The Rule of Four

By: Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two students are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Famous for its hypnotic power over those who study it, the 500-year-old Hypnerotomachia may finally reveal its secrets to Tom Sullivan, whose father was obsessed with the book, and Paul Harris, whose future depends on it. As the deadline looms, research has stalled, until an ancient diary surfaces. What Tom and Paul discover inside shocks even them: proof that the location of a hidden crypt has been ciphered within the pages of the obscure Renaissance text.

Armed with this final clue, the two friends delve into the bizarre world of the Hypnerotomachia, a world of forgotten erudition, strange sexual appetites, and terrible violence. But just as they begin to realize the magnitude of their discovery, Princeton's snowy campus is rocked: a longtime student of the book is murdered, shot dead in the hushed halls of the history department.

A tale of timeless intrigue, dazzling scholarship, and great imaginative power, The Rule of Four is the story of a young man divided between the future's promise and the past's allure, guided only by friendship and love.

©2004 Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason (P)2004 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"The authors, best friends since childhood, have made an impressive debut, a coming-of-age novel in the guise of a thriller, packed with history (real and invented) and intellectual excitement." (Booklist)
"A smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"[An] intriguing intellectual suspense novel." (Publishers Weekly)

If you liked DaVinci code

Enjoyable mixture of fiction and history and enlightenling introduction to cryptic Renaissance lit.

A Little Wordy

Not a bad story, but too much time was spent on non-essentials. This book can't decide if it's a coming-of-age story, or a murder mystery, or a historical thriller. Lots of interesting detail though.

My major complaint is with the narrator: he tries to differentiate the voices of the characters, but in doing so all of the women in this book sound like Chicago natives.

It mostly kept my interest, but it's not one I'd listen to again.

4 stars, 4 rules, 4 mysteries, 4 guesses

I wasnt sure about this book when I started. It was not a mesmerizing novel at the start. After a while though, you keep going and low and behold it snatches you up in a web. The web is mixed with relationships, scholastic challenges and genius, deception, and yes money, power, "possble" fame, and lost treasure.
The ending is a little predictable but you dont care because the book was so well written. I have to hand it to the authors since it was an odd subject and I doubt too many people could have pulled this subject off.

Part Suspenseful Mystery, Part Dark Academia

If you like a good mystery you will love this. Murder and the ancient moody campus of this book make for an immersive world. The performance was great and the story engaging enough that I made time to listen to this book while I could try and piece together what would come next. The author has left just enough bread crumbs that you can see the next part coming, and even though you do it is still shocking. I loved the way this book makes you feel like you have joined Ivy yourself and are listening to Tom and Paul explain there discoveries over coffee. The book hovers somewhere between academic fantasy and gothic love story to all the classics. Definitely pick this one up.

High Hopes

I got this book initially because I was very interested in the 2nd book of this series. I really had high hopes, because I love the base of the story. When the authors focused on the story it was very good. However, the vast amount of "butter" and minimal amount of "bread" made this story difficult to finish. I could walk out of the room for 30 minutes while listening and come back and miss nothing, because the authors would still be describing a persons clothing or some scenery.

Not a bad starting point

This book raised some interesting questions. I enjoyed it. If you like Dan Brown, then you should enjoy this book.

Angst at Princeton

Clever plot, excellent detail of the setting. Written in the first person, a senior at Princeton. The reader sounded like a college student, but rather dull.

One of the best audiobooks of the year

I've been playing this in my car for a couple weeks and I think it's a great story. The narrator does a fine job, I can easily distinguish all the characters, no problem at all. Perhaps it's not for the short attention spans, but it's a very interesting story, and the info about the renaissance is particularly enjoyable.

Interesting and fascinating

I really enjoyed this story and the characters. Yes, it was a little slow at times, but it wasn't boring. In fact, I was excited and eager to finish the story as it went on.

This is NOT the DaVinci Code

Though there is a mystery and there are murders and deaths, this book is more a story about friendship and the coming of age that happens to adults after we are supposed to be all grown up. It does not move like a mystry or a thriller, but the characters of the story are very human and their thirst for knowledge and understanding is believable. This is not the Da Vinci Code, but the writing is superior to it and does not have those annoying cliches and tedious prose you find in so many best-sellers like the DVC. The portrayal of academic life is very real (if not for an undergrad, then for a grad student). The book does not move fast, but the characters are sympathetic and the story is solid.