Overview

One of the bestselling debut novels of the decade, with over two million copies in print, this ""stunning"" (Nelson DeMille), ""compulsively readable"" (People) literary suspense novel is available for the first time as a trade paperback. ""One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs.""-San Francisco Chronicle NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two friends are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a Renaissance text that has baffled scholars for centuries. 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 a vital clue is unearthed- a long-lost diary that may prove to be the key to deciphering the ancient text. But when a longtime student of the book is murdered just hours later, a chilling cycle of deaths and revelations begins-one that will force Tom and Paul into a fiery drama, spun from a book whose power and meaning have long been misunderstood. ""Profoundly erudite . . . the ultimate puzzle-book.""-The New York Times Book Review

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9780385337120

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Reviews

Profoundly erudite . . . the ultimate puzzle-book. -- The New York Times Book Review One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs. -- San Francisco Chronicle Ingenious . . . The real treat here is the process of discovery. --The New York Times Compulsively readable. -- People (4 stars) If F. Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four. --Nelson DeMille

Profoundly erudite . . . the ultimate puzzle-book. -- The New York Times Book Review One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs. -- San Francisco Chronicle Ingenious . . . The real treat here is the process of discovery. --The New York Times Compulsively readable. -- People (4 stars) If F. Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four . --Nelson DeMille

Profoundly erudite . . . the ultimate puzzle-book. --The New York Times Book Review One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs. --San Francisco Chronicle Ingenious . . . The real treat here is the process of discovery. --The New York Times Compulsively readable. --People (4 stars) If F. Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four. --Nelson DeMille Profoundly erudite . . . the ultimate puzzle-book. The New York Times Book Review One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs. San Francisco Chronicle Ingenious . . . The real treat here is the process of discovery. The New York Times Compulsively readable. People (4 stars) If F. Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four. Nelson DeMille 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 A marvelous book with a dark Renaissance secret in its coded heart ... Profoundly erudite ... the ultimate puzzle book. -- The New York Times Book Review Think Dan Brown by way of Donna Tartt and Umberto Eco ... There are murders, romances, dangers and detection, and by the end the heroes are in a race not only to solve the puzzle, but also to stay alive. Readers might be tempted to buy their own copy of the Hypnerotomachia and have a go at the puzzle. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review As much a blazing good yarn as it is an exceptional piece of scholarship. A smart, swift, multi-textured tale that both entertains and informs. -- San Francisco Chronicle An astonishingly good debut ... Academic evil stalks the campus and no one is safe ... Intricate, erudite, and intensely pleasurable. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review The authors, best friends since childhood, have made an impressive debut, a coming-of-age novel in the guise of a thriller. -- Booklist This debut packs all the esoteric information of The DaVinci Code but with lovely writing reminiscent of Donna Tartt's The Secret History. ..a compulsively readable novel. -- People, Critic's Choice/4 Stars In The Rule of Four, Caldwell and Thomason have written a truly satisfying literary thriller ... DO believe the hype. The intense college friendships and their inevitable decline are woven into the thriller's plot. The novel has a darkness that recalls Umberto Eco's monastery thriller, The Name of the Rose, and twinges of Donna Tartt's debut novel set in a boarding school, Secret History. -- The New York Post F

Profoundly erudite . . . the ultimate puzzle-book. -- The New York Times Book Review <br> <br> One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs. -- San Francisco Chronicle <br> <br> Ingenious . . . The real treat here is the process of discovery. --The New York Times <br> <br> Compulsively readable. -- People (4 stars)<br> <br> If F. Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four . --Nelson DeMille

Author Information

Ian Caldwell is the author of a forthcoming novel set inside the Vatican. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in European history from Princeton University, and lives near Washington, D.C., with his wife and three sons. Dustin Thomason is also the author of 12.21. He graduated from Harvard College and received his M.D. from Columbia University. Thomason has written and produced several television series, including Lie to Me. He lives in Venice Beach, California. The two have been best friends since they were eight years old.

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