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THE RULE OF FOUR is an astonishing first novel. Of course, the fact that it took the two young authors six years to write may have given it a sheen that a book over which the authors had laboured less would not have displayed. The main action is set in Princeton college, New Jersey, where Ian Caldwell distinguished himself in history. Thomason had an apparently equally distinguished career at Harvard. They explain any liberties they have taken with the locales, as well as the customs and traditions of Princeton, but to those of us who never studied within those hallowed halls, the narrative loses nothing for the history or geography of the place being less than 100 per cent accurate. Tom Sullivan is the narrator of the piece. He is a final year student at Princeton. His father was an academic who, together with two of his contemporaries, was fascinated by a 500-year-old manuscript, the HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI, written by an ancient Roman nobleman. Fra Francesco Colonna had signed his name in an acrostic comprising the initials of the titles of the chapters of the screed. The text of the work is written in seven languages, including Egyptian hieroglyphics. While the content is a maze of weak plots and subplots together with enigmatic drawings, scholars have been convinced, since the earliest days, that there is a key to understanding the work, if only that key can be found. The senior Sullivan devoted his life to the study, uncovering a small part of the riddle and he expected Tom to follow in his footsteps. To his great disappointment, Tom wished to distance himself from the work which he perceived to have alienated his father from his family. The two are involved in a car accident which kills the father and nearly kills the son. Tom makes friends with an unlikely trio - impressively large black medical student Charlie, Paul, the scholar who is fanatical about decoding the HYPNEROTOMACHIA and Gil, who is the president of the illustrious Ivy. At the commencement of the present tense narrative, they are within the last few days of their life at Princeton and, despite Paul needing to finish his thesis by midnight, take time out to disport themselves in the forbidden bowels of the college -- a maze which plays a large part in the latter stages of the novel. In the third person past tense, Tom relates how Paul lured him into a partnership to carry on the work of his father. Tom is dismayed to discover that he is following all too closely in his father's path, neglecting the relationship with his girlfriend while concentrating on solving the multiplicity of riddles within the book. Throughout the story, Tom is constantly battling his increasing fascination with the old work in order to secure his present relationship. Sullivan Senior's former colleagues are now influential within Princeton, with one being Paul's mentor. Against the background of the frenetic pace of the closing academic year, the unfolding of the deciphering of the riddle is documented together with the murder of a graduate student who has helped Paul. It is a somewhat trite concept to the laity that academic jealousies and hatreds can run high. The fact that a study of an ancient manuscript could cause people in the present day to take a life seems incredible -- yet even in real life this is possible. Certainly, these two authors are well able to convince the reader that such passions are a distinct possibility. The research that has gone into the novel is impressive. The scholarship that is displayed is always intriguing and, amazingly, never boring. The characterisation is convincing, from the dedicated, conscience-bedevilled Charlie through the rebellious Tom and the Christ-like figure of Paul -- not to mention the more socially-oriented Gil -- all are eminently believable. The puzzle, while it has not been solved in the real world, is pursued in a way to maintain the reader's interest throughout. My one quibble with the narrative is the constant changing of tense from present to past. As the times converge, the changes of tense can be very confusing. One wonders if the two authors, best friends though they be, may have the patience to produce another such involving novel. I can only say I vehemently trust that they can.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, May 2004
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