num_pages: 11
description: A mysterious coded manuscript, a violent Ivy League murder, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide in a labyrinth of betrayal, madness, and genius. THE RULE OF FOUR Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two students are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Famous for its hypnotic power over those who study it, the five-hundred-year-old Hypnerotomachia may finally reveal its secrets -- to Tom Sullivan, whose father was obsessed with the book, and Paul Harris, whose future depends on it. As the deadline looms, research has stalled -- until an ancient diary surfaces. What Tom and Paul discover inside shocks even proof that the location of a hidden crypt has been ciphered within the pages of the obscure Renaissance text. Armed with this final clue, the two friends delve into the bizarre world of the Hypnerotomachia -- a world of forgotten erudition, strange sexual appetites, and terrible violence. But just as they begin to realize the magnitude of their discovery, Princeton's snowy campus is a longtime student of the book is murdered, shot dead in the hushed halls of the history department. A tale of timeless intrigue, dazzling scholarship, and great imaginative power, The Rule of Four is the story of a young man divided between the future's promise and the past's allure, guided only by friendship and love.
language: English
title: The Rule of Four
titlecomplete: The Rule of Four
characters: Paul Harris, Richard Curry, Patrick Sullivan (Rule of Four), Gil (Preston Gilmore Rankin), Katie Marchand, Vincent Taft, Bill Stein, Francesco Colonna, Charlie Freeman, Thomas Corelli Sullivan
genres: Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Books About Books, Thriller, Historical, Romance, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Mystery
ratings_count: 36892
places: Princeton, New Jersey, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Genoa, Austin, Texas, Columbus, Ohio
publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio