The Eight

December 24, 2007
Nearly 20 years after it was first published, Neville's debut novel finally arrives on audio. Its combination of historical references, conspiracy theory and action/thriller format have earned it cult status over the years and may have paved the way for books like The Da Vinci Code
. Imposing a new format on a “classic” can be a tall order and a daunting task for a performer; fortunately, Susan Denaker's talents are level to the material. The book offers a full variety of challenges to a reader: over 60 characters, young and old, male and female, with accents from around the world. None of these pose any obstacle to Denaker, who deftly sculpts a voice for every one, including several famous historical characters. The Monteglane Service, a bejeweled chess set that holds great power, has been buried in an obscure abbey in the French countryside and later scattered throughout Europe to keep it out of the wrong hands. The tale takes place both in the 1790s and the 1970s, when it may finally fall into evil hands. Denaker is able to emphasize the appropriate speech nuances of each century with subtlety and deftness by adding the cadence of the aural to the mix. Perhaps the audio book, too, will reach cult status. A Ballantine paperback (Reviews, Nov. 4, 1988).

Characters in settings that are decades apart hunt for rare, hidden chess pieces that once belonged to Charlemagne. Two people--a young French woman in the 1790s and an American computer whiz in the early 1970s--find themselves in desperate chases across several countries for the pieces, which hold an ancient secret. Both evolve into brave, unassuming heroines, but the real star is narrator Susan Denaker. She has so many characters to keep track of--from young and old French women to assorted New Yorkers and Algerian men. She expertly differentiates them with changes in tone. The story is well done, though characters could have been pared more carefully for the abridgment. Overall, Denaker's performance and the story's twist at the end make it worthwhile. M.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine