The Eight

A mystery thriller which tries to uncover the secret of Charlemagne’s chess set that was used in a loss to one of his knights is the backdrop for Katherine Neville’s The Eight.  While a considerably long read, the two interweaving stories (present day 1970s during the OPEC gas crisis with 1790s European crisis during the Napoleonic times) capture the reader’s attention.  Neville uses real life historical occurrences and figures we have all read about in history books as part of the story to determine what happened to the lost chess set, which if found could give incredible power to make good or evil for the world.  The 1790s portion of the story describes the incredible lengths the Abbess takes at trying to hide the pieces, board, and cloth from the rulers who are trying to take over the world.  Luckily she puts her trust in two young novices in the nunnery who escape with pieces and the secret of the set.  Mirelle lives while her cousin is killed.  Mirelle’s journey includes murdering the evil ruler, changing her identity, and traversing through the dessert trying to understand the mystery.  Fast forward almost 200 years to Catherine Velis, a computer expert in a big Eight accounting firm, sent to Algiers on a project to learn she is a pawn in a game of chess by being brought in by her friends (or so she thought!).  This is a real game of chess where each character is one of the pieces and played until the death!  Lots of running around in this book, similar to a Da Vinci Code type story.  The two stories are in a parallel so the reader learns the secrets at the same time.  Amazing how intricate the details are and yes they almost all are connected, so pay attention throughout the story!  I enjoyed the book as it never slowed down.  Characters were interesting and the historical references made me feel like I was back in Western Civilization class all over again.  Nice read with a good deal of work on the author’s part to bring the two together.