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One of the elements that caught my attention in the previous novel was that a very large segment of the story was set during the time of the French Revolution. Again, it's just too much. With this character, I could not suspend disbelief and get caught up in the story. This sequel doesn't give me the same treat of being in a different time and place. One of the major elements in plot development is when the protagonist arrives at the home of her mother and finds a number of clues scattered about. The book ties up some loose ends from the previous book and adds a new generation of characters to the story.
One character, the female pilot of the various air craft, seems to be "all knowing" about near all aspects of the plot. Also, the description of the mother's house is either a good description of a real, but oddly constructed dwelling, or just over-board fantasy on the part of the writer. There is a lot of traveling here and there, the main character is almost always sleep and food deprived. Much of the story involves decoding these various clues. However, over-all, I did like the novel and would recommend the book to those who have read "The Eight". The description of the various small air craft is interesting and the planes were easily visualized through the descriptive language of the author.
She was just too perfect.
After fighting my way through half the book I had to give up.Boring, boring, boring.My advice:Dont waste your money or your time. Oh boy what a mistake. before i bought this book I read all the reviews and thought, well one persons garbage is another persons treasure.Tastes are different, and all that.So I did it. I bought it.
Never the less, Neville is a master storyteller and chess lovers and mystery lovers alike will be more than satisfied with the twists in this tale. The shifts in time between the present and the immediate past were one thing but the voices from thousands of years ago never quite connected for me. After reading THE EIGHT some years ago, I couldn't wait to sign up to review THE FIRE. It met my expectations in complexity, perhaps too much so.
Her first person narration of the parts of the story in which she appears is inexplicably annoying. Her life story, her relatives and friends, the things she does and that happen to her -- all seem too bizarre and contrived. I know this is supposed to be fiction, and adventure/suspense fiction at that, i.e., not like hum drum ordinary life -- but even so, I absolutely can not relate to this character.
I was so excited to start it, having loved The Eight and The Magic Circle. There is too much jumping around and not enough narrative flow. Maybe it's not fair to write this review now, because I am only about two-thirds of the way through The Fire.
What really bugs me about this book, however, is the 21st century protagonist. It's interesting, if not exactly gratifying, to see that many other reviewers have felt the same way about this book. This time around, however, I am very disappointed.
Each of the many story lines has held my interest for a while, maybe, but it's tough going to see how they hang together.
With some knowledge of the game of chess, I was able to follow the story when referencing the complex and strategic skill required to participate at this level of competition.Story line is fast paced, full of globe trotting escapades, puzzling brainteasers and strong female characters.When reading this book you must have time to absorb all the rich details as almost every chapter leaped from a different time and place.The Fire is recommend for a reader interested in seeing history through different eyes and tying events together in an innovative way. The story also revolves around a city in our current news, Baghdad.Unfortunately I had not read the first book in this series, The Eight.but I plan to do so. The Fire By Katherine NevilleA copy of this book was received from the Early Reviewers Program of LibraryThing. The story was interesting because it took the reader through many countries that I have visited; Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom, Canada, Greece, France, and Russia.
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