Here are the latest reader comments:
How did you discover Katherine Neville?
From estevairevana@hotmail.com: Hi again!! I discovered Katherine Neville whom I herald as the "Sir Walter Scott" of our time, after reading Ellen Kushner's "Thomas the Rhymer" and Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon". Neville brings us all back to the needs that are gotten from literature which shook the nineteenth century. She makes us innocent and knighted. I will re-read Stephen Grundy's "The Rhine Gold".
From Noelle (Noelle@mailcity.com): I was young, probably 14 or so and i found "the Eight" on my mother's bookshelf. i had no idea at the time that i was about to open up one of my favorite books of all time.
From Andrea (panders15@aol.com): I randomly discovered it in my mom's bookshelf
From waldakingofrohan@hotmail.com: At the Strand I bought The Magic Circle and swooned! This was more than a way for me to connect with Marion Zimmer Bradley! This was an indoctrination.
From Jordi (Jordi_Lleyda_Torres@hotmail.com): Lector books in Catalunya.
From Alice (lady_lyre@yahoo.it): By chance I looked at the Italian cover (which shows a chessboard). I loved it from the beginning and on impulse I decided I had to have it. The story captured me by the beginning then I bought the English version
From Kim (kim.PARKER@wanadoo.fr): I was visiting a friend in Barcelona and she was reading "El Ocho". It sounded so good, I went to the nearest bookstore and bought all three of Ms Neville's books.
From Jonathan Lamal (louisvierne00@hotmail.com): At a neighborhood church book sale
From Andrea (brigneti@hotmail.com): at the library, the book caught my attention because I had just started to learn how to play chess
From madhackbt@yahoo.com: The eight was recommended by a friend. I enjoyed that so much, I read her other books.
From Samer (samer@sics.se): A friend told me about "The Eight". I fell in love with it. Another friend gave me "The Magic Circle" a present. And finally I bought "Calculated Risk" for my own pleasure.
From Julianne (limmingy@comp.nus.edu.sg): My sister strongly recommended "The Eight" to me.
From Sar (krick_007@hotmail.com): my mother gave me "the eight" as a christmas gift this year.
From Jenn (austencrazy@yahoo.com): It was during high school so probably just while I was milling around the library.
From angela_julieta_333@hotmail.com: I had a very good friend in highschool, she recommended me The Eight, she knew I liked to read, and it amazed me.
From Carolyn (lilcarrie21@hotmail.com): I had one of her books lying around and as soon as i picked it up i read for a week straight.
From gigi@doomsday.com: my mom gave me the eight
From Dzeni (dzenita_dz@yahoo.com): Through a recommendation from a friend of mine
From Joanne (joanneb@kisser.net.au): An ex boyfriend discovered the Eight and I loved it so much I looked very hard over a 10 year period and found the other two.
From Seth (shubert1966@yahoo.com): My girlfriend at the time acquired a book called "The Cube". A sort of pschoanalytical game, the book asks the reader to picture a cube among other things, and to choose what the cube is made of. The book had several commentaries from others who had played "The Cube". The material that I chose was the same as Katherine Neville's. I saw she was a
writer and after I was done with The Odessey, I read The Eight.
From Tanzer (footy99@hotmail.com): Everyone seems to have "The Eight" lying around somewhere.
From Lily (contact_getready@hotmail.com): I saw an advertisement in a magazine.
From Jessie (jessiebiggs@yahoo.com): My father loaned me "The Eight" and said I might like it. I absolutely loved it. Then I read "A Calculated Risk" and "The Magic Circle".
From Scott Copeland (scott_copeland@yahoo.com): Borrowed The Eight from a relative and became mildly obsessed.
From masterfreek64@lycos.de: I read 'the eight'
From Anna (greekangell@comcast.net): A client loaned me her copy of "The Eight".
From Angie (inner_purity@yahoo.com): I saw it at the front of the bookstore with the bestsellers and picked it up.
From Kirsten (buffalorules82@comcast.net): I read her book The Eight because my mother was for a book club.
From Ray (maxevanslives@comcast.net): Recomended by a friend.
What do you like most about Katherine Neville's books?
From estevairevana@hotmail.com: Like: That she speaks to us as if we should already be familiar with these things....she treats us as if we were adept..................................
From Noelle (Noelle@mailcity.com): I love the historical detail and synchronicity that exists in her stories because i think that it rea;lly picks up on the strands of existence that are there already.
From Andrea (panders15@aol.com): complexity!
From waldakingofrohan@hotmail.com: The initiation. It is very respectful.
From Alice (lady_lyre@yahoo.it): The complexity of her work, the magnificent interaction of all the characters, the story that leaves me breathless every time I read her books
From Kim (kim.PARKER@wanadoo.fr): She combines the mystery of Umberto Eco novels (such as "Foucault's Pendulum") with the page turning dynamic of a John Grisham novel. I love anything that delves into hidden knowledge of lost civilisations from the past. Also, she creates strong female characters who are not just there for decorative purposes. These are women who are intelligent and accomplished, and who succeed in the face of gargantuan adversity.
From Jonathan Lamal (louisvierne00@hotmail.com): Her nearly unbelievable erudition
From Andrea (brigneti@hotmail.com): the mystery and historical background of the books
From Samer (samer@sics.se): How obvious it is the way that Katherine feels reflected in her characters.
From Julianne (limmingy@comp.nus.edu.sg): The way she links fictitious characters with real life people. The way she links up things that never seemed related until now. The way she breaks you out of the "taken for granted" stage into deep pondering.
From Sar (krick_007@hotmail.com): the intricate plot.
From Jenn (austencrazy@yahoo.com): There so much. I truly enjoyed the way she incorporated historical figures, such as Benedict Arnold, Napolean, Blake, etc. It gave the book a definite 'real' feeling, like this could actually be happening. I also like how she gave the reader bits and pieces along the way so we could solve the mystery with Catherine.
From angela_julieta_333@hotmail.com: How she tells the story, is extraordinary,it keeps you in continuos suspense.
From Carolyn (lilcarrie21@hotmail.com): They tie in real historical events and people.
From gigi@doomsday.com: weaving world culture, history, religion and adventure into a realistic yarn
From Dzeni (dzenita_dz@yahoo.com): The way the story goes through centuries, includes all kinds of people (real and fictitious), connects various historical events and they all make sense and create an amasingly intricate tale
From Joanne (joanneb@kisser.net.au): The Eight - the desert in Algiers when they were following the entries in the diary. Calculated Risk - all the parts on the island.
From Seth (shubert1966@yahoo.com): It was a fascinating mix of reality and fiction. Symmetry, sychronicity, God. I like it - I like it alot!
From Tanzer (footy99@hotmail.com): The mystery and attention to detail.
From Lily (contact_getready@hotmail.com): They are captivating.
From Jessie (jessiebiggs@yahoo.com): Her use of language to make information seem both interesting intellectually and visually beautiful and inspiring.
From Scott Copeland (scott_copeland@yahoo.com): Multiple related storylines
From masterfreek64@lycos.de: They are just fantastic novels!!! Nothing to say about them. Read them!!!
From Anna (greekangell@comcast.net): The weaving of fact, fiction any mysticism.
From Angie (inner_purity@yahoo.com): I'm reading the Eight right now. I think it is a fascinating mystery, it keeps me guessing, the plot is creative and I like how real historical figures are woven in.
From Kirsten (buffalorules82@comcast.net): They all follow a similar pattern but are completely unpredictable, i also really like the cahracters.
From Ray (maxevanslives@comcast.net): The sheer beauty and ambition of them. Each is a enthralling masterpeice.
If there is anything you dislike about Katherine Neville's books, what is it?
From estevairevana@hotmail.com: I am well pleased with her gifts to me.
From waldakingofrohan@hotmail.com: Impossible!
From Alice (lady_lyre@yahoo.it): In Italy publishers printed only The Eight and it is impossible to order the other two books in original language. I dislike the fact that a great author like her is non highly considered. About her books... I dislike the fact that there are only three of them!
From Kim (kim.PARKER@wanadoo.fr): The heroines and heroes, even the baddies such as Wolfgang, are always fantastically attractive. It introduces a corniness to them that makes me cringe in much the same way as I do when I read a Dickensian characterisation of a paragon of femininity.
From Jonathan Lamal (louisvierne00@hotmail.com): She's not a premier stylist; lots of the dialogue and narrative are not only unnecessary, they're unimaginative and boring.
From Andrea (brigneti@hotmail.com): nothing
From Samer (samer@sics.se): Too few. More books, please!!!!
From Julianne (limmingy@comp.nus.edu.sg): The slow start. It took a while to get the hang of the book. The starting few pages does not capture the attention that quickly.
From Sar (krick_007@hotmail.com): the characters done show enough emotion.
From gigi@doomsday.com: too many loose ends; do not resolve all pieces
From Dzeni (dzenita_dz@yahoo.com): There should be more of them
From Joanne (joanneb@kisser.net.au): The Magic Circle was often very hard to follow and a bit TOO clever - Ariel made connections that left me gobsmacked.
From Seth (shubert1966@yahoo.com): "The End"
From Tanzer (footy99@hotmail.com): I think she cut back and forth between the 2 time periods far too often in "The Eight" and it hurt the building suspense.
From Lily (contact_getready@hotmail.com): They are too short.
From Jessie (jessiebiggs@yahoo.com): Nothing.
From Scott Copeland (scott_copeland@yahoo.com): That she hasn't written one in so long.
From Ray (maxevanslives@comcast.net): There aren't nearly enough of them!