I'm not a particular fan of Dan Brown's but at least The Da Vinci Code has pace and an intriguing plotline in its favour.The Eight, on the other hand, is a bit of an embarassment. Nevermind the cardboard characters and the clunking prose, but I am now on page 322 and hardly anything has happened!Oh yes, there are plenty of winks and nudges, dark hints and smouldering looks - but when will this plot actually get into second gear?? I hate giving up on books, but tonight I have made a decision not to waste any more of my life on this truly dreadful effort.Personally, I can't understand how any publisher would have taken this on and then not at least employed an experienced editor to make it halfway readable.I'm not normally this grumpy (honest!) but The Eight is just way below anything that you would expect to pay money for. If I could, I would have give it zero stars...