An interesting book and, at times, a seat-of-your-pants thriller. This is purportedly the story of the "Montglane Service", a chess set once owned by Charlemagne and purported to hold the millennias-old secret of gaining vast power. So of course there are two groups, Black and White, vying to obtain that secret. The story itself takes place in the early 1970 and late 1790s. A deftly woven plot that pulls in practically every historical character you can think of in cameo and sometimes central roles.

I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to reading it. I say "reading" because I was listening to the audiobook on a long road trip. So of course I missed the essential clue here and there. So I plan on actually reading it to cover what I missed.