Lobster in a Bucket

Rule of Four

I haven't read The Da Vinci Code, but I suspect that it is going to be the new paradigm for pulp fiction. I read a book today that on the surface appeared to be the new harbinger of pulp crap, The Rule of Four. However, found myself enjoying the book much more than I expected.

While the book revolves around an arcane Rennaissance mystery much like Da Vinci it reads less like Dirk Pitt armed with a Humanities PhD and more like Harry Potter at Princeton. The story revolves around four Seniors at Princeton, and the infectious obsession of one with the obtuse Hypnerotomachia Pophillia. The book has murders, ancient cyphers, and intense, page-turning goodness.

However, the book makes a legitimate attempt at being more about the maturation of these four students and their relationships than solving the mystery. It's a first novel, and it shows, many of the characterizations come of a bit juvenile. But where sometimes the wet-behind the ears tone detracts, it makes the overall tone believable. You can tell the book was written by someone who was just in college. Perhaps what made the experience even more quaint is this story, about friends learning about each other while solving a complex mystery, was co-written by two guys who were best friends since college. How cute!