The Eight (The Eight, #1) in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Feb 28, 2008 MJ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: idiots-ultimate-reading, suspense, favorite

If you take The Da Vinci Code mix it with Iris Johansson’s Wind Dancer series and National Treasure the movie. Then serve with a side of chess and the French Revelation. Then for dessert serve Middle Eastern Mysticism what you get is The Eight.
A story that tells the tale of a famed and possibly cursed Montglane chess set that legend stats was once owned by Charlemagne and possess a power so great that it was buried and a great Abbey was build on top of it. Our story starts in 1790 at Montglane If you take The Da Vinci Code mix it with Iris Johansson’s Wind Dancer series and National Treasure the movie. Then serve with a side of chess and the French Revelation. Then for dessert serve Middle Eastern Mysticism what you get is The Eight.
A story that tells the tale of a famed and possibly cursed Montglane chess set that legend stats was once owned by Charlemagne and possess a power so great that it was buried and a great Abbey was build on top of it. Our story starts in 1790 at Montglane Abbey in the south of France. The Abbess who is the current guardian of the chess set has decided to close the Abby and scattered the piece of the chess set all over the world to keep it out of the hands of the current French government and the men who would use it for the wrong reasons should they discover its secret. Here we meet two cousin novices yet to take their vows Mireille and Valentine. The Abbess has entrusted them with 2 pieces and a secret mission. Should any other of the nuns become in danger they are to go to Mireille and Valentine in Paris.

Fast Forward to New York City 1972 computer expert Catherine Velis is about to be send to Algeria to work for the budding organization called OPEC. She is approached by a friend that while she is in Algeria to visit an antique dealer and purchase pieces of the mysterious chess set. At first she declines but then a mysterious fortune teller informs her she is in danger then disappears. 3 months later while attending a chess match with her friend Henrys daughter Lili, she is given the same message by a Russian GM chess player Solarian right before the man he was playing chess with hangs himself and somebody starts shooting at her a Lili. With bodies piling up and not sure what is going on Cat turns to her friend Nan together where they start to decipher the clues that are leading her to Algeria and the chess set.

The story goes back and forth between 1790's France and 1972 and Algeria until both stories slowly intertwine together. Along the way we meet a young French solider Napoleon Bonaparte along with every key player in the French Revelation as well as the key player that would later lead us to the oil embargo of the 70's.

I can not say more because it will only ruin the story and secret and mysteries are what drive this book.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It has been called the thinking mans Da Vinci Code and won awards all over the world. There is a lot of violence and some sex. I feel that the violence was important to the story to understand what state France and especially Paris were in during this time. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked The Da Vinci Code and especially to those who love the game of chess ...more

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Apr 02, 2008 EJ Johnson rated it did not like it

This book is very involved. You are meeting so many important people; politicians, poets, artists. It was quite a romp through a very amazing time in history. It focuses most on the greedy, harder side of life but the main characters were brave, courageous, and mostly upbeat, especially the modern ones. I didn't feel that the violence was out of line. It was a very violent time. Revolutions aren't pretty but the French Revolution was particularly gruesome. Like Michael said, it took time to read ...more

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Mar 30, 2008 Smarti rated it it was ok

Shelves: mainstream

Well, what can I say? It was just a trash-read after all. I enjoy trashy books once in a while so nothing wrong with that. The book is a conspiration thriller mixed with some historical elements. It all seemed quite promising and in fact, I enjoyed the first 300 or so pages out of 500 a lot. However, after that I started to realize that the mystery/chase is not leading anywhere particularily exciting. In fact, the twist and turns were all more or less lame with good people always remaining good ...more

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Mar 18, 2008 Natalie Porter marked it as to-read

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