The Eight (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A FLOCK OF NUNS CROSSED THE ROAD, THEIR CRISP WIMPLES FLUTtering about their heads like the wings of large sea birds..." (more)
Key Phrases: black queen, black king, pegboard chess set, Montglane Service, New York, White Queen (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Katherine Neville's debut novel is a postmodern thriller set in 1972 ... and 1790. In the 20th century, Catherine Velis is a computer expert with a flair for music, painting, and chess who, on her way to Algeria at the behest of the accounting firm where she is employed, is invited to take a mysterious moonlighting assignment: recover the pieces of an old chess set missing for centuries.

In the midst of the French Revolution, a young novice discovers that her abbey is the hiding place of a chess set, once owned by the great Charlemagne, which allows those who play it to tap into incredible powers beyond the imagination. She eventually comes into contact with the major historical figures of the day, from Robespierre to Napoleon, each of whom has an agenda.

The Eight is a non-stop ride that recalls the swashbuckling adventures of Indiana Jones as well as the historical puzzles of Umberto Eco which, since its first publication in 1988, has gone on to acquire a substantial cult following.

From Publishers Weekly

Even readers with no interest in chess will be swept up into this astonishing fantasy-adventure, a thoroughly accomplished first novel. Catherine Velis, a computer expert banished to Algeria by her accounting firm, gets caught up in a search for a legendary chess set once owned by Charlemagne. An antique dealer, a Soviet chess master, KGB agents and a fortune-teller who warns Catherine she's in big trouble all covet the fabled chess pieces, because the chess service, buried for 1000 years in a French abbey, supplies the key to a magic formula tied to numerology, alchemy, the Druids, Freemasonry, cosmic powers. As the story shuttles between the 1970s and the 1790s, we are introduced to 64 characters, including Mireille, a spunky French nun who helps scatter the individual chess pieces across Europe lest the set fall into evil hands. Involving Napoleon, Talleyrand, Casanova, Voltaire, Rousseau, Robespierre and Catherine the Great in the quest, Neville has great fun rewriting history and making it all ring true. With two believable heroines, nonstop suspense, espionage, murder and a puzzle that seems the key to the whole Western mystical tradition, this spellbinder soars above the level of first-rate escapist entertainment. Daring, original and moving, it seems destined to become a cult classic. $100,000 ad/promo; major foreign sales; BOMC altenate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (June 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345419081
• ISBN-13: 978-0345419088
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (389 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,011 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neville spins an incredible plot....., May 3, 2004

By	L. Quido "quidrock" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Eight: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved "The Eight". That comment alone causes readers who appreciate fiction writing for the writing caliber, as opposed to the plot, to groan aloud. "The Eight" is an oversized (500+ pages) novel, a first time effort for author Katherine Neville, whose later works are far less popular. "The Eight" on the other hand, is much beloved and widely read.

Neville's prose is typical of first time authors. Characterization can be thin, dialogue can be unrealistic, the romance altogether too passionate to be believable. What distinguishes this work, and what has given the book its cult following is the plot, the plot, the plot, the PLOT!

The premise takes two parallel events, in two different timeframes (the '70's and the late 18th century) and weaves the stories together. Both are quests for the mystical Montglane chess set, an Indian relic, once a gift to Charlemagne. Neville's got an imagination that knows no bounds, and she draws dozens of historical figures into the plot mix, both in this century and that. Catherine the Great plays a role, as does modern-day despot Muhammar Khaddafi. The Montglane chess set, like Tolkien's "The One Ring", has mystical powers, and must be prevented, by an innocent, from falling into the hands of those who represent evil and anarchy.

Part fairy tale, part romance, part historical fiction, part suspense novel, "The Eight" is unforgettable for its complexity and the peek into the mind of a great storyteller. You won't soon forget it!

53 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I regret wasting so much time reading this huge book, September 27, 2007

By	Thistle (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eight: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I wanted to like this book. As I began, I felt the book could have used some editing, too many repeated phrases, too many unnecessary details (why did she put the dog in the sink?) After about 300 pages the lack of editing and the unbelievable coincidences became annoying, but I continued to read it, thinking there would be a payoff at the end. There was not. I never did figure out what "The Eight" was, and the breathless sex scenes and characters forever burying their faces in each others hair, shoulders, neck, etc. was intolerable. The plot had promise, but the execution was very flawed. A good editor could have cut this book in half and made it better.

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste Your Time, February 19, 2008

By	M. Calkins (Renton, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eight (Paperback)

This book was recommended to me by three different people and so I looked forward to reading this book. After a few chapters in, I realized that the style of writing was overdone, the plot was "trying too hard" and the way the author tried to fit in as many historical characters as possible was undeniably ridiculous. This book would have a lot more interesting had it had a couple hundred pages edited from it's story line. I just wanted the story to end.