The Rule of Four [Import] [Paperback]

Dustin Thomason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2005

The Rule of Four (Paperback) by Dustin Thomason

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Random House Inc.; First Edition edition (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440296404
• ISBN-13: 978-0440296409
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,234 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,190,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars YAWN, March 16, 2008

By 

D. Meyers (Grand Rapis, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rule of Four (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to admit - after two thirds of the book, I could go no further. I put it aside never to return. The plot was a little cliche, riding the tails of other books about mysterious discoveries that shed truth on cultural history. That would be OK. The plot, however, got lost in the personal and sophmoric antics of college students that were frankly uninspiring. However, if all the padding about Princeton were taken out, there would be little left. The pace was too sloooow and the writing not tight enough to make it interesting. The discoveries of protagonist were too infrequent and the impact was lost. I also heard some of this book on tape. The reader was excellent, but it was clear that he was even straining to generate some interest in the listener.

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I'm mystified by this book's popularity, March 26, 2005

By 

C. Bell (Yellowstone National Park, WY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rule of Four (Hardcover)

I went to Princeton, and the only aspects of this book that I found worthwhile were its oft-evocative descriptions of my alma mater. (Though, for the record, I'd like to state that it's not very accurate in its depiction of the undergraduate experience.) I can't imagine what anyone without fond memories of the university would see in this poorly-written and poorly-plotted novel.

My main complaint, I think, is with the self-consciousness and artificiality of the prose. The book reads as if its authors are trying to show off their creativity and intellectual prowess. Unfortunately, the resulting text contains awkwardly-structured sentences and laughable similes (a book "spread open on the floor with its spine broken, like a butterfly somebody stepped on"; "a good graduate program can smell indecision like a dog can smell fear"). The writing is such that you can't get lost in the story, for you always feel the authors' presence.

It doesn't help that the characters are flat and not even remotely believable, and that it is utterly lacking in suspense--odd, that, in a novel billed as a thriller. Both problems are largely a result of the structure of the book, which relies on frequent flashbacks to develop the psychology of the characters and explain the strangely powerful hold a Renaissance-era manuscript, the Hypnerotomachia, has over them. The technique of revealing details about the personalities of characters through flashbacks can be a very useful one, but here it falls flat, simply because nothing important is ever revealed.

Still, I might have forgiven _The Rule of Four_'s vapid prose, poor pacing, and undeveloped characters if there had been a compelling case made for the seemingly-supernatural significance of the Hypnerotomachia. Alas, nothing ever comes of it. It isn't often that I regret having read a book, but this one really was a waste of time.

66 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the least compelling books I've read, April 20, 2008

By 

M. Detlefsen - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rule of Four (Mass Market Paperback)

The premise was interesting, but the characters were lifeless for me. I didn't care about any of them. There was way too much about college life and not enough about the so-called mystery, although if they had stuck to the mystery the book would have been a fraction of the length. If the mystery/suspense aspect hadn't been hyped so much, I wouldn't have bought this in the first place. I have many books that I read and re-read mainly because I enjoy the quality of writing and the characterizations, but this certainly isn't one of them.

The choice of writing in the first person present tense was curious. This works for short stories, but I think this book shows why it doesn't work for novels, at least for me. It made it very difficult to get past the reading process and into the story. I can generally get lost in a story and forget I'm reading, but not with this one.

I rarely get rid of books (I have 3700+ around the house), but this one is headed for Goodwill or Half Price.