The Rule of Four is the birth child of the combined neurological ramifications of two honorary historians, one Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton, Ian Caldwell, while the other, Dustin Thomason, a Hoopes Prize laurel from Harvard. When two best friends get together, magic happens. In here, lies the epitome of that saying.
Obviously, when I first picked up the book, the expectations touched the seventh skies and boy did the duo deliver! The book is filled with lively depictions of the Princeton campus in the '90s, from the Nude Olympics, to the steaming underground vents of the University to the various art and natural museum that line the perimeter of the campus, to the various clubs that have their stronghold in the institution.
The book itself is about another book, with books themselves being our guide in deciphering the book the book is about. Go figure.
It talks about the 15th-century book (supposedly), the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, authored by a shady figure lost in the histories, leaving his identity to be anybody's guess. The book itself is possibly the most misunderstood literary material in all of history. It's written in several languages including Latin, Greek, Hieroglyphs, and if that wasn't enough, in languages invented by the author himself.
As our protagonists, two history majors studying in Princeton, one of them, Tom our narrator, being the son of one of the pioneers of the book who dedicated his entire life towards unraveling the mysteries of the text, while the other, Paul, the biggest fan of his work. The two are assisted by their two best friends, the four being roommates.
The book is said to consume anybody who dares challenge it. Every few chapters the cryptic scheme of the text changes. The key to each is hidden in one of the leading works of the time, towards which the shady author, believed to be a Francesca Colonna points, in his riddles. At every step the reader is challenged by Colonna, for whatever lies at the end of the crypt hidden for over 500 years, is believed to change the course of history. Promising the seer knowledge and wisdom that lies beyond the endless abyss of human understanding.
Join Tom and Paul as we traverse with them through the texts of ancient Latin, medicine, physiology, architecture, zoology, Greek, arithmetic, and everything in between. As we swordplay with Colonna, the mystery thickens, with the story of Poliphili taking us to Florence, to the time of Savonarola, as we witness and singe our brows in the Bonfire of the Vanities, indeed the book, The Rule of Four, delivers what it promises.
Somewhere along the line comparisons are inevitable with the way the story is narrated and advances to those of Dan Brown. In the words of Nelson DeMille, if Scott Fitzgerald, Umbero Eco and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be the Rule of Four.
It is the story of how a book can consume a man, so much so that that he neglects his family, his friends, even himself in the pursuit. The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili binds the scholar in its glimmering demeanor, promising deep, dark secrets in its coded heart.
The brilliance of the Rule of Four lies in the very fact that the first translation of the Hypneretomachia was only published a year after the Rule of Four came into being.
Apart from the Renaissance history, cryptology, and the sciences, the Rule of Four also offers, what is in my opinion, the most accurate definition of Love. The book is worth it for that one part itself.
It's already a multimillion-copy bestseller. Go grab this page-turner. It's available as both hardcopy and softcopy from Amazon.
Till then, don't let the dead make you doubt the living.
Ritwik P. Srivastava
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Book of Book Reviews
RandomA book of book reviews. You can judge this book by its cover. Write a review about this book and then we'll see. PS. For the fifth chapter, I'm thinking of writing about one of the works of amateur authors from Wattpad. PM me your individual works a...
