The Rule of Four

The Rule of Four is available in the library. This review was written by Tom Dean in second year.


The Rule of Four is an engrossing novel that describes fictitious events, but is based upon a real piece of renaissance literature. It follows four students at Princeton University as they attempt to solve the riddles of the Hypnertomachia Poliphili, a cryptic text that has remained unsolved for over 500 years, and describes the hidden tale that they uncover as they delve deep into a dark renaissance secret. It also focuses upon the difficulty of balancing friendships and the struggle to discover priorities.
Having also read the Da Vinci Code I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the two books, as both of them are built around shocking claims and historic conspiracies. Yet I felt that although The Rule of Four is without doubt a much slower paced novel than the Da Vinci Code it has a much deeper plot and is captivating in a different sense, but still if you enjoyed the Da Vinci Code you will definitely enjoy this!


“The Da Vinci Code for people with brains.”
 The Independent.