Here are the latest reader comments:
How did you discover Katherine Neville?
From [email protected]: 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): I randomly discovered it in my mom's
bookshelf
From [email protected]: 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 ([email protected]): Lector books in
Catalunya.
From Alice ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): At a neighborhood
church book sale
From Andrea ([email protected]): at the library, the book caught my
attention because I had just started to learn how to play chess
From [email protected]: The eight was recommended by a friend. I
enjoyed that so much, I read her other books.
From Samer ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): My sister strongly
recommended "The Eight" to me.
From Sar ([email protected]): my mother gave me "the eight" as a
christmas gift this year.
From Jenn ([email protected]): It was during high school so
probably just while I was milling around the library.
From [email protected]: 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 ([email protected]): I had one of her books lying
around and as soon as i picked it up i read for a week straight.
From [email protected]: my mom gave me the eight
From Dzeni ([email protected]): Through a recommendation from a
friend of mine
From Joanne ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): Everyone seems to have "The Eight"
lying around somewhere.
From Lily ([email protected]): I saw an advertisement in a
magazine.
From Jessie ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): Borrowed The Eight from
a relative and became mildly obsessed.
From [email protected]: I read 'the eight'
From Anna ([email protected]): A client loaned me her copy of
"The Eight".
From Angie ([email protected]): I saw it at the front of the
bookstore with the bestsellers and picked it up.
From Kirsten ([email protected]): I read her book The Eight
because my mother was for a book club.
From Ray ([email protected]): Recomended by a friend.
From [email protected]: Roaming around the bookstore one day
What do you like most about Katherine Neville's books?
From [email protected]: 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): complexity!
From [email protected]: The initiation. It is very
respectful.
From Alice ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): Her nearly
unbelievable erudition
From Andrea ([email protected]): the mystery and historical
background of the books
From Samer ([email protected]): How obvious it is the way that Katherine
feels reflected in her characters.
From Julianne ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): the intricate plot.
From Jenn ([email protected]): 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 [email protected]: How she tells the story, is
extraordinary,it keeps you in continuos suspense.
From Carolyn ([email protected]): They tie in real historical
events and people.
From [email protected]: weaving world culture, history, religion and
adventure into a realistic yarn
From Dzeni ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): It was a fascinating mix of reality
and fiction. Symmetry, sychronicity, God. I like it - I like it alot!
From Tanzer ([email protected]): The mystery and attention to
detail.
From Lily ([email protected]): They are captivating.
From Jessie ([email protected]): Her use of language to make
information seem both interesting intellectually and visually beautiful
and inspiring.
From Scott Copeland ([email protected]): Multiple related
storylines
From [email protected]: They are just fantastic novels!!! Nothing
to say about them. Read them!!!
From Anna ([email protected]): The weaving of fact, fiction any
mysticism.
From Angie ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): They all follow a similar
pattern but are completely unpredictable, i also really like the
cahracters.
From Ray ([email protected]): The sheer beauty and ambition of
them. Each is a enthralling masterpeice.
From [email protected]: I don't want to put it down
If there is anything you dislike about Katherine Neville's books,
what is it?
From [email protected]: I am well pleased with her gifts to
me.
From [email protected]: Impossible!
From Alice ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): She's not a premier
stylist; lots of the dialogue and narrative are not only unnecessary,
they're unimaginative and boring.
From Andrea ([email protected]): nothing
From Samer ([email protected]): Too few. More books, please!!!!
From Julianne ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): the characters done show enough
emotion.
From [email protected]: too many loose ends; do not resolve all
pieces
From Dzeni ([email protected]): There should be more of them
From Joanne ([email protected]): The Magic Circle was often very
hard to follow and a bit TOO clever - Ariel made connections that left me
gobsmacked.
From Seth ([email protected]): "The End"
From Tanzer ([email protected]): 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 ([email protected]): They are too short.
From Jessie ([email protected]): Nothing.
From Scott Copeland ([email protected]): That she hasn't written
one in so long.
From Ray ([email protected]): There aren't nearly enough of
them!