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The rule of four

By Ian Caldwell

(154)

| Others | 9781845057343

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The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

Princeton University seniors Paul, Tom, Charlie and Gil have been the Gang of Four since their freshman year. Tom and Paul have a special bond as Paul is attempting to unravel the secrets in the Renaissance text, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili for his sen ... (read full critics)

themysteryreader published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

The Rule of Four By Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

Renaissance mystery The Rule of Four, a debut novel by recent Ivy League grads Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, is comparable to numerous recently published thrillers (Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, Leslie Silbert's The Intelligencer, Lev Grossman's ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

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16 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

Half way through the book and it is getting exciting. But there's some wisdom in the book. I was reading a chapter which Tom's mom was lecturing him when he was young. She said "People spend their lives wanting things they shouldn't. The world confuses them into taking their love and aiming it where ... (continue)

Half way through the book and it is getting exciting. But there's some wisdom in the book. I was reading a chapter which Tom's mom was lecturing him when he was young. She said "People spend their lives wanting things they shouldn't. The world confuses them into taking their love and aiming it where it doesn't belong. All it takes to be happy is to love the right things, in the right amounts. Not money. Not books. People. Adults who don't understand that never feel fulfilled. ".
(NB: books mean the Hyperotomachia his father fixated on)

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Running Jan said on Jun 26, 2008 about the Paperback edition | 1 feedback

1 person find this helpful

the davinci code's sooo much better

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jenn said on Feb 10, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

"hope, paul said to me once, which whispered from pandora's box only after all the other plagues and sorrows has escaped, is the best and last of all things. without it, there's only time. and time pushes at our backs like a centrifuge, forcing us outward and away, until it nudges us into oblivion. ... (continue)

"hope, paul said to me once, which whispered from pandora's box only after all the other plagues and sorrows has escaped, is the best and last of all things. without it, there's only time. and time pushes at our backs like a centrifuge, forcing us outward and away, until it nudges us into oblivion. [...] like all things in the universe, we are destined from birth to diverge. time is simply the yardstick of our separation. if we are particles in a sea of distance, exploded from an original whole, then there's a science to our solitude. we are lonely in proportion to our years."
pp.237
"many animals have memory...but no other creature except man can recall the past at will."
pp.278
"it's better to love something that can love you back"
pp.284
"imagine, paul said to me once, that the present is simply a reflection of the future. imagine that we spend our whole lives staring into a mirror with the future at our backs, seeing it only in the reflection of what is here and now. some of us would begin to believe that we could see tomorrow better by turning around to look at it directly. but those who did, without even realizing it, would've lost the key to the perspective they once had. for the one thing they would never be able to see in it was themselves."
pp.439
越睇越精采

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blackgoldfish~BBM~ said on Jun 20, 2006 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

The Rule of Reading

You can find a hundred reviews of this book on the internet. You can read there about the puzzling "Hypnerotomachia" that lies -supposedly- in the heart of its plot. You will be intrigued by the comparisons with Dan Brown, Donna Tart, Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco. It seems then that there aren't a ... (continue)

You can find a hundred reviews of this book on the internet. You can read there about the puzzling "Hypnerotomachia" that lies -supposedly- in the heart of its plot. You will be intrigued by the comparisons with Dan Brown, Donna Tart, Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco. It seems then that there aren't a lot of things I can say about it myself, apart from how I felt reading it. All I can say is that it felt good, just like how we need to feel when reading a book...
If you like books, go get it!

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Gazakas said on Nov 19, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Not quite like The Da Vinci Code. In Dan Brown's thriller, the puzzles were clearer and it was obvious why people were willing to kill to keep the secret concealed. I went through almost half the book of The Rule of Four before i finally understood what the Hypernerotomachia Poliphili was all ... (continue)

Not quite like The Da Vinci Code. In Dan Brown's thriller, the puzzles were clearer and it was obvious why people were willing to kill to keep the secret concealed. I went through almost half the book of The Rule of Four before i finally understood what the Hypernerotomachia Poliphili was all about and why the characters in it were so keen to solve the mystery. I feel there was not much depth to the characters in the story - the romance seemed to be a throw-in - but it didn't really affect the novel overall i reckon. If you lack time and are deciding between Dan Brown's Da Vinci or Angels or Demons or The Lost Symbol and The Rule of Four, i would recommend Dan Brown's novels instead.

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The Underdog said on May 16, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Dan Brown doesn't have anything on these uni students

Really enjoyed this fast-paced historical novel on the obsession with discovering the secret of the Hypnerotomachia, an ancient book which has claimed many lives. Four students are embroiled in decades' long academic research and politics. Lots of back stories, some romance thrown in, and a lot of h ... (continue)

Really enjoyed this fast-paced historical novel on the obsession with discovering the secret of the Hypnerotomachia, an ancient book which has claimed many lives. Four students are embroiled in decades' long academic research and politics. Lots of back stories, some romance thrown in, and a lot of history! Interesting details -- which in fact may turn some off because of the depth of the details.

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guiltlessreader aka screamingbanshee said on Jan 18, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback