This is my second time reading this book and it was amazing all over again. Like all of Neville's novels, two stories are interweaved: one in the present (in this case, the 1970's) and one in the past (late 18th century). Two women, a computer expert and nun, attempt each in their respective time periods to unravel the mystery behind a powerful and much-coveted ancient chess set, the Montglane Service. This book is full of action and romance, suspense and memorable characters. The number of famous historical figures who show up does border on the absurd, but I was too busy having a good time to nitpick. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.Side note for those who've read the book: my sister was in love with Solarin, but my heart belongs to Nim. :) ( )

The Eight by Katherine Neville

The story seemed like one that Dan Brown and Sandra Brown might have collaborated to create. It is a study of mysticism and mysterious formulas, treasure, clues and a wealth of historic personages wrapped in emotional relationships. A mysterious, ancient chess set is the center piece of a frantic and fanatic hunt detailed in the 1790’s and the 1970s. Whosoever holds the chess set will rule the world, according to legend. The forces of good and evil have been striving to capture the board for a millennium.

Neville bounces back and forth from the 1790’s to the 1970’s without promoting a great deal of confusion. Her characterizations have depth, breadth and color. There are times where it appears she may have read a little too much Clive Cussler but the introduction of historic figures and preposterous chases is very entertaining. I’m not sure if there is an attempt to challenge the intellect but regardless, the book is a fun read.

I recommend the book and look forward to the sequel, "The Fire". ( )

I feel pretty blah about this book. I thought it was going to be great, had been wanting to read it for a while, but found myself distinctly underwhelmed. The writing seemed amateur-ish and wanting. Perhaps because it was a good idea, but was only her first novel? I am no expert, but I'll be interested to see if her second book is better than the first. ( )

I enjoyed The Eight...to a point. The plotting was splendid, but the writing was clunky; it was one of those books where I found myself wanting to rearrange the author's sentences, which is profoundly distracting. But the characters were decently drawn and the central conceit was fascinating. Chess and puzzles galore! ( )

A fantastic, complex book. I truly enjoyed how Neville travels back and forth between the eras, unveiling layers of intrigue and adventure. She creates a chess game of a novel that keeps you interested and on your toes. What a fantastic story. ( )

The Eight by Katherine Neville is a dazzlingly complex novel about the search for the legendary and mysterious Charlemange chess set called The Montglane Service reputed to give the owner untold power...the power to end Kings. There are two stories that run parallel to each other...that of Catherine Velis, New York, 1972, a computer expert working in a male dominated law firm who is sent to Algeria to consult for OPEC and Mireille de Remy, France, 1970, a novice of the Montglane Abbey who has been given a secret mission by the Abbess to conceal a number of the chess pieces of the service. Those who are in the hunt to acquire the chess service and the power it contains are said to be in The Game.

Neville pulls into the story a very broad spectrum of ideas and philosophies...from the meaning of the zodiac, planets and elements to mathematics of the Fibonacci numbers and infinity to the significance and history of cultures and religious customs. Additional themes were absolute power or dictatorship versus freedom of choice or democracy...that the many can be more powerful than the one. I think it would take an entire essay to examine all the different themes within the novel. The Eight is a very long novel at just under 600 pages of small type on paperback format. It took me many sessions to read and I often had to set the book down to ponder clues and events. The book is about fifty-fifty the story of Catherine Velis versus Mireille de Remy. At the beginning of each chapter there is a quote or abstract about chess and/or life that represents the meaning of each chapter.

In the book chess is defined as the ultimate game of strategy. Katherine Neville 'strategically' wrote and divided the plot of The Eight as a chess game. There are layers within layers of meaning about some of the ideas presented in the story...and games within games. There are very clever, intricate plot threads that eventually come back to their beginning (deliberate of Neville emphasizing infinity, eight, opposite yet parallel). The storyline at times was wildly dramatic although I found this appealing and often very imaginative, which kept me interested in reading the voluminous amount of pages.

I had a handful of issues with the novel. One aspect that never made sense to me was why Valentine was given a chess piece to protect though she was the youngest, most immature, impressionable and vulnerable novice and not even central to the storyline. A woman named Catherine Grand was mentioned as the one who started The Game in the historical storyline but it was never clarified how or why and it did not make sense to me.

The Eight is an amazing accomplishment of a novel. If you want an engrossing, complex, fascinating read look no further.

http://myobsessionwithbooks.blogspot.... ( )

Excellent book, very well written, especially the French revolution era. ( )

No way I’d ever be able to summarize this chunkster, so off to Amazon we go:

“When two young women in France of 1790 discover the Montglane Chess Service in Montglane Abbey, they recognize its mystic ability to provide anyone playing it with unlimited power and desperately scatter its pieces around the world. But in 1972, computer expert Catherine “Cat” Velis is hired to recover the chess pieces–and is caught up in a nefarious, globe-spanning conspiracy.”

Yeah, sounds good, right? That’s what I hoped. Apparently people do like this book. I was not one of them.

Let me first say that this is a genre that I don’t like. I didn’t like The Da Vinci Code, although I will be honest, I liked it better than this. The book is centered around chess, a game I don’t even understand. The reviews assured me that would be okay. The book also seems full of math and science, my two least favorite subjects, although I certainly recognize their importance. Now, throw in a convoluted plot that I couldn’t keep track of, 64 characters, none of whom I liked and most of whom seemed like coincidental famous people name-dropping, a journey that is supposed to seem threatening and dangerous but never made sense to me, some mediocre writing, and a couple of unbelievable love stories, and you’ve got this book.

I knew I’d had enough when the author suggested that a blue velvet cloth survived for 1000 years. Let me tell you why this bothers me. We have no evidence for velvet even existing before the 14th century and quite simply, fabric hardly ever survives this long unless in special preserved circumstances. Somehow, I’m doubting that this velvet cloth was buried in a water-logged, oxygen free environment for most of its existence, and there’s no way such old fabric could survive in the open air without serious preservation, let alone be passed around from country to country for two hundred years. Nitpicky, maybe, but blatantly wrong details like that just throw me out of a book completely.

This book was just not for me. I finished it because I have the sequel for review. It clearly is meant for someone else, probably someone who likes thrillers, chess, and science and also does not particularly know much about history or archaeology. If that’s you, you should try this book out. It’s certainly not me. I can’t recommend this book.

If you liked The Eight, I want to know, so I can link to you. I hate posting a negative review without counterbalancing it.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=652 ( )

While I could tell the author had done her homework and was truly interested in her subject, I found The Eight lacking on too many levels to be more than just an okay read. Unfortunately, since this book was probably way ahead of its time when it was originally written, there now exist just too many books of this same premise - find the secret code in the (insert your favorite object here) - that do the job with more suspense and/or more realism. The Eight just doesn't quite reach the bar. ( )

"The Eight" is a big, multi layered book that is part historical novel, part adventure thriller. The story centers around the Montglane Service, the legendary chess set that belonged to Charlemagne. Across the centuries, power hungry people search for the pieces and the mystery they guard. Fortunately, a knowledge of, or an interest in, chess is not essential to the enjoyment of this book. Most of the technicalities are easily explained and do not hinder the story. The only criticism I could really make of " The Eight" is the dialogue. It is incredibly clunky, to the point where it is often unintentionally amusing. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. ( )

I rarely abandon a book once I've started reading it. This was an exception. I ploughed through about two-thirds of it, then rolled my eyes one last time and quit. In a parallel plot-line tracking action in modern times and in th 1790's, the author postulates the existence of a chess set, once owned by Charlmagne and at the heart of a dizzying array of plots, counterplots, riddles and codes. For the portion of the story taking place in the 18th Century, the author invokes as many historical figures of the era as possible. The effect is just silly. The story was ho-hum and the author's habit of injecting a phrase like "little did she know that her actions would blah, blah, blah" in order to keep the reader informed of events unfolding was downright irritating. Ham-handed at best. ( )

great story set in NY, Paris during the French Revolution revolving around a chess set belonging to Charlemagne. ( )

The first time I read this was back in the early 90s. It was actually an assigned reading book for my Modern European History class. I have to say I am so glad we had to read it because it became one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve re-read it so many times my copy is near falling apart and I just bought a replacement copy.

I loved both the story lines although I have to say following Cat’s story was my favorite. She along with the help of a friend, Lily Rad, and the handsome chess champ, Solarin(mmm…sexy and smart!), she has to solve the mystery surrounding the Montglane Service. Although I am not a chess player I found the references interesting especially as you start to see what parts each of the characters in the story take and eventually finding out who the Black Queen is. The reader is introduced to a cast of interesting characters, each who grabs you in their own way with their quirks of personality. Sometimes I found it hard to decide if I wanted to cheer Lily on or strangle her and her little dog. I highly suggest this book to everyone!

I am currently in the middle of the sequel that just came out but I will save that for a review when I am done. ( )

Five stars for plotting, one star for dialogue. (Has this woman never heard people talk to each other?) A page-turner for sure, but let's hope the sequel, The Fire, is better. ( )

I really enjoyed The Eight. I never knew that there are so many symbolic associations with eights. The beginning moved quickly, the middle could have been reduced, and the end was not a total surprise, but it could have gone either way. I don't generally like stories that switch back and forth from one time period to another, but it worked better here than usual, and I could follow along alright. There are a lot of characters, but I thought the author used enough reminders and clues so I didn't have to go back often to read which character was which. I kept them straight. But, some of the story progression, I had to reread at times. Overall, I liked it. ( )

it is a great read; it takes place in two time periods ... the French Revolution and the Seventies

Quite possibly one of the most exciting books I've ever read. All the action and historical suspicion of The DaVinci Code, with none of the religious nonsense. I'm well versed in the French Revolution, and I could find nothing to grumble with in her historical suppositions (other than that they might be based on unlikely coincidences ). I loved this book. ( )

this is one of the most engaging pieces of fiction i've ever read.

The Eight started out promisingly enough: characters in alternating time periods (1790s and 1972) go in search of hidden chess pieces that unlock the key to a “secret formula.” The book has been compared to Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, but in actuality The Eight comes nowhere near that fabulous book. As I read, I hoped that Katherine Neville was writing a parody, but I guess not.

Where to begin? Overly contrived plot with more holes than Swiss cheese; really, really bad writing style with an over-use of adjectives and past participles; too much historical inaccuracy; too much historical name-dropping, so much so that this novel read like an issue of US magazine (Catherine the Great, Napoleon, Robespierre, Voltaire, and many, many other historical figures are thrown in, sometimes gratuitously); too much foreshadowing, is in, “little did I know…”. The characters were extremely one-dimensional, and I absolutely loathed the heroine, Cat Velis. The book started off well enough, but I found myself rolling my eyes the further I read. I’m all for reading historical thrillers, if the plot is enough to draw me in, but this one didn’t do it for me, I’m afraid.
( )

Who is the black queen and who is the white queen? And why does it matter? I found the plot line to be very complicated, well really, confusing. But engaging all the same. I think I followed it better this third time through.

The first two times I read The Eight, I was satisfied that the book came to a logical conclusion. This time, I have to say that it is clear that there is room for a sequel. And I look forward to reading The Fire.

My review is on my Blog, Nate's Library, specifically at: http://nates-library.blogspot.com/200... ( )

Long book. To be fair, I'm not into the 1700's and French politics, so this was a bit of a stretch for me. It's sort of like a light HS/College mini review with all the names, dates and brief historical descriptions. An unusal twist on the Holy Grail type mystery. And a fairly decent ending. ( )

In 1973 Cat Velis is a smart, independent computer consultant with a dysfunctional family in New York City. When she refuses to rig a bid for her boss, she is sent to Algeria to help the nascent OPEC. But there is more mystery in store for her than just oil manipulations. Her uncle, an antiques dealer, has asked her to transport a mysterious piece from a chess set.

In 1790, the French Revolution has started and the Catholic nunneries are not refuges that they once were. Montglane Abbey has been the sanctuary of a deadly secret for over a thousand years, but now the secret must be moved and scattered to keep it out of the hands of the ruthless who would use it to gain more power. Mireille de Rémy takes a piece of this powerful chess set to Paris and becomes the focus a power struggle that takes the life of her best friend.

How the struggle for these pieces from an alchemical chess set transform the people who carry them, whether pawns or queens, makes for a gripping tale. I enjoyed most of the characters and the plot, but every so often, the author's noveau status shows in some poor word choice or too lengthy explanation. I especially grew tired of the phrase "but little did she know..." That is a construction that most novice authors manage to avoid.

Overall, if you like novels with strong female protagonists and quite a lot of historical background, but don't mind a strong dose of mysticism, you will enjoy this book. ( )

I read a lot of reviews of this before I started, but I like to think I keep an open mind... I liked it overall, good fun, puzzles and adventures can rarely go wrong, especially if they involve a bit of magic. I am not so keen on reading about real characters of history as if they are involved in the tale, but this is only in one half of the story, and none take any real lead role in the story.

Some books do come across as though they were meant for the big screen and this is definitely one of them, in fact, as Katherine Neville has produced a sequel, I wouldn't be surprised if this came soon....and was successful. I particulary imagined the boat scenes at the end with the New York skyline coming into sight as a great visual picture.

A rip-roaring yarn with intelligence, but a beach read nonetheless. ( )

Full review at:
http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/20... ( )

I have to say this is one of my favorite books, that and the magic circle also by Katherine Neville. It to me was I guess the comparison would be like al dente' the perfect level of chewiness lol. It grabbed my attention when I first read it in 2001 and I could read it again easily. Had lots of great info into histories mysteries, a little bit of romance, a lot of thriller, and a chess game that hey if your lucky you might be able to play " forever". I would recommend this to my friends and have been loaning out my copies (gotta get one for me now). Bottom line with no spoilers, I enjoyed it, I felt like I learned a few things and got a good mystery to boot. I am now going to read the fire and was very excited to learn of it's release.
Reminds me of:
Umberto Eco
Dan Brown
Some Agatha Christie (mystery part)

Would make a good movie ( )