cover image The Eight

The Eight

Katherine Neville. Ballantine Books, $7.99 (608pp) ISBN 978-0-345-36623-8

In this ``astonishing fantasy-adventure,'' Catherine Velis, a computer expert banished to Algeria by her accounting firm, gets caught up in a search for a legendary chess set once owned by Charlemagne. ``A thoroughly accomplished first novel,'' praised PW , ``daring, original and moving, it seems destined to become a cult classic.'' (Feb.)