The Rule of Four: A Novel

(Paperback)

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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

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

Author Bio

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.