The Rule of Four

By: Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Excellent Read

I found this book for the most point fast moving. It is one that you become involved in and don't want to move away from. The ending was very moving.

Worth sticking with

I bought this book because I enjoyed The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell so much. However, in the first quarter of this book, I almost quit reading. It was very slow and filled with so many details of campus life and past events that it dragged the story down. There was something there though because I couldn't stop, but even after reading 75% of the book, I had those moments of "oh, come on, get on with it!" Now that I have finished though, I have to say it was worth the trip. The mystery of the central plot and mystery was compelling, and I learned and re-learned so much about the Renaissance. Also, in my opinion, the book was a beautiful coming of age story. If it had been more succinct, I would have definitely given it 5 stars.

Satisfying listen

I understand the criticism that this book tries to be too much (a coming of age story, as well as a thriller) but it didn't stop me from listening to it in record time. It's a good story and the narrator is also good.

More Intellectual then average person can handle

I found it funny that there were people that gave this book a bad review. Then I realized more then likely that the people that gave the bad reviews were non-intellectuals. They were unable to enjoy this book because they could not understand it. I know it is hard for some to understand works of Harvard and Princeton Graduates. I just wanted to say that this is a very good book and was a pleasure to read!!!

This ain't no Davinci Code

Rather, I felt the mysteries of the book were very obvious and the characters didn't bring much to the table. It has its moments and when the book eventually ends, you'll think 'this should have ended two chapters ago.' Anyway, it was a C grade in my opinion.