My Reading Nook

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I’m in the middle of Katherine Neville’s Eight and let me tell you, it’s one interesting read!

The heroine of the story, Catherine Velis, is in dire need of life insurance quotes, because she’s caught up in an international intrique that involves a centuries old chess set that is believed to hold the formula for the person who has the entire set to rule the world. Called the Montglane Service, any one piece of it is worth a small fortune as they are filigreed precious metals studded with rubies, sapphires, diamonds and emeralds some the size of quails eggs. The board is wrought entirely of silver and gold. The King was fifteen centimeters high and depicted a crowned man riding upon the back of an elephant. The Queen was seated within a covered sedan chair embroidered with jewels. The Bishops were elephants with saddles encrusted in rare gems; the Knights were wild Arabian steeds; the Rooks were large camels with tower-like chairs upon their backs. The pawns were humble foot soldiers seven centimeters high with small jewels for eyes and gems flecking the hilts of their swords.

Originally given to Charlemagne by Ibn-al-Arabi, the Moselm governor of Barcelona in thanks for the king’s aid against the Pyrenees Basques, it was guarded and cared for by 8 Moorish servants. Fast forward to the 17th century and we find the service hidden in the Nunnery at Montglane. The French Revolution is taking place and the Monasteries and Nunneries have been ordered demolished by the proletariat. The Abbess of Montglane orders the service removed from it’s hiding place and secreted away by the nuns to places far and wide throughout Europe.

Now it’s 1972 and someone still seeks to find all the pieces as well as the board and claim the power within the service. Catherine is somehow a pawn in the game between the factions that wish to have control and she must find out where the pieces are and how she figures into what is going on.

Also on tap is the much acclaimed Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I’ve read a few reviews of this lately and although it’s not my usual kind of book, I thought I would read it before Chrystalyn, my 13 year old granddaughter got interested in it.

So now you know what you have to look forward to…