The Rule of Four

This book received a glowing review in the Miami Herald over the weekend, so I picked it up over Memorial Day and read it in one sitting. I am not like many of the other reviewers here. I didn't like The Da Vinci Code as many others have. I prefer books that appeal to more of a female readership, with characters falling in love, and relationships being the core of the story. I also appreciate writing that is a bit more polished than what I find in many so-called page-turners. I was delighted to find that this book has much more of that than Dan Brown's books. I suppose if you have a problem with smart writing, and smart characters, and smart schools, this is not for you. One or two other reviewers seem to have had violent reactions to the "smart-ness" of this book, which is too bad. I teach at a school for the gifted and talented, and I see too much of this kind of anti-intellectual attitude from adults. People who have never learned the true pleasures of reading, but who leap at the first opportunity to screech their capital-letter criticisms at every target in sight, ought to reconsider. This is a truly wonderful book with many delights for a thinking reader!

Although it's popular to compare this novel to DaVinci Code, that's a cheesy flave-of-the-month cop-out, since the books are so vastly different in scope, plot, characterization, and most of all, mystery. A more apt comparison may be The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte, upon which the film The Ninth Gate was based. Here we have a love of the source material - ancient manuscripts - a bibliophile's dream combined in the fascinatingly wrought plot. It's an exciting read, filled with surprises, and when the final page is turned, ultimately far more satisfying than any pop-culture trash.

From what I inquired from the book cover, I thought it was a Da Vinci Code copycat. It had a theme of mystery and suspense based in the summary...However after reading the book, this book is nothing like that. This book has more to do with friendship and the bonds of such a relationship than uncovering the mystery. Not exactly what I was expecting but it was very good and I liked it. The book can get boring and slow at times. It isn't a page-turner. I had to force myself to read the book at some moments. However it does pick up pace and does get exciting. This book is filled with details about the Rennaisance and Princeton. The information about Princeton was at times very useless.This is a good book and certainly worth your money. Just don't expect it to be a page-turner...

I don't know what else to say, except this is a great love story.It's a journey when you read DS, I've read all of her books, and they are all wonderful. If you read her, be prepared to read all 50 of her books though, you'll be hooked.

I have read some great books in the past but this book is by far one of the best. The courage of these two people is astounding. Thanks for a great book Mrs. Steel