Picked up from the library bookswap rack...

I don't even know what to say about this book. It was hard to read and it was hard to understand what was going on. I can't say that I didn't like it because I would have stopped reading it if that was the case. But I wouldn't read it again. At least it had a somewhat happy ending.

From Back Cover:
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 them: 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 rocked: 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.

Sending to the winner of the Happy Day RABCK competition.

Thank you so much for the book. Winning this contest was truly wonderful. I've received so many great books and "met" many wonderful BCers.

My son took his first language at DSL. He learned 2 more on the east coast (he's at NSA now) What language is your husband learning? It is a small world.

Thanks again.

Thank you so much for the book. Winning this contest was truly wonderful. I've received so many great books and "met" many wonderful BCers.

My son took his first language at DSL. He learned 2 more on the east coast (he's at NSA now) What language is your husband learning? It is a small world.

Thanks again.

Released to a fellow BCer at Panera Bread.

Enjoy!

Got this book from GrannyAnn at our Bookcrossing meeting last night! Thank you, Ann - on to MTBR it goes!

I just finished reading this novel. I liked it a bit more than the only other reviewer, beckasdream, but not for the same reasons. I also will not read it again and will not look to read anything else by the authors. I read it, so that says something. It was a good mystery and kept my attention. I felt the narrative voice was choppy. I was glad that I looked at the Authors' Notes first because otherwise the "first snow of the year" happening in April would have driven me nuts! I was disappointed in the happy ending; that's what made me give it a 6 instead of a 7. Without having a spoiler, making one connection would have been acceptable, but having two connections was too much for me. :-) I'll probably offer this book to fellow BookCrossers at our February meeting; if there are no takers, I'll wild release it.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left on the ledge by the fire place. Hope it gets journaled!