bret Easton Ellis's "American Psycho," a similarly bold, demented, and thoughtful novel with strong characters and a relentlessly "go for it" narrative. Hull brings this small-town haunting to life in a way that makes you want to catch the first bus to Pendleton to check out the house that inspired this story, which is similarly decrepit and abandoned. Yet, against the supernatural horrors Hull immerses us in the cyclical nature of trauma that can't always be healed or resolved or broken. In the end, "8114" seems to be saying that individually and collectively we have to face our past if we want to survive our present.
  
  I suppose this means I'm ascribing some deeper meaning to "8114," though I'd venture a guess that others will take away different lessons and some will just cringe and look away.
  
  But yeah, I think in the end that Hull is reminding us that looking away isn't really an option if we want to survive this thing called life. The alternative? At least in "8114," it's pretty horrifying.
  
• 
  Jonathan Lees

  A take no prisoners storyline and a lot of “did he really got there?!” moments with an afterword that’s truly chilling. A worthy follow up to Hull’s funny and fierce novella, Mouth. My only issues here are sometimes the scares, while plentiful, would make more sense on the movie screen for pacing and full impact but that shouldn’t stop you from visiting the visceral 8114. I dare you.
• 
  Aaron

  I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
  
  This anodyne horror novel largely fails to deliver on its intriguing premise but also shows glimmers of promise and very well be entertaining to readers other than myself.
  
  8114 is the story of true crime podcaster Paul Early, a man of dubious morality and suspect sincerity who is drawn back to his small hometown and the cursed property he grew up on after a personal tragedy. While trying to find concrete answers for the bizarre and tragic instances that begin to pile up around him like dead leaves, he starts another podcast about the events and reconnects with the people and town he left in the rearview decades ago.
  
  The set up was promising and I was excited to read something by the screenwriter for Glorious, a bizarre but very original film I enjoyed. However, I found reading this novel somewhat frustrating and not at all satisfying until the final pages. The podcast segments of the novel were the best parts, and should have been utilized more. The author makes overly liberal use of shockingly violent hallucinations to the point where they quickly lose their punch. The writing itself is clunky and hard to follow at times despite the simplicity of the prose and any character other than Paul may as well be a cardboard cut out. I found myself wishing time and again that this had been a short story, a novella, or an episode of a show, basically anything other than what it was trying to be, a novel.
  
  The book is bogged down principally by being almost exclusively an internal monologue from our main character Paul, this wouldn't be such a bad thing except that Paul’s thoughts are exclusively of the most surface level, matter of fact variety. Thoughts the reader has as well or can easily infer, not much that gives us any new information or context. I.e. This is terrifying, I’m sad this person died, I feel like I’m losing my mind, etc. etc. The overall effect is of someone repeatedly breaking a cardinal rule of tale spinning which is to show, and not just tell.
  
  Some of the horror was genuinely frightening but here too the novel gets in its own way. There are too many elements that never really lead anywhere so that in the end it feels like a bit of an incoherent mess rather than a thematically harmonious series of supernatural scares driving to a central point or threat. In this respect the book may have benefitted from closer editing. Limiting the horror elements to either Paul’s hallucinations, OR the Circle of Light, OR the demonic forces only obliquely shown, instead of juggling all of them, may have given time to better develop each aspect and made the story more cohesive and powerful.
  
  Some genuinely grotesque horror elements and an absolutely stunning twist towards the end of the novel couldn’t quite save it from being largely uninteresting, if inoffensively so. However, I would encourage others to see for themselves. I don’t think the book is fundamentally without merit and my reaction to it may be largely due to personal preferences and taste.
  
• 
  George Dunn

  QOTD: who is your favourite horror publisher?
  
  READ MY FULL REVIEW THROUGH THE LINK IN MY BIO, HIGHLIGHTS, OR BY GOING TO FANFIADDICT.COM.
  
  "“8114,” by Joshua Hull is a rotten debut novel. It’s not a mere fresh coat of paint on the haunted house trope, it’s more of a total gut job- in which Hull takes a sledgehammer to the cliche creaky floorboards and standard resident spectre- and replaces them with his own sinister architecture. It’s uncanny, disorienting, it lingers in its ambiguity, it is utterly unique and genuinely scary. A reckoning with the past, and a grim exploration of grief and accountability, “8114,” is a book that will leave you questioning both your safety and sanity- I may never look at four walls the same way again. Thank you Clash Books for the ARC, this book is coming for you next year.
  
  We follow Paul Early, who’s found himself in some rather deep water. Decades after Adam Benny graced his lunch table for the last time, and then simply disappeared- Paul decides to take to the airwaves, and create the “Adam Benny is missing,” podcast. Well actually, Adam Benny was just fine, having left Indiana with his mother, to escape his abusive dad- their flight now imperilled by Paul’s public pursuit. The internet is a relentless and cruel place, and it wants Paul’s head. When he receives a phone call from another childhood compadre Matt,  perhaps returning to the small town of Pendleton will offer refuge from the virtual witch hunt. His stay is far from pleasant. Matt tells him of Kyle’s suicide, and that he painted the walls of Paul’s old address- number 8114. In a search for closure, Paul creates another podcast, planning to interview childhood friends and old acquaintances to get to the bottom of why a seemingly happy family man would do such a thing. As Paul attempts to peel back the layers of mystery surrounding his friend’s death, and the sinister pull of 8114, the house itself seems to tighten its grip on him. As the walls close in we have to question, will he succeed or die trying?"
• 
  Hannah Rebekah Graves

  It's rare for me to find a book eerie or creepy, but this book had moments that were just that. It was a little stressful to read, but in a good, suspenseful kind of way.
  
  The storyline I thought was interesting and I felt so bad for the MC. I thought that the horror factor in this book was very well handled and that it makes for a good... haunted property? story. Everything flew well and the pacing was spot on. Like I said, I don't get easily creeped out but there were a few scenes in this book that had me wanting to crawl under the blankets, so good job to the author.
  
  As far as the writing went, I enjoyed it. It was engaging and easy to read. I enjoyed this book enough that I read it it one sitting and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, creepy book.
• 
  Samantha

  3.75