What readers think of The Rule of Four, plus links to write your own review.

I echo many of the review on this website...the beginning of the story has potential, then dies on the vine. I was extremely disappointed with the book.

Although I'm not a huge Dan Brown fan, at least his books have good pacing to them. "Rule of Four" just meanders around most of the time without any real purpose. For all the authors wordiness trying to establish and build-up the characters, I never really cared for any of them. I felt little if any emotion for the characters or story itself. Very disappointing.

I read this book following an almost obsessive plunge into the Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons. There was a great idea flowing through this story, and the 'hypnerotomachia' plot was fascinating. But it was far too diluted and distracted I felt by everything else that was going on. It seemed very weighted by it's nostalgia for student life and Princeton, which I'm sure was great for the authors but when you live in London is really not that riveting. I wanted the story to pick me up and keep me reading, but i really felt that I was perservering just to get to the end and a conclusion, rather than because I was absorbed by it. Wereas Dan Brown delivered a 3 course meal, this really felt a bit more like a starter.

I had high expectations for this book prior to reading it. After finishing it though, I feel as if I was greatly let down. In my opinion, the authors spent too much time building up certain characters in the book, who frankly did not play a substantial enough role in the plot, and who if were left out, would not change the content of the book or it's plot too much. The book started to pick up slightly half way through it, but unfortunately, the authors, did not capitalize on this much and build up the plot. The book in the end just sort of fizzled. One reviewer stated that "you'll be unhappy when this story ends ... only because you can't read more of it." While I agree with the first part of this statement, I feel that the reason for my unhappiness is not because I could not read more of it, but rather because I feel that two young authors, who have the potential to be great writers, just did not live up to their potential with this book.

This book meanders aimlessly around the main topic...decyphering an ancient book. Throughout the story, the book weaves tiresomely from one trivial historical facts to another without tying any them together or to the mystery at hand. A story that could have been told in less than 100 pages...instead, craws on as a murder mystery that was very boring. The relentless description of college life and traditions distracted me from the main point of this fiction.

I'm glad that I received it as a gift, I would have been very disappointed had i actually paid for it.

Nelson DeMille's review stated, "If Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be THE RULE OF FOUR." Please, Mr. DeMille, don't insult readers or those talented writers who have earned their reputation. In fact, your review is a better piece of fiction than this book. Caldwell and Thomason have done a good job for first time writers, but let's just leave it at that. This book is nothing spectacular. The characters are not worth remembering, nor is the plot. Let's hope that their next endeavor does not revolve around Princeton coeds. I might have enjoyed this book more if I was a Princeton coed, but since I am not, and I really don't care to learn anything about the Ivy League school, I found the book pretty boring. I think that Caldwell and Thomason are intelligent young men who may find a better audience writing college textbooks.

I just finished reading this book and all I can say is "kudos" to these two relatively young authors for creating such an intense, enlightening, and engrossing read. The character development in this story was excellent and I found myself wishing I had gone to school with their four main characters. The analogies and metaphors used throughout the writing were so well written; I found myself reading many of the passages over and over again.

To those readers who are looking for a page turner from the get-go, this is not. I wasn't grabbed until the second half of the book at which point I could not put it down. However, allow the first half of the book to let you become acquainted with the characters so you understand where each have come from and what motivates them. My only criticism is that some of the description of the Princeton campus and its events and minor characters which were not critical to the storyline could have been edited to keep the plot flow better connected. I sometimes could not tell right away when an event was happening in the present or past.

I'm sorry to see this very well written book constantly compared to Dan Brown novels (which I also thought were great) because the writing styles are so different. Don't expect a fast paced Brown story; give this one time to develop, enjoy the beautifully descriptive writing and you'll be unhappy when the story ends....only because you can't read any more of it!

This book was fantastic. I believe it had a strong plot and, at the same time, was a lot of fun to read. It was a cerebral, challenging read that would give satisfaction to even the most harsh critic. Being in my teenage years, it is very important for me to read something that is interesting, yet at the same time is not completely brainless. This book, actually enthralled me as I too tried to crack the mystery. As compared to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, I would definetly rate this one a bit better. Don't get me wrong now, those books were awesome as well, its just that The Rule of Four made you think whereas Dan Brown's books give you the answers relatively soon.