Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: Great plot device but outcome is very predictable. The characters are so stock as to be out of comic books. The author does a better job with the 18th century than with the 20th, the historical characters come alive and are fun and interesting while the fictional characters (the stars of the book) are terrible. How about some realism in your people Ms. Neville -- give them them age appropriate positions in the world and be at least somewhat realistic in their experiences. Very disappointing and ultimately brought down the book to a less than enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good story!
Review: Neville story is wonderful. I liked it. I learned a lot about the French Revolution in this book. The characters are pretty good presented. She's an excellent writer and history researcher.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic historical thriller
Review: This book is great- rich with details and suspense. It kept me hooked from the beginning. The characters were well-developed and believable. I can hardly wait to read Neville's other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite possibly the worst book I have ever read
Review: A REASONABLY INTELLIGENT FEMALE FILM DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE OF MINE (IN HER 30s, NO LESS)RECOMMENDED THIS TRAVESTY. I HAVE WASTED A WEEK OF MY LIFE SLOGGING THROUGH A GLORIFIED ROMANCE NOVEL. I AM TYPING IN ALL-CAPS TO DISPLAY MY FURY...Unbelievably bad. I'm not sure where to start. Perhaps if I were a 12-year-old girl who wanted to read about romance and eighteenth-century France and exciting NYC and junior-high-history-class-caricatures and sassy heroines and magic and jewels and four-poster beds in snuggly boudoirs and charming, roguish, royal love interests with long, curly locks, ... Perhaps then I might enjoy this tripe. Otherwise... Embarrassingly bad. Klunky, adjective-laden prose. Zero-dimensional characters. Preposterous dialogue. Long, tedious descriptions of apartments and wardrobe and dancing eyes, a la Harlequin. There is much swooning. There is much "little-did-I-know"ing. There is incompetent, incoherent plotting. There is no suspense-building. No. There are intellectual pretensions. Yes. Ah, there is swooning. God help us, if this is what constitutes a bestseller these days. I am depressed. I am so depressed...
Rating: 
Summary: The Eight
Review: This book started out GREAt and I couldn't put it down. Terrific premise, plot line, characters... 3/4 into the book, I HAD TO FORCE myself to finish. It went from a terrific plot driven book to a bunch of idiotic drivel... A ridiculous sex/romance section that was straight from something Harlequin would publish. And the ENDING!!! Sadly, this seems to happen in a lot of books out there, so I won't be too hard ont he author. The premise was wisely drawn, the plot was terrific. There was a lot of de ja vu style things happening--I don't want to ruin the book, so I won't say more. The author was very clever in putting that all together. I learned a lot about chess and her descriptions of foreign landscape were really good. I would have given the book 4 stars except for the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Wake up and smell the coffee!
Review: This is an excellent book! It deals with so many subjects and how they intertwine with one another. This is the type of book that can inspire a person to go back to school and learn something new. "The Eight" deals with how everything, from mathematics and music, intertwines with political and government leaders throughout history. We are just a small stitch in the patchwork of time. Get involved and make your voice heard!
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but a bit over the top
Review: First let me say that I enjoyed this book. It was a "fun" read. However, I think that Ms. Neville tried too hard when she wrote the historical aspects. She attempted to get every historical character that lived during the French Revolution into the plot. This is OK, but can be overdone as in the inclusion of Benedict Arnold. All in all, Ms. Neville appears guilty of historical name dropping. I was also dismayed with the early reference to a Freemasonic plot that disappeared as the story progressed. I checked my history books a couple of times, to compare the actual history of events with the book. For example, the assasination of Jean Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday was accurate, even though there was a plot twist in the novel. Could it have happened that way? Sure. In summary, this was a good book but I don't share the opinion that this is the blockbuster many reviewers did.
Rating:
Summary: Another all time favorite
Review: I too have read this more book times than what might be considered normal. The wondferul thing is that every time I read it I see something I didn't see before. The plot is steeped in mysticism from Freemasonry to Fibbonacci numbers to the migrations of the Phoenicians... and everything in between. Chess forms the center of this story as well as two strong female protagonists. I've read Katherine's other books, neither of which come close to The Eight. This is truly an inspired work.
Rating:
Summary: I'd give it 8 stars if I could....
Review: I absolutely loved this book! It sat on my bookshelf as part of a collection from a yard sale, but I didn't pick it up for years. Once I did, however, I found it hard to put down. What everyone else says about this book is true; the stories are engaging, the details are amazing! I finally had to purchase a new copy because both covers came off from wear, the back page ink was starting to wear off, and page 247/48 fell out! I will have to get another someday, because I've already read the new one twice. The story just never gets old! Read and enjoy--highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Katherine Neville is a genius
Review: This is easily one of the most enjoyable novels I've ever read. It features suspense, intellectual stimulation, intrigue, adventure, and an attempt to do to history what Einstein attempted to do to the Universe with his unified theory. The characters are terrific and immensely satisfying. I can't wait until my memory of the book fades so that I can read it again. This book rocks!
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