The Eighth Square

by Herbert Lieberman

For an unsuspecting group of friends, a hike through the forest turns into a desperate fight for survival

Mr. Rogers is the ideal guide for a few neighbors looking to survey a large, wooded piece of property: He remembers every tree, stream, and bush; when there’s a fork in the road, he knows which way to go. But the surveying trip goes horribly wrong when Rogers suffers a debilitating heart attack and the group is left wandering lost through the woods, with Rogers a murmuring shadow of his former self.

Almost immediately, tensions that have existed among the friends since childhood begin to flare up. The forest grows darker and more threatening. Leadership claims are staked and rescinded. Fears start to overwhelm rational decision-making. Then Rogers starts spouting instructions in what sounds like a mystic cipher.

The Eighth Square is a rollicking psychological thriller that deftly demonstrates how thin the barrier between man and animal truly is.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

267 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Herbert Liberman received his AB from City College of New York and his AM from Columbia University. He is a former managing editor of the Reader's Digest Book Club.

The author of Crawlspace, City of the Dead, The Climate of Hell, and several other acclaimed novels, Herbert Lieberman is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and a winner of France’s coveted Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for City of the Dead. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife. He and his wife Judith have one daughter and twin granddaughters.

Reviews

[Barrymore Tebbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when it came out in paperback in 1978 (and several times over the years). I followed Lieberman's career for awhile. He writes intelligent psychological thrillers comparable to Ira Levin.

This story involves a group of friends and neighbors, all of whom have known each other since childhood, who "walk the metes and bounds" of the vast New England property one of them has just inherited. The eldery surveyor who guides them through the dense woods suffers a stroke, and the characters wander in the forest, hopelessly lost, for several days. Tensions mount. Fear becomes palpable. The forest becomes a menacing force.

The Eighth Square is short, approx 260 pages, sweet, and neat. If you like layered interpersonal dynamics, this is a good one. I've always been able to remember the outcome of the story over the years and never quite "got it". In re-reading it recently, it made a bit more sense, but I don't think the epilogue fits well onto the story.

The paperback is curious. The front cover calls it a "Satanic nightmare of the unexpected". There's nothing Satanic about it. The plot outlined on the back cover is also misleading. Still, it's well written suspense; a tight little psychological thriller from a time when writers were more concerned with being word craftsmen. Lieberman's prose is fun to read.

By the author of "Crawlspace" which is also highly recommended.

[Doug Lamoreux · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not an abusive critic. I have read Lieberman before and enjoyed him. I also know how difficult it is to write a novel and wouldn't want to be pilloried; everyone has their tastes. I respect authors. I respect their words. That said, I hated The Eighth Square; loathed it, saw no point in it, found no entertainment with it. A group of not particularly interesting and universally unlikable characters get lost in the woods while exploring the boundaries of their properties. Nothing of interest happens, until the end, when the ridiculous happens. The satanic nightmare promised on the jacket never develops. I'm sorry I wasted my time. I will make it a point to reread City of the Dead soon because Herbert Lieberman can write. But I will forget this.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrendously unlikable characters. A gimmick ending. Good writing can save this from being a big waste.

[Sylvie Rozak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing suspense till the end, you just want to know what happened. The twist at the end is just so incredible , you want to read the book again to see what you missed or didn't understand!!! Feel free to share with me your understanding!!!

[Reanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book all that much. I feel like it was a lot of build up only for it to end in a crestfallen flump. Very dated too, but for a book with its publishing date, you should expect dated language, so I don't dislike it for that reason alone.

Call me stupid if you want, but I didn't really understand if the ending was literal, figurative, or 'it was all a dream' kind of thing, and my search online for answers haven't held much fruit despite how old (and apparently obscure) this book is. I've heard from other reviews here that I should give it another read through, and maybe I would understand it then, I admit - I do love other media with similar strategies to fully appreciate its ending, such as Triangle or The Matrix off the top of my head. You miss hints and clues the first time round and it makes you want to watch it again armed now with the knowledge you have to see if you can spot a deeper meaning, and solve the puzzle of the mysteries.

This though I feel isn't the kind of book I'd want to read again, knowing that it ends the way it does. It feels like you're just getting your teeth into it, having a deeper understanding of the cast of characters, that its trying to tell you something, and then its over, like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Its not bad, but not especially good, either; At least in my humble opinion. I can see three possible meanings to the ending, and I can't decide which one I'm most happy to settle on.

If you're looking for other 'groups lost in the wild and have to survive a threat' type of story, there are a some other ones I'd recommend. A few I could name off the bat would be The Pact by Sharon J Bolton , The Last Restort by Susi Holiday, The Troop by Nick Cutter, Hide by Kirsten White or Predators by Michaelbrent Collins

[Bryan85 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read that left me unsure of how I feel about it. It wasn’t a bad read at all but, I thought there would be more I guess? I randomly picked this book up at a used bookstore so I had no idea what to expect besides the description on the back and I have never heard of Herbert Lieberman so I went in pretty much blind. I enjoyed the journey but I kept looking at how many pages I had left saying “when is something going to happen?” But at the same time I wasn’t disappointed in the book either.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 because I was enjoying this book until the ending. I don’t understand it. All the way through the story I was wondering if it was some kind of allegory that would make sense at the end but the ending was very irritating.

[Jon Walgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the best thriller that I ever read.

[Jason McCracken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlikeable characters, barely-existent plot and a stupid final twist.

[I'mogén · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Details:
Narrated by Stephen Hoye
Unabridged

I decided to try more after this author immediately after reading Crawl Space, but The Eighth Square didn't age as well. It felt very dated with a few instances of awful phrases that had me shocked.

The general plot interested me and was similar to a few books I've read recently about being lost in a forest (The Ruins, Suicide Forest) and I think I'm finding another niche in horror that is my go to.

The characters felt completely unlikeable though, and added to the heavily dated conversations, terminology and descriptions etc, this didn't reach the enjoyment of the Crawl Space.

The epilogue was definitely unexpected and that was the most enjoyable twist out of the whole story.

Pick it up, give it a go & enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén