Mich has been recommending The Eight to me ever since we've met, and I've just now got around to reading it. I can see why she enjoyed it so much - it's got a lot of elements that appeal to her. Chess, France, history, math and logic, a strong female character. Kind of a "perfect storm" book that seems like it was written just for her. Anyway, it's one of those worldwide conspiracy stories that nowadays get compared to the Da Vinci Code - in fact, the new paperback cover mentions it by title. (The older copy that we have compares it to Name of the Rose.) It jumps back and forth from present time (OK, the mid-80's) and a computer programmer named Katherine to the late 1700's and a nun named Mirielle. The story revolves around a mystical chess set once owned by Charlemagne, which has encoded in it's board and pieces some amazing secret. I'll admit, the plot had me guessing until the end - I felt like I should have seen the twist coming, but didn't. OK, so this was a bit dated at this point, but it was still a fun read.
Book 40
1 comment:
Sounds like a good read- very intellectual (Chess always seems like a game that is much smarter than I am- but maybe I just gave up on it too soon because my older brother never let me win as a kid). Seems like you and Mich read a lot of the same stuff..
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