8114 by Joshua Hull *Some Spoilers*

Paul Early is a controversial podcaster who has to return to his hometown after one of his best friends commits suicide. If that’s not unsettling enough, you soon find out that he did it in Paul’s childhood home (wtf). Paul begins to investigate what happened and is adamant about getting it out to his audience. He doesn’t realize what he is up against, but won’t stop until he gets to the bottom of it. 

Okay, so… I had to reach out to the author because when I was done reading, I needed some questions answered. Obviously I’m not going to spoil it completely for you, BUT I can tell you a couple of things.

Firstly, We have a demon, Belial. Secondly, we have Paul who is the perfect vessel for evil and thirdly, a cursed town/house (8114). 

Let’s start with Belial, he is the demon of lies and guilt and Paul is filled with both, making him an ideal victim to latch onto. Then, there is the land 8114 is built on. It has a bloody, tragic history and is therefore, cursed. Joshua Hull states: “The land is in his blood”. And what’s interesting is that this “curse” (seemingly) extends to the rest of the town. So, not only do we have Belial going after Paul, but the ghosts of the land over at 8114 are not bound to the borders of the property and they have it out for him too. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out why.

I also learned that the story is broken up into the three stages of possession: infestation, oppression and possession. I didn’t realize that until after Joshua told me and I found it very interesting. 

I do need to share that I haven’t hated a main character so much since Lori from Gone To See The Riverman by Kristopher Triana. While she still holds the title of the worst, Paul Early isn’t too far behind. He is only out for himself and is driven by nothing else except his own desire to “succeed”. He hides behind this facade of wanting to get the facts out there and inform his audience, but he’s only really worried about numbers and popularity. I have no sympathy for him whatsoever. In spite of my feelings about Paul, I found the story intriguing overall. 

This is set to be published August 26th of this year. It’s definitely worth grabbing a copy!


Until next time,

D. E.

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