Rating: 
Summary: Facinating thriller!!!!
Review: This is a facinating mystery that envolves solving the mysteries of the five-hundred-year-old Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, famous for its hypnotic powers over those who study it. Two Princton students nearing graduation, are under the spell of the Hypnerotomachia but not getting anywhere when they discover an ancient diary that begins to unlock the secrets! The fun of this book is trying to unlock the riddles and Mystries as you read along. I noticed that some of the other reviewers compare this book to the Da Vinci code, some not to kindly, but I have not read Da Vinci so it did not effect my view of this book. If you like historical riddles, and/or thrillers, and/or a good adventure story I recomend this book. In fact check out another good thriller: "A Tourist in the Yucatan" right now you can buy it together with "RULE OF FOUR" for $27.27! (Amazon's better together promotion).
Rating:
Summary: Good, Not Great
Review: I read this book with a great deal of anticipation having heard it was a cross between Donna Tartt's OUTSTANDING "The Secret History" and The DaVinci Code. Turns out to be different from both for different reasons. While it's true that like "The Secret History" the book revolves around overachievers at a higher level university, the characters simply are not as interesting as those in Tartt's book nor is this book nearly as well written. That doesn't mean it's not well written but comparisons to Tartt's beautiful prose are off base. It's different from DaVinci Code in that it is less of a page turner. DaVinci is more in line with a Grisham book in that once you start you can't stop but at the end you feel somewhat cheated from a literary perspective. In a lot of respects this book is far more about the relationships between the main characters as well as the relationship between the narrator and his dead father, as well has his best friend and his "mentors" than it is a fast paced mystery along the lines of DaVinci. For a first novel, it's quite good and I really am looking forward to see what the authors are able to produce in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: entertaining read
Review: This is an entertaining read. The breezy writing style makes this book hard to put down. The intriguing plot kept me turning the pages. While it's not quite The Da Vinci Code, it's still a great summer poolside read. Debbie Farmer, author of 'Don't Put Lipstick on the Cat!'
Rating: 
Summary: NOT DA VINCI!
Review: In spite of the over hype and attempts to cash in on the back of another bestseller, this book is no where near as good as The Da Vinci Code. It is entertaining but it does not deserve the bestseller status it has assumed. The writing style, while not terrible, is obvious that of a first time novelist. Character development is weak, and the dialog sophmoric. It is obvious that many of the early positive reviews were planted by the authors. I also note that any of the reviews that mention any negatives of the book already have a ton of negative votes? also planted by the authors? The authors need to grow up if they are going to be in the big time and learn to accept constructive critisim. In conclusion this is a breezy little book that does have some entertainment value, but is not an equal to the tombs of Dan Brown, Mike Crieghton etal.
Rating:
Summary: Very Well done!
Review: I came to this book in an unusual way: I knew nothing of the "Da Vinci" code comparasions, and probably for this reason I enjoyed it. A Princeton Senior is the main character in this thriller that is more like the academic part of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" than "Code." The writing is excellent and the plot is well thought out, like McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" or possibly some of Grisham's books. But then, that's just my opinion. Read it for yourself--it's fun, not too long, and goes quickly.
Rating:
Summary: "May we find what we are looking for..."
Review: Beautifully written, achingly felt, fiendishly plotted--to me The Rule of Four was an Ivy League education all of its own. I read it in one long sitting until five in the morning. By telling the tale of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphilii through the four winsome protagonists of the book, the authors go far beyond that line in the literary sand where thrillers usually stop, and paint a picture of human nature that rings true instead of hollow. Yet nothing is short-changed from the adventure the authors take us on through the Renaissance. The hairs on my neck were standing on end when the final connections were revealed. (And does anyone else think there are deeper clues to an extra unmentioned text, besides the Hypnerotomachia, secretly shaping the plot?)...In every chapter I found myself laughing out loud, frowning in perplexion, or setting the book down and staring off into space, awed by the beauty of the story. Thanks are in order for Messrs. Caldwell and Thomason: they've written a page-turner that not only solves historical riddles but also reminds us how, both in the idealistic college days and beyond, we hope to live: by doggedly pursuing the things we love doing, caring fiercely for the friends we have, and always keeping one eye on the horizon. I hope Time will not be dispersing these writing friends anytime soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Great expectations
Review: This book was not my cup of tea. The puzzle is a great mystery wrapped in a riddle hidden in time, and this part of the book did appeal to me, but I found the characters development weak and the writing a little too sparse for my taste. The book is being marketed as the next Da Vinci code But I don't think so. If you love a good puzzle then you might enjoy this book but don't expect a masterpeice. In fact the biggest problem this book might have is too high expectations, I know this probably colored my view of the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Rule of Four
Review: A manuscript, embedded codes, the search for the answers and four roommates makes this a must read book. The excitement running throught the minds of the four in their search for the buried treasure. It's a search that takes them where some wouldn't want to go, if they put a value on their own life. After reading you may just find yourself becoming a code breaker and buying a shovel, digging your way to a treasure of your own. The Rule Of Four will have you looking at each word and thinking is this the embedded code word or not. It will make you think. Larry Hobson-Author- "The Day Of The Rose"
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Read and a Very Good Book
Review: "The Rule of Four" grabs the reader in the first few pages. It's Good Friday, sometime in the 1990's, at Princeton University. All sorts of Princetonian traditions and rites--a nude runaround, the Ivy Ball, Easter services--are about to take place. In the midst of all this mayhem and partying, one student, Paul, with the help of his three roommates, is working on cracking the code to the Hypnerotomachia, a medieval text, for his thesis due the next day. And then someone involved in helping Paul turns up dead.
The narrator, Tom, is Paul's roommate and the one closest to him on this project. However Tom's father was a scholar also involved in the Hypnerotomachia and it ended up killing him. Tom is torn between giving into the obsession of the text or maintaining his relationship with his girlfriend Katie.
The book moves so fast in the first half that you're exhausted. One minute Tom is watching the sophomores run around naked; the next minute he is in the library helping Paul; then he is trying to reach his girlfriend;then someone shows up dead.
The second half moves slower and is not nearly as good. However, you're still hooked.
I would recommend this book not only to lovers of The Da Vinci Code (it's different but you've still got codes involved) and The Secrety History, but also to those interested in "coming of age" stories and F. Scott Fitzgerald's tales of Princeton. This book mixes several genres--thriller, mystery, coming of age, tales of excess--not always successfully. However, it is still vastly entertaining and a very good read.
Rating:
Summary: A very good, if too-quick, read
Review: Everybody wants to compare this book to "The Da Vinci Code," but they're in quite separate universes. Caldwell and Thomason are far subtler and far more talented than Brown. "Rule"'s authors tell their story with a deftness, sweetness, and humor that Brown's work utterly lacks. "Rule of Four" was only disappointing in that it was such a short read--at a slim 370 pages, it's a book that many readers will devour easily in one or two sittings. The book, despite its brevity, draws its characters finely and thrusts them into the midst of a compelling story involving hidden messages in a five-hundred-year-old text. Those with their hearts set on "Da Vinci II" will, no doubt, be disappointed; "Rule" doesn't offer cheesy backward-text puzzles for the reader to solve. Instead, the authors take pains to make sure that the readers *care* when the characters solve the puzzles of the Hypnerotomachia themselves.
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