About the Author

Ian Caldwell attended Princeton University, where he studied history. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1998.
Dustin Thomason attended Harvard University, where he studied anthropology and medicine. He won the Hoopes Prize for undergraduate writing, and graduated in 1998. Thomason also received his M.D. and MBA from Columbia University in 2003.

"From the Hardcover edition."

Reviews

"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

" 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
" InThe 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
" "From the Hardcover edition."

Caldwell and Thomason's intriguing intellectual suspense novel stars four brainy roommates at Princeton, two of whom have links to a mysterious 15th-century manuscript, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. This rare text (a real book) contains embedded codes revealing the location of a buried Roman treasure. Comparisons to The Da Vinci Code are inevitable, but Caldwell and Thomason's book is the more cerebral-and better written-of the two: think Dan Brown by way of Donna Tartt and Umberto Eco. The four seniors are Tom Sullivan, Paul Harris, Charlie Freeman and Gil Rankin. Tom, the narrator, is the son of a Renaissance scholar who spent his life studying the ancient book, "an encyclopedia masquerading as a novel, a dissertation on everything from architecture to zoology." The manuscript is also an endless source of fascination for Paul, who sees it as "a siren, a fetching song on a distant shore, all claws and clutches in person. You court her at your risk." This debut novel's range of topics almost rivals the Hypnerotomachia's itself, including etymology, Renaissance art and architecture, Princeton eating clubs, friendship, steganography (riddles) and self-interpreting manuscripts. It's a complicated, intricate and sometimes difficult read, but that's the point and the pleasure. 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. After all, Caldwell and Thomason have done most of the heavy deciphering-all that's left is to solve the final riddle, head for Rome and start digging. Agent, Nicholas Ellison. (May 4) Forecast: You don't have to be an expert at decoding to see that an excellent cover, high production values throughout, a gripping story, a strong publisher push and reader interest still stirred up by The Da Vinci Code will add up to big numbers for this one. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

"From the Hardcover edition."