Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Eight (The Eight #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Eight

(The Eight #1)

Katherine Neville,

Кэтрин Нэвилл

3.92 · Rating details · 37,925 ratings · 2,727 reviews

Computer expert Cat Velis is heading for a job to Algeria. Before she goes, a mysterious fortune teller warns her of danger, and an antique dealer asks her to search for pieces to a valuable chess set that has been missing for years...In the South of France in 1790 two convent girls hide valuable pieces of a chess set all over the world, because the game that can be played ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 598 pages

Published January 14th 1990 by Ballantine Books (first published December 27th 1988)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Eight, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Best Historical Mystery

1,710 books — 4,148 voters

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Best Literary Mysteries

1,561 books — 3,348 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.92 ·

Rating details

· 37,925 ratings · 2,727 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Eight (The Eight #1)

Jul 16, 2008 Jamal rated it it was ok

Three weeks ago I held a yard sale. To pass the time I picked up this book I'd never seen from a box of books none of which I'd ever read and none of which I remember buying.

Of the many surreal happenings of that day one of the most strange was when, immediately after reading the first page, a well-groomed homeless man or a poorly groomed homed man rode past on a bike. He looked over and upon seeing The Eight lurched off his bike stumbled to my gate and, grasping it with all the force and desper Three weeks ago I held a yard sale. To pass the time I picked up this book I'd never seen from a box of books none of which I'd ever read and none of which I remember buying.

Of the many surreal happenings of that day one of the most strange was when, immediately after reading the first page, a well-groomed homeless man or a poorly groomed homed man rode past on a bike. He looked over and upon seeing The Eight lurched off his bike stumbled to my gate and, grasping it with all the force and desperation of a kindergartener being left by mommy, bellowed, "That book! Man! That book, man, is the biggest fucking mind trip it's the best book you'll ever read. That woman [the author] used to be an executive at Bank of America until those Southern fuckers came in and they fired EVERY woman in the company. God damn mother fuckers! But man, she's beautiful too man, like a triple threat. And let tell you something..." and here he became quiet and conspiratorial, "....it'll never NEVER be made into a movie. I won't tell you why. 2/3 into the book BAM! [he yelled] it's a fucking bomb on your brain! She just fucking drops that bomb on your brain and it'll NEVER be a fucking movie!"

How could I do anything but read this book after such an endorsement?

It's pretty typical of the genre. A collection of mostly tropes -- the mysterious and reclusive genius somehow at the heart of the mystery; the one no-one including his co-commiserators can trust has a hidden agenda that has to do directly with the heroine? No way! After he takes a personal interest in her, we find out he's tall, handsome, devilishly charismatic, seductive and, wait, can't be completely trusted? Didn't see that one coming! -- including the drunken socialite, the clueless petty bourgeoisie, the quirky but lovable math/ computer whiz, the evil and menacing foreign intelligence agent, the surprisingly Western and enlightened foreign man incredibly open, and the revelation that the Other is actually more welcoming than We...to name a few. Anyway, this collection are interwoven into a story that touches on Charlemagne, OPEC, Chess, the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon among other things and which is mostly entertaining if much too long.

The double narrative serves an obvious purpose but makes the book cumbersome and unnecessarily obtuse. When one story line enthralls, Neville switches to the other forcing the reader to reinvest; a tiring exercise. It's an unfortunate thing really, because both narratives on their own are interesting and could have been fun, if forgettable adventure books on their own. Should have been. Very much should have been.

2/3 of the way through, the heroines of both narratives go to Algeria and meet tall, dark, handsome and capable men who save them from vile agents of the bad guys. There's also an Erich Von Daniken moment which is probably what the lurcher was talking about. It was a mind bomb about as much as the turn in the new Indiana Jones movie.

I am ambivalent about this book. I'd be more enthusiastic if it had been about one story or even one more so than the other. ...more

flag 118 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2016 James rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1-fiction, 3-multi-book-series

4 stars to Katherine Neville's The Eight. I stumbled upon this one by hearing about book #2's release and had to start first from the beginning. I'm so glad I did.

Characters are well developed. Plot is intricate. Suspense is on target. Story-telling and narration are rich. I want a third book in the series!

It's all about a chess match. In theory. But in reality. Russian history. Clever moves and alliances. Family connections. Politics. Strong motivation. Good, thought provoking suspense. ...more

flag 86 likes · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2010 Deborah Harkness rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was the first of its kind: a historical thriller/whodunnit/magical story that was published in 1988. In a way, all the similar books that have come after (Dan Brown, Kostova's The Historian) are following in Neville's footsteps. If you read it now, it may seem flat in comparison with these later works, which have taken a genre that in many ways Neville created and taken it to new levels. However, I'm giving it this rating because I still remember back more than two decades to my first ...more

flag 79 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2008 Diana rated it did not like it

I was told by several people whose books tastes I generally respect that I would love this book - sadly, that wasn't the case. I found it tiresome, hard to follow, and the writing was almost impossible to slog through in several places. The characters were never fully developed, I never got invested in any of the characters, and I found the book too plot-driven to an irritating degree - with too many historical elements "dropped in" (almost like name dropping) in order to tie the events to histo ...more

flag 53 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2008 Robert Beveridge rated it liked it

Shelves: finished, owned-and-gave-away

Katherine Neville, The Eight (Ballantine, 1988)

This novel has achieved almost cult status in some circles, and many people consider it one of the best adventure novels ever written. It's a useful way to separate folks you know into two categories: those who are more interested in plot, and those who are more interested in writing.

The plot is pretty darn good, when it comes right down to it. The novel takes place in two parallel times, the first being 1972 and the second the years during and afte Katherine Neville, The Eight (Ballantine, 1988)

This novel has achieved almost cult status in some circles, and many people consider it one of the best adventure novels ever written. It's a useful way to separate folks you know into two categories: those who are more interested in plot, and those who are more interested in writing.

The plot is pretty darn good, when it comes right down to it. The novel takes place in two parallel times, the first being 1972 and the second the years during and after the French Revolution. Both plot lines center around the search for a mystical chess set and attempts to discover the human counterparts to various pieces (the hero and villain in each time line are the Black and White Queens, respectively; very nice little twist, that). The board, once complete, will supposedly impart unlimited power to he who possesses it, and thus leaders from Marat and Catherine the Great to Muammar Khaddafi run throughout the book, looking to get their hands on it. The pace is quick, the action almost nonstop (the present-day time line is quicker-paced and much more compelling, but the past ain't all that bad).

The writing, on the other hand, is almost painful in places. Neville descends in to the realm of cliché at least once per chapter, at times more than once per page. Clumsy attempts at foreshadowing (you know the type: "but I never thought, when I woke up in the morning, that this day would change my life forever!") are more commonplace here than in a whole shelf of novels by Bulwer-Lytton. It's possible that Ms. Neville took the nineteenth-century definition of "romance novel" a tad too seriously for being a twentieth-century writer. And this is certainly an unique experience in that regard; a classic nineteenth-century romance novel written, all too often, like a Harlequin circa 1985.

All in all, it is a fun little book requiring great suspension of disbelief. I'd have given it another star if part of my suspension of disbelief didn't have to be in the author's writing ability. ...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2014 Mike (the Paladin) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

FLASH! Definition of the word "thriller" changes. Now the word "thriller" can be deemed to include slow moving, overly convoluted stories that wander from point to point with little actual plot development or indeed plot involvment!

Yes we have another story here in the vein of The Da Vinci Code. (I have been informed that this book was written in '88. I had originally said it was "apparently inspired by said Da Vinci Code". My error. That said, it doesn't make the book any better.) Taking place ...more

flag 41 likes · Like · see review

Jun 07, 2008 LauraKaarina rated it really liked it

Shelves: fluff

The two more recent books that most closely resemble The Eight are The Da Vinci Code and Kate Mosse's The Labyrinth, but I found The Eight a more enjoyable read than either of them. The novel is utterly audacious in its (ab)use of historical characters, completely, joyfully implausible in its plotting, and I'm not certain whether the language of Romantic page-turners the author makes frequent use of ("dear reader, little did I know that in two hours' time I would be running for my life trying to ...more

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Mar 22, 2019 Anna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, mystery

an amazing book, especially in the end! the last 100 pages were a real page-turner!!!!

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2007 Keith rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: afficionados of European history

"The Eight" reads like a student attempting to wow her professor by using as many similies as she can (irony intended). I think Neville chose the name "The Eight," because there are roughly eight sentences per chapter that don't contain a forced, awkward similie.

At least that was true for the first 90% of the novel, which was almost Dickensien in its detail. For the last 10%, it is writen more like a short story, with months of time being skiped and important, climactic scenes being rushed into ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Dec 19, 2007 LJ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: new_york_city, contemporary_post_1945, suspense, middle-east, georgian_1714-1811_1820-37, france

The Eight - Ex
Kathleen Neville

The Montglane Service, an ornate, jeweled chess set given to Charlemagne by the Moors, is said to hold a code which when deciphered will bring great power. Nations and individuals have schemed to possess all the pieces. As the set is dispersed during the French Revolution, a young novice risks her life to safeguard it. Alternating with her story are the present-day efforts of a U.S. computer expert and a Russian chess master to assemble the set and solve its mystery ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2009 Andy rated it did not like it

The absolute worst. Intolerable.

The kind of endless, deluded, humorless, self-satisfied, tone-deaf, utterly witless manuscript that I'm sure publishers find in the mail all the time but must NEVER EVER PUBLISH. Picked it up hoping for approximately the literary equivalent of "National Treasure," instead got the literary equivalent of diarrhea. That this is beloved by anyone anywhere, and that it ever elicited the press quotes inside the front cover, absolutely boggles my mind. There is NO dimen ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2009 Ray rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Sometimes you read a book and find yourself wishing it'll never end. If you want that, this is a book for you. I thought it'd never end, and I don't mean that in a good way. The book has been compared to the DaVinci Code, but I think that's an unfortunate comparison. The story alternates between the 1970's and the late 1700's, both periods linked by the individuals quest for lost ancient knowledge. To me, the action and dangers are contrived, as is the object of the search. If you can get caught ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Apr 30, 2013 Stacy Green rated it it was amazing

I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could. The plot Katherine Neville created with The Eight is incredible, intertwined with history and myth and science. Her characters are wonderful, and she does a great job of keeping us wondering until the end who is really on the "good" side. As a writer, I am truly stunned by the intricacy of this plot. Anyone who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code should enjoy The Eight, and it is a better book, in my opinion. A must read, especially for writers learning ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2017 Stjepan Cobets rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-home-library, fiction, historical-novels, thrillers

I read it a long time ago, but it really is a great book.

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2015 Jeannette Nikolova rated it liked it

Read on the WondrousBooks blog.

Long story short: I got this book from NetGalley and I was unbelievably excited about it. In the end, it took me entirely too many weeks to finish it and now I have to send it to the "mediocre at best" shelf.

Now let me elaborate.

The story of The Eight seemed very compelling: a mysterious chess set, a game that has been going on for ages, two female characters going on the same quest, set apart by 200 years of chasing, a giant battle of good and evil including h ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2012 Simone Sinna rated it it was amazing

Along with Shantaram, reviewed previously, this is a book that spoke to me. Grabbed me and wound its magic around me, seeping into my soul. I have probably read it at least ten times and several sections more than that.
Is it literary genius? No. Is it well written and engrossing? Yes. Fast paced, can’t be put down? Yes. Is it perfect? No. The concept is so good though it had me wanting to rewrite and re-imagine parts of it, trying to think of ways of making the chess game metaphor stronger.
In br Along with Shantaram, reviewed previously, this is a book that spoke to me. Grabbed me and wound its magic around me, seeping into my soul. I have probably read it at least ten times and several sections more than that.
Is it literary genius? No. Is it well written and engrossing? Yes. Fast paced, can’t be put down? Yes. Is it perfect? No. The concept is so good though it had me wanting to rewrite and re-imagine parts of it, trying to think of ways of making the chess game metaphor stronger.
In brief – and it’s a longish book – the story is in two halves, woven together throughout. There is a current time section where the protagonist is a sassy 23 year old female computer whizz who from the first page I just totally became, entering into her world as though it was mine (I should add I am technologically challenged in real life). Reading about the author she has clearly borrowed a lot from her own life for this character. Including some of the less likely things the character does (like working in Algiers) which KN actually did.
The other section is historical, weaving just about everyone in history from Charlemange to Napoleon into the narrative. Farfetched? At times, but it’s too interesting to spend too much time agonising over. Part of the beauty of the book is it takes you to a different place and you really don’t want to leave.
I read years after first reading this book that Katherine Neville had written it in a tree-house on the Californian coast. She described the house – think mansion wrapped around a huge tree trunk and on a cliff with miles of ocean before you – and it made me think how important where you write can be. I know ‘Power of One’ author Bryce Courtney ties himself to a chair for hours in the evening to write, but me, put me in that tree-house and I think I could write a best seller too...
She has written, years later, a sequel, The Fire. Same voice but this time it’s the daughter of the original heroine. We get a glimpse of the mother and I longed somewhat nostalgically to see ore of her, but the pace picks up and you’re away again. Both books you need a week free with a glass of wine and a fire – or a view of the Californian coast ¬– and it will be as if you’ve been to all the exotic places and times without having to pay for the airfare (or time travel).
...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2014 Mike (the Paladin) rated it did not like it

FLASH! Definition of the word "thriller" changes. Now the word "thriller" can be deemed to include slow moving, overly convoluted stories that wander from point to point with little actual plot covered!

Yes we have another story here in the vein of The Da Vinci Code. (I have been informed that this book was written in '88. I had originally said it was "apparently inspired by said Da Vinci Code". My error. That said, it doesn't make the book any better.) Taking place in both the past and the futur ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2016 Sheila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, read-in-2016, letters-journals-or-manuscripts

4 stars--I really liked it.

There are some warnings I feel I should give about this book before recommending it to people:
1. It's about a magic chess set. Yes, literally.
2. The writing is solid, but not great. (There are some dated elements of racism and fat shaming, but these are mild.)
3. The historical facts are shaky.

Despite all these things, though, I really liked this book. It was a nonstop adventure, with lots of action--the perfect summer read. There is both a modern and a historical narr ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Oct 03, 2017 Virginia Cavanillas rated it really liked it

Old book too. Please don't mind me. Keep reading your things.

...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2008 Ben rated it liked it

I read this book for the first time in 1992 when I was fourteen. I just finished rereading it. I dug up my copy when I moved to NYC 2 years ago and had been curious to pick it up again since then - partly because I had vague recollections of a couple of hot sex scenes, but largely because over a decade after I originally read it, there was a complete cultural explosion centering around another book featuring ancient secrets playing out amid high-paced modern day intrigue, namely The Da Vinci Cod I read this book for the first time in 1992 when I was fourteen. I just finished rereading it. I dug up my copy when I moved to NYC 2 years ago and had been curious to pick it up again since then - partly because I had vague recollections of a couple of hot sex scenes, but largely because over a decade after I originally read it, there was a complete cultural explosion centering around another book featuring ancient secrets playing out amid high-paced modern day intrigue, namely The Da Vinci Code. Since I myself basically hated The Da Vinci Code and resented all the attention it got, I found myself wondering if The Eight hadn't deserved some of that attention.

Well, it did. The books are actually quite similar in a number of important ways. Not only are they both about modern-day murder mysteries leading to quests for ancient relics of great power, but they both involve a good deal of decoding of multi-layered messages and creating of mythic narratives connecting different eras by playing a little fast and loose with history. This review is really a side-by-side comparison of the two books.

The Eight is a high-paced mystery/adventure, but it is not quite as effective a page-turner as The Da Vinci Code since it lacks the latter's dastardly manner of ending every chapter on a cliff-hanger and then switching to a different story line, leaving you (me) with no choice but to read on and be introduced to a new cliff-hanger before getting satisfaction in the old one. I consider this a virtue of The Eight by comparison, since at the end of The Da Vinci Code I basically just felt like my curiosity had been taken advantage of. However, it's also a function of the fact that The Eight regularly goes into a bit too much detail. This is the one meritocratic reason I can think of why The Eight never got the attention of its successor.

Other than that, every weakness of The Eight - hackneyed exposition, a romantic subplot not really justified by the main story, a tendency to overhype its revelations, an inevitably unsatisfying denouement after all the intricate build-up, and a lingering impression that the author is engaging in a bit of wish-fulfillment - is an equal if not deeper weakness in The Da Vinci Code. Meanwhile, The Eight has a good deal to recommend it:

First of all, it's quite intellectually ambitious, much more so than TDVC. In fact it's a veritable nerdfest. The action takes place both in the late 18th century and the 1970s, in locations ranging from the USA to France, England, Algeria, and Russia. The narrative manages to tie together not only a number of players in the French Revolution - Talleyrand, Robespierre, Marat, and a young Napoleon - but a vast number of other 18th century notables, political and intellectual: Catherine the Great, Benjamin Franklin, the mathematicians Euler and Fourier, the poets Wordsworth and Blake, the philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau, and the chess player Andre Philidor, among others. The history of which the narrative makes referential use has a much wider scope still. But it doesn't stop with history: math, science, and music are involved as well. Meanwhile somehow everything gets connected to the game of chess, metaphorically or literally. (Actually, from a literary point of view, much of this, especially the math and the science, is actually kind of troublesome - c.f. "hackneyed exposition", above - but you gotta give author Katherine Neville credit for what she's trying to create.)

Secondly, The Eight's 2 female leads (one in the 18th century and one in the 70s) both completely drive the plot, exercizing substantial smarts, resourcefulness and determination in addition to considerable hotness. This is 2008 and this shouldn't really be anything to get excited about. However, since in The Da Vinci Code, which purports to be a sort of feminist book since it's supposedly all about uncovering the Church's repression of the divine feminine, there is only one important female character (Sophie Neveau) and she, although ostensibly a cryptographer, doesn't do or figure out almost anything important in the course of the plot, I found myself reading The Eight with a feeling that it was sort of an antidote to TDVC's fake feminism.

Overall, I don't think I can really claim The Eight is a "good book". I certainly didn't find it satisfying. (And see the list of its sins shared with TDVC in paragraph 4 above.) But now that The Da Vinci Code has legitimated the genre of hamhanded ancient-secret codebreaker thrillers, I find myself wanting to fight for The Eight's place at this table. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2007 Sarah Sammis rated it did not like it

Shelves: released

I've had The Eight on the TBR shelf next to my bed for two or three years. I got it right around the time I had just finished reading The Da Vinci Code and the blurb on the back compared it to Brown's book and the Bookcrosser who gave me the book had liked the intricacies of the plot.

This 600 page mystery involves a formula for an elixir of life, a rare chess set and some Cold War era espionage. The story jumps between the close of the 18th century and "modern day" 1972. To make the chess theme ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2015 Norah Una Sumner rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Norah by: Mom

Shelves: adult, drama-llama, family-theme, philosophy, romance, adventure, great-male-characters, fantasy, 3-star-read, read-in-serbian

I don't even know what to say about his book.

It had so much potential but failed to deliver it the right way.There are two female leads-Mireille,who lives in the 18th century,and is actually a really cool character,and Catherine Velis,who lives in the 70s,and is a really irritating character.I just didn't like her,my biggest problem with her is that she's a freaking know-it-all-''Oh I don't know anything about Algeria but I know that...'' or ''Oh I don't know anything about chess but I know that ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2018 Jess The Bookworm rated it liked it · review of another edition

This book had such a great plot, but it was just so badly executed. It follows Cat Velis, a computer expert in the 70s who, as punishment for not getting involved in something underhanded at work, gets put on an assignment to Algeria. Before she leaves she attends a New Year's party, where she meets a fortune teller who gives her a cryptic riddle involving her date of birth and "the eight". Cat finds out that the riddle is linked to Charlemagne's legendary chess set, the Montglane service. This ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2016 Tracey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, netgalley, mystery

I read The Eight a long time ago, and loved it. It's happened before with Open Road books on Netgalley – I like to request books I know and give a bit of a boost to their reissue. It's also nice to know that I'm going to like a book going in rather than taking the gamble a Netgalley book usually is.

Unfortunately, this time it didn't work so well. The first half or so was a wild ride, smart and fun and fascinating, and I kept thinking this is what The DaVinci Code so very much wanted to be. But ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Oct 20, 2017 Jeanette rated it liked it · review of another edition

DRUM ROLL! I finished it! The only book in the last 4 years I had to renew. TA-DA!

Well, it was 3.5 stars, fully and yet I cannot round it up. This book was like going through Moscow to get from Paris to LA. Or sailing the wrong way around the world and then transporting across continents to get to your original ocean. Was the journey worth it?

Partly it was. But still way, way overblown.

For me, the premise WAS interesting, but the number of players and their movements were problematic from the p DRUM ROLL! I finished it! The only book in the last 4 years I had to renew. TA-DA!

Well, it was 3.5 stars, fully and yet I cannot round it up. This book was like going through Moscow to get from Paris to LA. Or sailing the wrong way around the world and then transporting across continents to get to your original ocean. Was the journey worth it?

Partly it was. But still way, way overblown.

For me, the premise WAS interesting, but the number of players and their movements were problematic from the point of each time period. And putting those in alternate order? And of course, one time period is always, well for me it is, more interesting than the other. And one of the reasons that I did LIKE this tale was that the modern 1973 plus period was in my reading- FAR more enthralling than the former era French Revolutionary sections. And that is incredibly outlier for my own reading experiences, because I cannot remember one book/novel/story or print anything in which the older era has not been more embedded during my reading of it. NOT here. I found the women in the French period of terrible travail not "knowable". Going to the slicer for someone else over a myth legend of "importance" without knowing any practical applications for it or the "why"? It was a ridiculous dichotomy. Not only Charlotte but BOTH of the cousins were nearly all physical description and almost no soul core, IMHO. Religious faith or convent/order loyalty or devotion to the Abbess? Those I could understand, but in this era not a sacrifice willingness for the enigma they faced? Not a loyalty to an unknown science or cabal of forms. Not when mobs are pulling arms off of people. And that IS something you do not forget and then walk blindly within during the next months to "visit" a prisoner or to even expose yourself to crowds. I know this, believe me. I've seen mobs and what they do.

Too much, of too much here in back story and asides. And the tangents to completely unrelated story lines and national or geographic histories could have been massively cut. I think she just likes to tell us how much she knows?

The best parts absolutely all occurred in Algiers and that desert. For a time I really enjoyed it as a 4 star fully when it became with Lily and Cat doing a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" scenario for that trek in that supreme auto. SO far fetched but a delicious and impossible adventure!

I found Talleyrand beyond the beyond. An impossible man in a scenario that just made it easier to name drop all the people of fame for that time that he knew, met, greeted, partied with etc. (And all their related endless histories and aside stories of outcomes?) Marat was done well, I have to admit. And did I have to read about the color of their eyes (nearly every single person) over and over and over again?

As much as I am glad I persisted and didn't throw in the towel- I CAN believe that I wouldn't be reading others of hers. TOO TOO for my taste!

The more I thought about the ending too! She actually had to print/say "The end of the game." When anyone who is reading this has looked at the number of pages to go at least 20 times during the second half?

And think about it. If that ever was produced- that product of the chess set puzzle! With human nature being as it is! Like unringing a bell or going back to a non-atomic energy/bomb time. Impossible to unlearn. You or your "tribe" or "group" would either destroy it completely or pass it along to "us" so that we could beat "them". It would never be kept secret or enshrined in a method that requires such puzzling perplexities. After the example of Minnie- a computer would be able to find the stash or figure it out from the leftovers. How about taking her used glass for a DNA sample? LOL! Neville just went a bridge too far in trying to get every scientific myth and proclaimed survey (philosopher's stone, alchemy success, periodic table and on and on)of the past into the mix. Sometimes less is more and sure would have been here. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2014 Linda rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery, quest, french-revolution

In 1972, Catherine Velis, a computer expert, is given a special assignment in Algeria, and when an antique dealer hears about it he approaches her with a request. Even before her departure, strange things starts to happen and she realizes that she is part of something she doesn't understand. Everything seems to be connected to an ancient quest.

People from different parts of the world search for an ancient, moorish chess service given to Charlemagne and hidden in Montglane Abbey. The Montglane se ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

May 19, 2020 C. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: riedel-titles-2020

“The Eight”, 1988, was an enchanting second-hand bargain about 20 years ago. When I felt adventurous, I ignored a peer who low-balls books I revere. Instinct prevailed! This is a masterpiece! Katherine Neville aced essential elements and remarkably, turned traits I avoid on their heads.

I know the bare basics of chess and no chemistry.
I am neither keen on historical fiction, nor on split narration.
If there must be dual timelines, I am always antsy to resume the modern story.
No matter how well I e ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2009 Gail rated it did not like it

Shelves: losers

I was given this novel to read, as a similar level of enjoyment as The DaVinci Code.
I'm here to say, not even close.
It has all the hallmarks that lead to an enjoyable read for me - historical figures, layered storylines, small details that add to great importance as the story develops, and zzzzzz.....

Let me state that I enjoy playing chess. However, reading about it is something of a completely different nature. Figures, playing methodologies, inside references, et al just made my eyes glaze ove ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2008 Barry rated it it was ok

Recommended to Barry by: Laura

The story was not bad, although quite contrived and some interesting twists. The style was laborious - I wish someone could just walk into a room instead of entering the room lit by the amber glow of an oversized fireplace, in front of it were arrayed couches in a floral fabric and overstuffed pillows strewn on an leather ottoman. I mean sometimes you just walk into a room. The excessive floral and overstuffed language got in the way of the plot. And I was waiting for the Velis = Lives anagram t ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2008 Tattered Cover Book Store added it · review of another edition

Recommended to Tattered Cover by: Cathy G, Jinx

Shelves: staff-recommends

Cathy G says:
"This is one of my all-time favorite reads! I re-read it periodically, with an atlas nearby so I can visualize all the characters' travels. The plot centers around a fabulous Moorish filigreed chess set originally given to Charlemagne, which possesses such powers that over the ages, people play the parts of the chess pieces in life--black or white team--as they hunt for the actual pieces. The stakes for winning the game are awesome power, to be used to good or evil depending on who ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Mathematical Comments	12	135	Oct 18, 2020 05:37PM
Play Book Tag: The Eight by Katherine Neville 4 stars	7	18	Aug 25, 2019 09:02PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Videos About This Book

Add a comment

Genres

Fiction

626 users

Mystery

592 users

Historical > Historical Fiction

451 users

Thriller

342 users

Fantasy

194 users

Historical

125 users

Adventure

123 users

Suspense

98 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

91 users

Romance

47 users

See top shelves…

About Katherine Neville

Katherine Neville

675 followers

Katherine Neville is an American author. Her novels include The Eight, A Calculated Risk, and The Magic Circle. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and she previously worked as a photographer, a model, a consultant at the Department of Energy, and a vice president of the local Bank of America.
-Wikipedia