Customer Reviews

The Eight

5 star:		(222)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(57)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

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!

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.

This book is badly written, needlessly convoluted, and chock full of gratuitous and often inaccurate historical details. I found some of the historical name dropping laughable and clearly the author was overeager to impart intellectual gravitas to her sub-par effort by padding the narrative with copious amounts of historical celebrity name dropping. I'm not even going to mention all the bodice ripper rip-off sections that just make this book that much more of a chore to read. The whole book seems to be one big exposition consisting of around 590 pages leading to a rushed, limp ending that holds no thrill and is easily guessed, with a bit of imagination, much earlier.

I'm a big fan of chess and mysteries, but this book was so dull I stopped reading it. Now, it will join the quagmire of books I have in a trashbag that will hopefully end up in a library or used book store. The cover looks cool though.

The Eight wasn't bad, but comparing it to Brown's The Da Vinci Code is simply not fair to the latter. The plot is nowhere near as intricate or exciting. Not quiet as well-researched, either. If nothing else (and there was plenty), I assure you, nobody received a "special education" in the Pioneer's Palace in the USSR. It's like saying that somebody was specially educated at the Boy Scouts. The two stories are disconnected till the last couple of pages. Some of the scenes and dialogue smacked of Danielle Steel.

Overall, I found it rather underwhelming.
Given the wealth of excellent books out there, I wouldn't recommend it.

I'm not going into what the book's about, since it's already been discused in previous reviews.

The plot is interesting and the jumping back and forth story from the different ages I enjoyed. I could't wait to find out the end of the "Game." Suffice to say, that I agree there were many repetitions in the story. How absolutely disappointing! I could've overlooked a lot of the book, but to finish the book and feel that let down- what a wastew of time.

I don't recommend the book. If you must, borrow it from somebody or purchase it used.

It is hard to convey how annoying this book was;I kept thinking it would get better, but it culminated in anti-climax! Every historical personage from the 1700s was dragged into the novel, with no particular reason for being there other than as a hyperactive name-dropping exercise. The contemporary characters were simplistically drawn and cliched. This is certainly NOT Le Carre, Ambler, Furst, Chandler, Deighton, or any number of others... The story wasn't as good as The Da Vinci Code, although it was compared to it (although the writing of the Da Vinci Code is similarly wooden). I kept thinking it would get better, and midway it became simply a challenge to finish it. Don't waste your time or money.

After reading Katherine Neville's bio on the inside back cover, it became immediately clear that the author holds herself in high regard. This perspective was reinforced by "The Eight" in which one of the two main characters (Catherine) not only shares the author's name but, apparently, many of her experiences and talents as well.

Overall, I did enjoy "The Eight", but it did not meet the expectations that had been set by reading other reviews. While connoisseurs of Dan Brown and Umberto Eco will probably enjoy this book, it falls well short of the suspense of "The Da Vinci Code" or the historical/intellectual rigor of "Foucault's Pendulum". At times, this book seems like an exercise by Ms. Neville to see how many famous 20th-century politicians, philosophers, painters, composers, mathematicians and soldiers she could squeeze into a historical fiction. By the time I encountered a young French officer named Bonaparte, I had grown weary of the game.

Ms. Neville stretches the limits of credibility from time to time (IMHO, the most notable example being a convertible Rolls Royce driving 1000 miles across the desert). Also, I found the first-person narrative (of the Catherine Velis story) to be a bit tedious. But maybe that is just a personal preference.

Finally, after plowing through 600 pages, I was disappointed by an ending that failed to achieve true closure. Of course, more enthusiastic fans will be excited by this excuse to write a sequel (which I hear is actually in the works, 15+ years after "The Eight").

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.

I could not enjoy this book. I wanted to, I forced myself to read more than 450 pages to see if I could, but in the end I just didn't care enough to finish it. I found some plot elements too coincidental, our 1970s herione just a little too unlikeable, and for the life of me could not understand some charater's leaps of logic. That last could have something to do with me not understanding a thing about chess, though. I'm also someone who likes to be able to relate to, or at least feel some empathy for, a character I'm reading about, but none of the characters in this book caught me in any real way. Unfortunately this is not a book that I can recommend.