BTH-EIGHT

Rating:
Summary: A Very Thought Provoking Page Turner
Review: Aside from the famous name dropping which I thought detracted from the book, a superb read. I still wonder about some of the word play throughout the book and also don't know who played the various positions in "The Game". For example Most Cats have 9 lives so what does Cat Velis =Cat Lives mean. and all the words beginning with car/kar?

Rating:
Summary: Interesting ideas, leaden writing
Review: A rush of historical figures and locales, several attractive/sexy characters, and a convoluted tie-in to chess and mathematics can't lift this novel beyond mediocrity. The problem is the leaden amateurish writing. Instead of carrying you along, the plot line's gyrations and the bland writing push you into exhaustion.

Rating:
Summary: a glorious whirlwind with a lame finale.
Review: Yes, I enjoyed it and gave up sleep to finish it. But the ending seem tacked-on, completely removable from the rest of the tale. After the author has carefully and ably introduced historical and mythical arcana of several varieties, not one of them is plausibly linked to the finale.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: Having avoided reading this, I got a copy while visiting my mother. Couldn't put it down. The mixing of historical & contemporary was marvelous! As a bookseller, I would reccommend this.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: This book was impossible to put down! Neville weaves a web of intrigue and suspense, and the complexity of the story and the interwoven characters was masterfully done! Plus the historical characters and the incredible descriptions are excellent! Having also read The Magic Circle (which I also loved), I am now a devoted fan.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent thriller that I wish didn't stop!
Review: Excellent. This is one of the best books I've ever read. It is definitely my favorite of all three of Ms. Neville's books.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome-grabs you from the beginning holds on till the end
Review: This book has everything you could want in a book. History, romance, adventure...it's all there! I've read and read this book over and over and I get more out of it each time! A GREAT read!!

Rating:
Summary: Gripping, informative
Review: This is a fantastic historical fiction. The overused!! historical figures are in the right place at the right time according to history. I'm not a fanatically history reader but this has tempted me to go to the library to read up on the characters I've been introduced to. This book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: The best Novel I have ever read!!!!!!
Review: It has been over 6 or 7 years since I have read this book but it still rings fresh in my mind. This book had several different interests for me beings that I enjoy chess, am a history nut and absolutely love mysteries and intrigue. This book done what would seemingly be the impossible and intertwined all these subjects together in a very smooth fashion. This book took all these things and intermingled them with real-life historical figures from the past and made you want to know more about these people. After I read this book I ran down to my library to find out more about Charlemagne, Robespeirre and Napoleone and Catherine the Great. This novel is most definitely a MUST READ!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly easy to put down.
Review: This book does not live up to the hype. The excessive name dropping of historical figures gets old quickly. The author tries so hard to keep everything mysterious that the characters are one-dimensional and the solution, when it comes, doesn't seem worth the trouble.