The Eight

I'm very confused about this book. I must say that at first, the story was very slow and I was losing interest, but the plot was good and I was trapped; but the story became too long again and I wanted to put it down. Almost at the end, the conflict was very interesting and I finished reading. In conclusion, the story is not good: it is very good but it's long and boring in many parts and also I didn't like the sex scenes. I'll have to think long and hard to read her next book: [b:The Fire 2848984 The Fire Katherine Neville http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320441636s/2848984.jpg 2875107]

The Eight is an alternate-history book with a puzzle as the main focus, just like Da Vinci Code or other books of the genre. While there are portions of the story that flourish and keep you turning the page, there are twice as many parts that made me groan or just not care.

Katherine Neville LOVES to name-drop famous historical people. It got to a point where I actually yelled ‘oh come on!' when Napoleon was introduced. This was not the first nor the last of famous people in history that the characters encounter. It took away from the story.

Unfortunately this book also falls into the same trap as all the other puzzle-based books: the end sucks. There is a ton of build-up and no payoff. The Eight is no different and collapses under the weight of its own legend. I give Neville credit for keeping me engaged in the book enough to finish it but I highly doubt I'll pick up the sequel The Fire.

I was enthusiastic for the first third of the book, by half way through however, it started to feel heavy. It seemed to dwell more in the older time period, and much of that was a sappy romance between Mireille and Tallyrand. There is adventure here, but also a lot of fantasy, romance. It did not hold as much mystery or suspense for me. The secret contained in the Montglane service felt forced and over the top.

The Eight uses a lot of ingredients that have been successfully incorporated many times since in popular books and movies - Freemasonry, alchemy, the mysterious Middle East. Because these tropes have become so popular as plot devices, the possibility of them feeling stale is high. I felt like this novel was able to stand on its own well, despite the passing of years, because of Neville's expert weaving together of all these familiar strands into a story both exciting and fresh.

Neville's two main heroines, Cat and Mireille, were intelligent and dauntless, and following their dangerous and heroic exploits was complete and utter fun. I genuinely felt anxious on more than one occasion, because I was that involved in their stories. Because this novel has been the inspiration for so much that followed, some of the plot twists were easier to predict, but there were still plenty of surprises along the way.

Very, very good - definitely recommended.