Book Review: The Rule of Four

"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

“The Rule of Four” is a mystery thriller, which revolves around four friends and the mystery is solved by a rule of four steps. The protagonist, Thomas, faces a typical love triangle with the other lady being, but a book, Hypnerotomachia. This love affair happens despite the fact that Paul, a friend, is doing a thesis on this book. Gil, president of Ivy club at Princeton and Charlie a part time medic share an apartment with Paul and Thomas.

Pauls’s father was in love with Hypnerotomachia and did his research with Vincent Taft and Richard Curry, until the three friends fell apart due to treachery, always doubted and latter disclosed is done by Taft. A generation later Thomas’s father is dead, Taft is guiding Paul for his research and Curry is supporting Paul as a father as he is an orphan, Gill Supports Paul with his clout in the Ivy club, Charlie with is ability to induce fun anywhere and Thomas by actually doing research with him and still Thomas is the Protagonist.

The first half of the novel only tries to build a scenario that can help one understand the plot and, most of all, the second half of the novel. Hypnerotomachia written 500 years ago and researched by many scholars of their times couldn’t unravel what it is about yet no one gives up. This entire book, which is written only in codes, contains a secret bigger than imagination. The reader is not disappointed due to the hype created.

It is only with an un-experimented method of cipher that Paul is able to start decoding the Hypnerotomachia. One clue in the book leads to another and so on, like a maze Paul keeps solving each and every one of them. Right when Paul is very close to solve the novel Taft’s assistant Bill is killed. There is a threat to Paul’s life itself and the compass of doubt starts wavering between Taft and Paul, when Taft is also killed. This mysterious killer will definitely astonish the reader but not his logic.

Like father like sun, Thomas couldn’t strike a balance between his two loves but he takes a smarter decision to choose Kaitie over the book. But the reader realises latter that it’s not the end. Like a typical movie the second half engulfs the reader into itself. Right when the reader starts feeling it’s a drag and the novel should have ended, it reveals an unexpected mystery.

Some critics and reviewers have compared it with the “Da Vinci Code”, by Dan Brown, but it seems that they overlooked the eye for details with Dan. The novel itself looks like a project where the authors had to fill a certain number of pages, which could have been avoided otherwise. If the reader is able to sit through the first half of the novel he would surely find a reason to avoid anything else for the second half.