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by: Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
Amazon.com's Price: $7.99 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780440241355
ISBN: 0440241359
Label: Dell
Manufacturer: Dell
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: June 28, 2005
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: June 28, 2005
Sales Rank: 159165
Studio: Dell
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
An ivy league murder, a mysterious coded manuscript, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide memorably in The Rule of Four—a brilliant work of fiction that weaves together suspense and scholarship, high art and unimaginable treachery.
It's Easter at Princeton. Seniors are scrambling to finish their theses. And two students, Tom Sullivan and Paul Harris, are a hair's breadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili—a renowned text attributed to an Italian nobleman, a work that has baffled scholars since its publication in 1499. For Tom, their research has been a link to his family's past—and an obstacle to the woman he loves. For Paul, it has become an obsession, the very reason for living. But as their deadline looms, research has stalled—until a long-lost diary surfaces with a vital clue. And when a fellow researcher is murdered just hours later, Tom and Paul realize that they are not the first to glimpse the Hypnerotomachia 's secrets.
Suddenly the stakes are raised, and as the two friends sift through the codes and riddles at the heart of the text, they are beginnning to see the manuscript in a new light—not simply as a story of faith, eroticism and pedantry, but as a bizarre, coded mathematical maze. And as they come closer and closer to deciphering the final puzzle of a book that has shattered careers, friendships and families, they know that their own lives are in mortal danger. Because at least one person has been killed for knowing too much. And they know even more.
From the streets of fifteenth-century Rome to the rarified realm of the Ivy League, from a shocking 500 year-old murder scene to the drama of a young man's coming of age, The Rule of Four takes us on an entertaining, illuminating tour of history—as it builds to a pinnacle of nearly unbearable suspense.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Don't buy it, don't read it
Having found this book abandoned in a hotel lobby, I thought it might be fast paced and interesting. Boy, was I wrong!
This story wanderrs aimlessly without recognizable organization. My mistake was to read the first hundred pages hoping it would improve, as I was desperate for something to read - it didn't. Why it was published, I have no idea.
After looking at the author's bios, I realized they were two kids fresh out of college with no life experiences. It shows.
Don't ... Read More
Rating:  - Could not finish it, so poorly written
I had such high hopes, and it was painful to be so disappointed that I intentionally left it behind on a trip, because I did not want to carry the book home with me.
Rating:  - Exceptional
I think the hype of comparing this book to the DaVinci Code has done this book a great disservice. The Rule of Four is exceptional in its own right. It harbors all the classic elements of good intregue. This is a treasure hunt wound around circle of friendship, murder, mystery, romance, power and greed. Well done. I will be reading the next one for sure.
Rating:  - Have Patience
The Rule of Four
I don't understand why so many readers were negative about the book. First of all I would never read trash like the DaVinci Code. Others have done much better (factually) than Dan Brown did (fictionally) on the subject. I didn't go to college and after reading The Rule of Four I wish I had. The four friends'(Tom, Gil, Charlie and Paul) relationships are the center of the novel. Period. The comparison to the DaVinci Code is in the marketing of the book. Forget that. Concentrate ... Read More
Rating: - Dull, Drab and Awful
This was a good idea for a book, but it was poorly written. The effect of this unfortunate combination is a boring book not worth the trouble of reading. I wish that I'd have stopped after 50 pages.
There are insipid chase scenes devoid of suspense; feigned scholarly discussions that are lacking insight or purpose and a pointless central mystery plot with no hint of cleverness. The characters are shallow, dull, uninteresting, boring, lifeless and just plain drab and awful. While in some professions ... Read More
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