Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Riveting, poignant, and intensely intimate, The Rule of Four is a thinking person's thriller of the highest order." BookPage
Review
"An impressive debut, a coming-of-age novel in the guise of a thriller." Booklist
Review
"Profoundly erudite and far less windy than The Da Vinci Code this is the ultimate puzzle-book for anyone who dares to solve a geometric problem like 'How many arms from your feet to the horizon?' by consulting Curious George." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Caldwell and Thomason have created a stunning first novel; a perfect blend of suspense and a sensitive coming-of-age story. If Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four. An extraordinary and brilliant accomplishment; a must read." Nelson DeMille, author of Up Country and The General's Daughter
Review
"As much a blazingly good yarn as it is an exceptional piece of scholarship...a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs." San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
"The Secret History" meets "The Name of the Rose" in this riveting audiobook about a brilliant Princeton undergraduate who breaks the code hidden in a famous Renaissance text, uncovering a secret buried for centuries. Abridged. 5 CDs.
About the Author
Ian Caldwell was Phi Beta Kappa in history at Princeton University. He lives in Newport News, Virginia. Dustin Thomason won the Hoopes Prize at Harvard University. He lives in New York City. They began writing The Rule of Four after graduating in 1998. The two have been best friends since they were eight years old.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Dustin Thomason