THE EIGHT CONTEST
Perhaps you're already a fan of Katherine Neville's first international bestseller, The Eight. If not, read on below. If so, find out about our special The Eight research contest!
A Ballantine Paperback
345-36623-9; $6.99
"A BIG, RICH, TWO-TIERED CONFECTION OF A NOVEL...A ROUSING, AMUSING GAME."
--The San Francisco Chronicle
"Impossible to put down."
--The Boston Herald
New York City, December 1972: Musician, painter, dabbler in
mathematics and
chess, Catherine Velis is also a computer expert for a Big Eight
accounting
firm. Before she heads off to a new assignment in Algeria, Cat has her
palm read by a mysterious fortune teller who warns her of danger. Then an
antiques dealer approaches Cat with an offer: His anonymous client is
trying to collect the pieces of a very old chess service, purported to be
in Algeria. If Cat can bring them back, there will be generous fees for
both of them....
The South of France, Spring 1790: Mireille de Remy and her cousin Valentine are young novices at the fortress-like Montglane Abbey. With France aflame with revolution, the two girls burn to rebel against constricted convent life--and their means of escape is at hand. Buried deep within the walls and floor of the abbey are pieces of the Montglane Chess Service, once owned by Charlemagne. Whoever reassembles the pieces can play the Game--a game of unlimited power. But to keep the Game a secret from those who would abuse it, the two young women must scatter the pieces throughout the world....
"A fascinating piece of entertainment...Manages to be both
vibrant and
cerebral...Few will find it resistible."
"A FEMINIST ANSWER TO RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK."
"This is a Quest with something for everyone: ancient curses from the
Fertile Crescent; Russian chess masters; sexy, savvy American computer
whizzes; Napoleon and Robespierre; brave nuns; valiant Jewish diamond
merchants; magic numbers; secret hiding places; the music of the spheres.
In other words, Katherine Neville's big adventure novel is great fun!"
"Daring, original, and moving, it seems destined to become a cult
classic....Astonishing fantasy-adventure, a thoroughly accomplished first
novel....Neville has great fun rewriting history and making it all ring
true. With two believable heroines, nonstop suspense, espionage, murder,
and a puzzle that seems the key to the whole Western mystical tradition,
this spellbinder soars above the level of first-rate escapist
entertainment."
"A gutsy, multi-genre leap through history, full of puzzles and
mysteries...The Eight's plotting and execution are masterfully
handled."
"FASCINATING."
"With alchemical skill, Neville blends modern romance, historical fiction,
and medieval mystery...and comes up with gold."
"Neville's classy thriller is multilayered in time....A big, juicy quest
novel with something for everyone: computer lore, chess, the occult,
ancient curses."
"Extraordinarily absorbing...A gripping adventure tale of greed and lust
for power."
"Intriguing, fast-moving...Crammed with skullduggery and a chess-based
plot that hops between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries."
"DAZZLING...
A perfectly crafted story that has everything: an intricate and exciting
Rubik's Cube plot; tales within tales; historical characters from Napoleon
and Talleyrand to Catherine of Russia; action that moves from France
during the revolution to a casbah in modern Algeria; elements from music,
mathematics, physics, and alchemy; and ancient warnings from gods and
legends."
"The taut, suspenseful narrative is interwoven with a seemingly infinite
number of mathematical puzzles, crosswords, and cryptograms....History,
mystery, and adventure galore."
"Top-notch escapist fare...[An] adventure-romp through history with two
intrepid heroines."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
--The Washington Post Book World
--Susan Isaacs
--Publishers Weekly
--The Detroit News
--Newsday
--People
--New Woman
--Rocky Mountain News
--Seattle-Post Intelligencer
--St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch
--Booklist
--The Orlando Sentinel
Order The Eight online (free shipping and handing!
THE MAGIC CIRCLE:
About the Book
Excerpts
Bookseller Comments
The Magic Circle Challenge
KATHERINE NEVILLE:
Bio
Interview
Research Notes
Worldwide Research Adventures