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The Eight (Paperback)

by Katherine Neville (Author) "A FLOCK OF NUNS CROSSED THE ROAD, THEIR CRISP WIMPLES FLUTtering about their heads like the wings of large sea birds ..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 736 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Books; New edition edition (3 May 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552154679
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552154673
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.6 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 80,667 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #6 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > N > Neville, Katherine

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Product Description

Product Description

For centuries a secret has been carefully hidden from those who would abuse its power. One daring and enigmatic woman gives her life to defy the rules and protect history from changing course forever. With France aflame in revolution, and the power of her king checked, the nuns of Montglane Abbey are forced to unearth a secret buried for a thousand years within their fortress walls. As the women scatter across the world they take with them the pieces of a mystical chess set given to Charlemagne by eight mysterious Moors. Embedded in each piece of chess service is a code. Whomever reassembles the pieces can play a game of unlimited power - a game that will bring about the end of all kings. Centuries later, another young woman is chosen to join those protecting the missing pieces - will she deduce the answer to the greatest riddle of all time?


From the Back Cover

For centuries a secret has been carefully hidden from those who would abuse its power. One daring and enigmatic woman gives her life to defy the rules and protect history from changing course forever.

With France aflame in revolution, and the power of her king checked, the nuns of Montglane Abbey are forced to unearth a secret buried for a thousand years within their fortress walls. As the women scatter across the world they take with them the pieces of a mystical chess set given to Charlemagne by eight mysterious Moors. Embedded in each piece of the chess service is a code. Whoever reassembles the pieces can play a game of unlimited power - a game that will bring about the end of all kings.

Centuries later, another young woman is chosen to join those protecting the missing pieces - will she deduce the answer to the greatest riddle of all time?

'Blends historical fiction and medieval mystery and comes up with gold'
People

'Fascinating…Mind-boggling'
Newsday

'Both vibrant and cerebral…Few will find it resistible'
Los Angeles Times Book Review

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A FLOCK OF NUNS CROSSED THE ROAD, THEIR CRISP WIMPLES FLUTtering about their heads like the wings of large sea birds. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

40 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a book to remember, 8 Sep 2005
By Klaus van Amelrode "kmcva" - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Eight (Mass Market Paperback)
It is nowadays quiete difficult not to refer to Dan Brown if one talks about historical mysteries as every book store seems to value books of this kind how close they come to Dan Browns's work. And this is how I stumbled on "The Eight" as it was placed on the shelf with the note "if you liked the Da Vinci Code" you will like this book too. Well, I did and very much so. However, I believe Katherine Neville's novel can stand quite on its on and does not need the appreciation deriving from the Da Vinci Code. Well, suppose one has to accept the marketing factor.

The novel tells actually two stories: one at the end of the 18th century/ beginning of the 19th century and the other in the mid 1970. Both stories are however one and step by step they are coming closer. One going forward, one going backwards. I love that technique. It is very interesting and one always has to perspectives. It keeps one motivated (very easily) to read on as one wants to know what happens in one or the order story. There is a great flow in the stories, Katherine Neville graps your attention, draws one into the story and she does not forget to add some humour.

Thanks Mrs. Neville for writing this book and giving me very enteraining hours. Of course 5 stars!!!

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars this is my number one book of all time, 6 Dec 2000
This review is from: The Eight (Paperback)
I first read thisbook 10 years ago when it was released, I lent it to somebody and never got it back. So I bought it again - guess what? it never came home again! The third copy I bought last year, I didn't even get to read it for a third time before my husband took it to Malaysia, lent it to a colleague there and never came back. I am now buying it again as I really want to read it again. The plot is so convoluted and has something for everyone. Ms Neville does not seem to have managed to recreate the magnificence of this first novel, with her other books, good though they are.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Before Dan Brown even knew about DaVinci....., 2 April 2005
By Trelloskilos - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Eight (Mass Market Paperback)
....there was already a novel of epic proportions, that had been published, read, appreciated by many, then lost to charity shops and bargain discount bookshops around the world. The book surpassed Brown's scope and dull narrative, while matching the exciting plot page for page.

"The Eight" is one part Dan Brown, one part "Alice through the looking glass", one part spy thriller, and one part Wilbur Smith, combining all these elements in an enticing and exciting tale of a legendary chessboard that has changed the face of history, and of the tale of the woman who is suddenly thrown into a deadly global game of chess against her will, and who must reassemble the chessboard to discover its secret. Along the way, as the tale of the fabulous chessboard is revealed, historical charactes such as Charlemagne and Catherine the Great are convincingly brought in. Of the more modern story of the heroine, Catherine Velis, the plot is filled with spies, assassins, powermongers, murderers, and people who will stop at nothing to own the chessboard for themselves.

The novel is breathlessly paced and well-researched, filled with larger-than-life characters who all play a part in the game, whether as pawns or major pieces. The tale is also filled with mysteries, puzzles and esoteric conundrums, some linked to historical characters, others to give the reader something to dwell on. Admittedly at times, I got the feeling that the point of reality was stretched just a little too far, but at the end of the day, it's a novel.

If you enjoyed the yarns of Dan Brown, have even the slightest interest in the game of chess, or just enjoy a well-researched and well-written novel, this novel should do more than just entertain you.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoa!
I LOVED this book! The twist at the end was just brilliant, I had to read that part again because I just couldn't believe it! I forgot to breathe at one point! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lil' Miss Big

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought it again !
Valentina646 I am SO GLAD I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE TO BUY SO MANY COPIES OF THIS FANTASTIC BOOK !
Published 2 months ago by Chevvy, UK, Winchester

4.0 out of 5 stars Chess-Themed, Female-Led, Fast-Moving Adventure Fantasy from the French Revolution to the Present
The Eight is a one-of-a-kind novel. I've never read a book quite like it for drawing on so many genres and interestingly using so many references to history, the arts, culture,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Professor Donald Mitchell

4.0 out of 5 stars four
This was what I'd call a good holiday read, an interesting plot, fleshy characters and not too weighty. Read more
Published 16 months ago by b.lops

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books
I read this some time before The Da Vinci Code and to my mind this is vastly superior - a bit like a rder haggard for the feminist generation??!! Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Young

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read!
I had a vague recollection of my mother stuffing this book into my hands one day and saying 'this was good, have a read. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2007 by Nicola

5.0 out of 5 stars The Eight
I recently reread this book, that i owned years before The Da-Vinci code was ever conceived, I thought it was probably by far,one of the best book I have ever read, page turning... Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2007 by history bookworm

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read
I found this book a little difficult to get into due to the way that the plot features split time zones each with its own set of characters. Read more
Published on 5 Jul 2007 by Sheila Lawrence

5.0 out of 5 stars The Eight-Il Segreto del Millennio
This is The book: an amazing story, pleasantly written, that grabs you from beginning to end. For all those dreamers who still believe everything IS possible. Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2007 by Yara

5.0 out of 5 stars the eight
Katherine Neville's first fiction; and what a fiction. I have read it eight! times and with each reading, I discover something new to think about. Read more
Published on 1 May 2007 by Nima

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