The Eight

What a rook

The story was hard to follow at times and the twists were a bit cheap. Driving in 200 degree temps in a convertible! Come on. I did not even finish the book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not a page turner, this book is a waste of time

The book is boring, way too long, not a thriller at all. The idea of the plot is not bad, but the implementation is very poor.

The characters are shallow, the novel is full of ridiculous stereotypes, like the cartoon KGB agents with names of Russian writers, simplistic French Revolution figures portrayals, etc. Historical name-dropping is over-the-top.

I listened to the book on CD, it was read by Susan Denaker. She is certainly an accomplished, even talented narrator, and her prononciation of foreing names, mostly French, was decent. However, it is regrettable that she felt the need (as many other narrators do) to give the characters heavy accents, even when they are talking to each other in their own language. It sometimes makes it hard to understand what is being said, and also makes the whole thing sound like a cheap Hollywood movie. Also, when a female narrator tries to sound like a man - not a pretty picture, she sounds more like some old lesbian.

As for The Eight, don't waste your time and money, this novel is nowhere near the books by authors like Eco or Dan Brown.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Just Say 'No' to Neville

I was thoroughly disappointed with The Eight. The synopsis led me to believe that Katherine Neville had a great idea for this mystical historical fiction with two plot lines both about Charlemagnes all-powerful chess set. But, one should never judge a book by its cover, or its summary.

I had just read and fallen in love with The Da Vinci Code and was looking for a similar historical fiction/action type book. And the cover of the edition that I purchased had reviews from dependable sounding sources that promised this book to be as good, or better than Dan Brown's. But it was a huge disappointment.

This book had many problems. But underneath the boring writing and the historical facts, the slow plot. Everything just happens too slowly. Yes, I understand that this is a book. No, I don't read slowly. What? You don't like fast story lines? Well, I do. And this is my review. I absolutely hate when a story gets so slow that you have to force yourself to continue reading. And that was exactly the case with this book. There were too many times whilst I was slogging away I told myself, Okay, just keep reading. The next page will probably get better. If I hadn't had to read this book for school, I would have given up a hundred pages in. The 'wow' factor was just missing. When you have a good book, you want to keep reading until the very last page. There's something just pulling you, making you want to know more about the story. The Eight was missing that. But, regardless, I slowly and painfully pulled through to the end. And so I can fairly say, that I did not enjoy this book.

If I had read The Eight for pleasure I would have thought it descent. But with the pressures of school and comparing it to other books I've read, this was bad. It was 600 pages of historical facts, chess quotes, mind puzzles, a silly storyline, and poor writing with a few sex scenes thrown in as Neville's desperate attempt to keep your attention.

This book was written for a very select audience. And after every page, that audience shrank as they got bored and left. If you love history, hate fast plots, enjoy boring writing, and are a chess master, this book is for you. If not, I highly recommend you find yourself another book and not waste your time reading this one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Glue to your seat book!!

It's a really good book if you like suspense and some mind challenging.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My review is for the CD NOT THE BOOK If you listen to this version and don't read the book - you don't get the entire story!

I read the book and LOVED IT. All of these great reviews, in my opinion are right on target. Frequently, after reading a good book, I will buy the audio, for my less adventures family members who won't put or don't have the time to 'read' a book. I liked this one so much, I did just that.....However, this is a HEADS UP to all of you 'listeners' - a large portion of the book is ommited in the cd version. It is still a 'good' story but much of the detail is missing. It just skips it. The entire 'drive thru the dessert and the 'bats' and much more is just not there.!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

absolutely amazing

A page turner of a novel that kept me in my seat of what's going to happen next! It may be a long novel, but there is a good story behind it! And though it does seem to reflect the persona of the author herself, it showed how she can marvel at storytelling putting history and adventure into play. This is an excellent read that I have ventured as I'm more of a Rollins fan, but I do love a story that has some history and myth behind it and added with adventure that puts you right into the story itself.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Eight is about a 7.

I had heard so many glowing reviews about Katherine Neville's debut novel. I finally got around to reading it and was underwhelmed. Maybe you can chalk that up to me expecting a lot coming into it but I thought the book relied way too heavily on coincidences and conveniences. Every person that the characters ran into in the 1700s just happened to be a huge figure in world history. Also, the writing style was very thick which made the read a little more difficult especially with all of the technical chess talk that I didn't know much about to begin with. Overall, I thought it was a decent book but certainly not worthy of the praise it received.

If you like The Lost Symbol...

A classic tale of intrigue and adventure set against a backdrop of 1970s Algeria and New York with a bit of the 1790s French Revolution thrown in for good measure. This novel predates the Da Vinci Code but has much of the same aspects that made that book so popular.

The Eight

Great reading if you get into jumping from one point in time to the present. Very thrilling to read. Have to pay attention to it.

Entertaining despite flaws

I enjoyed this book a lot more when I first read it. It is adventurous and entertaining. The mystery is gripping. The problems are in the editing ( a woman whose feet are blistered and bleeeding after a day in the desert goes immediately on a 2 day hike without mentioning her feet; stuff like that) and in the resolution which is unsatisfying.

Implausible

Implausable & confusing. Great concept, interesting tie with different centuries, but really not clearly explained with a lot of crazy twists.

Better than DaVinci Code (my opionion)

I really enjoyed this book for everything I like about thrillers, mysteries, action, romance, etc. The plot moves along without becoming tiresome. The characters are colorful and their connection is not entirely obvious too soon. I had no problem jumping between the eras as it never became confused but was very concise and organized for the reader. I would recommend this book to pretty much every one of my reading friends.

I have read this book every year since the first year it was published.

Katherine Neville has written a masterpiece. I never tire of reading this book. Each time I read it I learn something new about a character, or the plot. I have given this book to several people as gifts and find out later that they enjoyed it so much they made sure others would read it as well. One year our book club read it and every member became as enthralled as I. I have only had paperback copies and have to replace them several times. Recently, I bought the (long a-waited) sequel and can't wait to start that as well.

Great Read

I enjoyed this book when it first came out and still love to read it. I have given it aways numerous times, and always with a return thank you.

An All-Time Favorite!

I've been devouring books since I was five years old and The Eight, from the first time I read it twenty years ago, remains one of the most entertaining books that I have ever read. The long-awaited sequel, The Fire, gave me an excuse to re-read The Eight and, once again, I had difficulty putting it down at 2am. A unique blend of history, intrigue, thriller, fantasy,drama, and romance, Katherine Neville has woven a complex tale spanning several time periods, past and present, without ever seeming choppy or disjointed. This well researched, beautifully written and entirely unique book is centered around an ancient chess set. Populated with historical figures as well as fictional main characters, this saga portrays the horrors of the French Revolution and stretches across three continents. Although it was hard to see the story come to an end, this time the sequel, The Fire, was already in my bookcase. (The Fire, is in its own right, another great book.) Don't miss either one!

The Eight is Great!!!!

A totally wonderful book,the Characters are well written and completely lovable,
the story itself is really interesting and to top it all you learn more from it then most history books.A Top Ten Book of all time for me.

Favorite Book of all time!

I approached this book with trepidation. Yet another piece of romantic historical fiction. Was I ever surprised. The characters were richly developed and easy to relate to and the story line intriguing. Why couldn't the second book be like this. What a huge disappointment after so many years of anticipation. Stick with the "Eight", the one hit wonder!

Completely Engrossing Read!!

Wow, I was not expecting such a great saga. I picked up this book due to Barnes & nobles rec. and was not disappointed in the least. Completely fascinating, I can't wait for part two THe Fire. I would recommend this book to anyone who love historical fiction or is a chess lover. I don't play chess but loved it just the same. You wont be sorry, though it is a long book it goes by fast.

Checkmate!

This is a fantastic, well-told, page-turner story in which the lives of certain chosen people become intertwined with that of a chess set. Their present day lives are also thrown into the mix with the lives of people vying for the same chess set two hundred years previously. With many historical references and twists and turns, this is a must have for any book lover. Ten times as good as "The Da Vinci Code."

A reviewer

This book is outstanding. It blends historical and contemporary fiction with legend, alchemy, chess, secret codes, and a bit of romance. I was first drawn to this book because of the chess element, because I love chess, but the plot quickly engaged me. This is a long, luscious read, with tantalizingly hinted-at and drawn-out romance that wraps up very satisfyingly. The book ends on a somewhat ambiguous note... but I won't give it away. You need to read this for yourself!