‘Rule of Four’ melds mystery, substance

All Things Literary

For the past few months, my reading habits have been typified by a certain genre — I admit I have been insanely caught up in the action/adventure/thriller novels that have become so popular as of late. I have read every Dan Brown book I can get my hands on and have scanned the aisles of Barnes & Noble looking for similar reading, which, let me assure you, is readily available.

Yet, as much as I enjoy those Dan Brown books, I’m starting to think there’s not too much to them. Don’t get me wrong — they are absolutely captivating reads, so much so that I’ve been known to literally drop my other commitments just to finish a chapter or two. What they lack, however, is substance and staying power. I began to crave the substance of a different kind of novel.

You finish Dan Brown novels, think about how amazing the story was, and then you’re done. His books move so quickly that remembering any of the plot details seems like a lost cause.

I refuse to believe I’m the only one that feels this way. Almost everyone I know has at least read "The Da Vinci Code" (some even claim it’s their favorite book, according to their Facebook profiles), but if you ask one of these people what exactly happened, I’m sure they would be hard pressed to remember details.

Admit it, you know someone like this. I know I do.

So I’ve gotten antsy. Maybe I’ve been spoiled — I didn’t discover Dan Brown until after many of his books were published, so getting my fill was easy. All I did was read them right after another. But the lack of substance is getting boring.

I found the thrill I was looking for in Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason’s "The Rule of Four." I picked this book up during one of my many searches through bookstores and was truly impressed. This book has all the same elements of an engaging novel — murder, mystery, deception — yet it takes the time to fully explain itself.

Paul Harris is weeks from graduation at Princeton University, and is on the brink of finishing his thesis. Paul studied the Renaissance text "Hypernerotomachia Polophili" long before his years at Princeton. The encyclopedic-type text has its origins in the Florentine Humanist movement. Hidden within the text is a series of riddles and puzzles, which supposedly lead to an ancient crypt filled with treasure. Paul has spent his collegiate years trying to uncover these mysteries, yet just as he seems to be on the cusp of discovery, a shocking murder takes place and sets the story in action.

I finished this book and, for once, when I was done, felt like I had come away with something worthwhile. Regardless of how historically accurate this book may be, what I read stayed with me because the authors were diligent enough to thoroughly explain what was going on. While similar books I’ve read took liberties to make the plot more interesting, this book stood out with its adherence to historical accuracy.

No, this book is not nearly as fast-paced as a typical Dan Brown book, but trust me when I say it is much more enjoyable. Go ahead, ask me what happened in "The Rule of Four." I guarantee I can tell you.