The Rule of Four [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Ian Caldwell (Author), Dustin Thomason (Author), Josh Hamilton (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2004

A mysterious coded manuscript, a violent Ivy League murder, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide in a labyrinth of betrayal, madness, and genius.

THE RULE OF FOUR

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 five-hundred-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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This debut novel is written in the first person and in present tense, almost as if Caldwell and Thomason had an audio narration in mind. Unfortunately, their cerebral treasure hunt is dense with references to Renaissance art, arcane literature, complex riddles and 500-year-old events that are almost impossible to comprehend by ear; think Bonfire of the Vanities by Girolamo Savonarola, instead of Tom Wolfe. Not that reader Hamilton doesn't provide some assistance. He does an admirable job of conveying the youthful exuberance and intensity of the novel's narrator, Princeton senior Tom Sullivan, while breezing through some pretty tough tongue-twisters, including the oft-mentioned 15th-century manuscript at the heart of this intellectual suspense tale, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Still, unless listeners opt to ignore the esoterica and settle for a no-frills tale of two brainy college pals obsessed with an ancient tome and its coded secret of buried treasure, they may find themselves having to make annoyingly frequent stops, backups and replays before the archaeological, etymological, historical and religious facts register in a meaningful way. Simultaneous release with the Dial hardcover.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–A compelling modern thriller that cleverly combines history and mystery. When four Princeton seniors begin the Easter weekend, they are more concerned with their plans for the next year and an upcoming dance than with a 500-year-old literary mystery. But by the end of the holiday, two people are dead, two of the students are injured, and one has disappeared. These events, blended with Renaissance history, code breaking, acrostics, sleuthing, and personal discovery, move the story along at a rapid pace. Tom Sullivan, the narrator, tells of his late father's and then a roommate's obsession with the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a 15th-century "novel" that has long puzzled scholars. Paul has built his senior thesis on an unpopular theory posited by Tom's father–that the author was an upper-class Roman rather than a monk–and has come close to proving it. While much of the material on the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is arcane and specialized, it is clearly explained and its puzzles are truly puzzling, while the present-day action is compelling enough to keep teens reading. There is a love interest for Tom and a lively portrayal of Princeton life. This novel will appeal to readers of Dan Brown's TheDa Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003) but it supplies a lot more food for thought, even including some salacious woodcuts from the original book as well as coded excerpts and their solutions.–Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition (May 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419309277
• ISBN-13: 978-0743529723
• ASIN: 0743529723
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,234 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,053,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 95 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
(REAL NAME)   

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.

93 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars All Hype and No Action, February 29, 2008

By 

Christine K. Potter - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rule of Four (Hardcover)

According to the press reviews, this looked like my kind of book: a scholarly, erudite, well-written thriller. At the moment, I'm trying desperately to make it to page 150, constantly irritated by inconsistencies and downright idiocies. Here are a few examples.
1. The opening scenes take place during an April snowfall. While this is not improbable, it's described as the first snowfall of the year. Give me a break, no snow in New Jersey during January, February, or March?
2. Arcangelo Corelli is referred to as "a slightly obscure Italian composer". As a musician, I found this a strange statement coming from the mouth of a character supposedly named after Corelli, who is not obscure in the least.
3. Another character is portrayed simultaneously as suffering from a heart murmur and as being an athlete and football player. Not impossible, but a potential contradiction which demands some explanation, such as "Despite his heart condition . . . "
4. In one of the events taking place in the 15th century, an "illiterate pickpocket" is hired to break into a residence and copy some documents. How someone illiterate could copy anything written is beyond belief.
And these are just a few. Even without such inanities, the book is poorly written. It sounds just like what it is, the product of a couple of pretentious Ivy League undergrads. What I don't get is the enthusiastic reception it got from the critics. Did they actually read this nonsense?

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Just Flat Out Boring, March 28, 2008

By 

ZMoney (Colorado) - See all my reviews

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

This book was written in a style of older fiction and you could tell the authors were trying was to hard to do so. Never have I seen so many classic literature references in one book. It was like the authors were trying to prove they were well educated. The story was also very boring....no action mainly just character developement for characters that I never really cared about. Don't be fooled by the comparisons to Dan Brown because these guys are nowhere near him. The only similar thing about them is that the book they were researching in the story was old...thats about it. Don't waste your time on this one.