BTH-EIGHT

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Summary: The Eight: An Interesting metaphor
Review: I first discovered "The eight" from picking up a BookStore employees review. I almost bought it based on that. I waited more than a year to finally buy it and read it however. Once I began I was very impressed. Shortly into this book I found myself wondering about the author. I couldn't imagine that there were people who appreciated the same things that I do. I was reminded at times of "Godel,Escher,Bach" by Hofsteader. Upon completion of this work I was very impressed. The author has a unique opening to her chess game. An inspiring middle game. Unfortunately I felt that the end game was a bit weak. I was impressed enough however to find myself looking for more of her work. I would like the author to know that I appreciated a lot of the subtle things which I saw there. Someday you may play a game with a better end game. I think however that the her "game" was for the most part very sound. Congratulations.

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Summary: Tied with A Prayer for Owen Meany as my all-time favorite
Review: A friend leant me The Eight a good many years ago along with a bunch of other books. I looked at The Eight and didn't think a book about chess would hold my interest. The day before I was planning on returning the books I started it (I was bored and didn't want to read any of my own books) thinking that I wasn't going to get into it. I WAS WRONG! I couldn't put it down. Every day at work I'd watch the clock waiting for 5:00 so I could go home and continue reading it. Once I found myself near the end of the book, I kept finding something for me to do, so that I could postpone the inevitable. I have bought multiple copies of the years to pass along to friends. I think everybody should read this book. I even found myself in a library looking for the tale of Charlemagne and his chess set. Phenomenal book!

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Summary: The moment I picked this book up I was unable to lay it dow
Review: The Eight by Katherine Neville was very gripping. The plot moves back and forth between a French Revolution-era nun and a 1970s female financial executive. The two females are looking for the legendary chess service that belonged to Charlemagne, which almost destroyed him. Their search takes them throught many foreign places and near death adventures. The research on this book was excellent. Best book I have read in years.

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Summary: Engrossing from page one.
Review: This is my favorite book, its fictional story is lined with history. By book end you know more than when you started. Delightful !!!!

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Summary: Positively Thrilling
Review: Having finished this book not five minutes ago, I can say with a clear mind that it is by far one of my favortie books. The parallel stories of Mireille and Cat are fabulous to read and compare. This book encourages a lot of predictions and although some are correct, I was very surprised by the way it took certain twists. As a lover of historical fiction I am biased but as someone who is hardly interested in late Eighteenth Century Europe, I was quite pleasantly surprised at how quickly I became enthralled. Although the plot revolves around chess and alchemical formulae (neither of which are a hobby or true interest of mine), Katherine Neville captures even those like me and whisks the reader away to a world one doesn't want to leave. I can honestly say that this book is a fabulous page-turner and next-to-impossible to put down.

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Summary: too amazing for words
Review: I wish I could read this book over and over again, but I never have it long enough! I am always handing it off to a friend or relative insisting that they must read it!! My two best friends turned me on to this book and I am so grateful that they did. For being her first novel, Katherine Neville came up with a masterpiece! The characters, the romance, the adventure, it's all in one book and I couldn't put it down! A definite must read!

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Summary: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put it down the first time I read it and since then I have read it at least six times and will continue to do so for many years to come.

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Summary: It was great, I couldn't stop reading!!!!
Review: A friend of mine recomended this book to me. My first tought was.. it's to long!! but it turned out that it was great. I read it in less than 4 days, I mean I literally ate it!! My favorite character was Mireille. I will recomend this book to everyone

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Summary: You've got to read this!
Review: A friend of mine told me that I would absolutely love this book -- but I had some doubts. Well, those doubts went out the window once I picked up _The Eight_ it was very hard to put down. The characters are fascinating, the history that's interwoven with the fiction is well-structured, and the use of chess as the central theme is extremely clever. Lily is my favorite character (other than Cat) -- if you want to know why, well, you'll just have to read the book! ;-)

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Summary: A hard book to put down, it grabs you from the start!
Review: This story is a fast page-turner, as you try to figure out what the "next connection" might be. The historical figures are woven in so well that the roles they play seem entirely plausible. Katherine Neville has a knack for writing thought- provoking suspense!