6stringer
stranger
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 1
Loc: The Outer Rim
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Anybody else read this yet? I just bought it yesterday but I haven't started it. Barnes&Noble.com described it as an "Ivy League Da Vinci Code". Here's the link:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?userid=BQv1EvQi7K&cds2Pid=946&isbn=0385337116
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We'll have to go out thru the kitchen...
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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It sounds interesting - let us know how it is.
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I ordered it from the library, but with 88 holds before me, I have a feeling I wont get to it anytime soon.
To whoever reads it first: Tell me how it is.
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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I saw the book it centres around in my nearest Borders and thought about buying it for my collection. It's also online at this location
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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It's now on the best-seller's list...anyone read it yet? I'd forgotten about it until I read a review in my local paper today.
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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I've not read it - generally I'm suspicious of any book that hits a bestseller list. However it has been recommended to me along with other authors' stuff.
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poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
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I just ordered it... I should get it by next week... and then we'll see  ))
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"OK, so what's the speed of dark?"S.W.
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I just read it and I must admit, I am very impressed. The same Q's as popped up about DVC are evident, in the popular, "How much is true". While I'll accept that there is a Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (sp? Yikes, what a mouthful), I am not sure about most of the codes. THere is very little about it online except links to Amazon to buy it and a link to read it through some University in English. There is a code with the first letters of each chapter, but other than that, I think the book is mostly fiction. Too bad, it IS intriguing.
This book is similar to DVC in that it contains a mystery that it simpifies to make it accesible, but the Hypnerotomachia stays inaccessible to most, unlike many of the books mentioned in DVC, which one can easily buy. First of all, THe author (whoever he is) wrote in Latin (how many here can speak that fluently? not me) and used words from other languages or made them up. Sort of the James Joyce of the Rennaissance. The characters in the book, somehow, seem to speak every Romance language possible fluently. Yikes! No wonder that school rejected me, I can barely speak 3 languages, only one of them (French) Romance...
Another difference is that DVC is, first and foremoat, about this mystery. The Rule of FOur, while deeply entrenched in the intricacies of the Hypnerotomachia, is first of all, a Coming-of-age story that depicts the changing relationships between the main characters.
This is an absolutely fantastic book, but not easy. Written in a rather more advances style than DVC, I often felt as I should have a dictionary and encyclopedia with me. While it explained some cool facts, such as the belladonna plant, many seem dropped. i was really happy when I came across a reference I actually understood!
It is fascinating, but more fictional than DVC. We can argue about the Prieure because there is at least some corroborating evidence. Unfortunately there is none for the codes that the book found in the Hypnerotomachia, and looking for them is far beyond most average-Joe readers. Unfortunately. I do want to read the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, but I fear I'll have to rely on the English translation.
Sorry about spoilers, i tried not to give much away....
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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We just got the book, so we now look forward to reading it, since it has the Sephia Seal of Approval. 
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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lol.
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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Side Fact: The publisher of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was Manutius which was also the name of the publisher in Foucault's Pendulum.
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poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
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interesting side fact...;)))
I'm still waiting for the book... and becoming impatient...
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"OK, so what's the speed of dark?"S.W.
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poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
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Good book... I very much enjoyed it... and very much recommend it...:)
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"OK, so what's the speed of dark?"S.W.
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poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
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check this out: http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/theruleoffour/play.html
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"OK, so what's the speed of dark?"S.W.
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WKShadow
Beloved Angel
Reged: 06/02/04
Posts: 79
Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC
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I like it. I have gotten to the library, but a glitch occurred and I have to start over. This is fun. Thanks Poia
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poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
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yes... but short!:(
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"OK, so what's the speed of dark?"S.W.
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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I'm reading this just now and, after 160 pages, I'm finding it to be extremely dull. Facts, as said previously, do seem dropped (a similar annoyance with The Da Vinci Code) and the narrative is an excruciating collection of chapter after chapter of exposition with the occasional section of present tense leading into further expository revelations.
For American college books (I, as a Brit, wonder what the hell all this sophomore, freshman, alumni, and Greek named fraternities is all about) think that Donna Tartt's The Secret History is superior.
On the back of The Rule of Four, there is a quote saying that if F. Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel then The Rule of Four would be the result. (by author Nelson DeMille) This is the most ridiculous quote ever and does two extremely gifted authors an unthinkable disservice.*
* By two gifted authors I'm not referring to Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.
Edited by Dazzle (07/11/04 08:45 PM)
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I think the quote sort of makes sense. It is a coming of age story (Fitzgerald) in a Brown/Eco type story about the Hypnerotomachia. While the constant flashbacks are sort of annoying, one gets used to them...eventually.
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
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I must admit, I was getting bored... But the end is quite good, or so I think, and saved the rest of it.:)
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"OK, so what's the speed of dark?"S.W.
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Mudpuppy
member
Reged: 10/17/03
Posts: 102
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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I finished reading this book weeks, if not months, ago, and can't believe I forgot to post about it. I bought it for the main purpose of discussing it here, which shows how old age decays the memory 
Dazzle commented << For American college books I think that Donna Tartt's The Secret History is superior. >>. Oddly enough, I finished reading "Secret History" just before I started reading "Rule of Four", yet had no idea there would be any similarities. It was just a coincidence -- "Secret History" was being read by a bunch of teenagers on another board and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I was really surprised by how similar the two books were. It was as if you could take characters from one and just swap them out for characters from the other. "Secret History" was more sinister and less about actual history, but nevertheless, the two books have a lot in common.
I enjoyed "Rule of Four" because I thought the characters often relied on common sense. Instead of running from the police and hiding, the characters in "Rule of Four" talk to the police and explain the situation. While it wasn't the most interesting story I've ever read, I did enjoy it. I think I may have liked it more than "The DaVinci Code" if only because I don't like all the car chases and hiding. Reading about people studying in a dorm room is fine with me.
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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I really liked The Rule of Four. It took me a bit of time to get into it, but the last quarter had me turning those pages as fast as I could. Wow, the thought that anyone could put that much effort into a code stuns me, even moreso that someone would want to take the time to solve it. If I couldn't figure it out in five minutes, I'd be like, "I am so done with this thing, let's see what's on tv." When you play war, don't pick me for your side.
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ajing
stranger
Reged: 01/10/05
Posts: 5
Loc: manila
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the book is well-balanced...
sometimes (when my eyes get tired) i find the flashbacks annoying but i got used to it after a few chapters...
although i feel sorry for myself that i couldn't join the adventure of paul and i can only imagine it when he discovered the crypt...
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puede namang mag-sorry di ba?
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whyte
stranger
Reged: 09/08/05
Posts: 22
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Im still halfway or around 60% but still i find/found it BORING.
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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It's a lot harder than DVC, but I rather liked the maturity.
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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Yeah, it took me a bit of time to wrap my mind around the story, then I found it really interesting. I hope the guys write another book.
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rheyn
stranger
Reged: 05/12/05
Posts: 23
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I read in an interview with Rof4 authors that they are now focusing on writing full time and the turn around for their next book should be significantly shorter than the 6 years this one took to write. That and they probably inked a multi-book deal from the get go.
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whyte
stranger
Reged: 09/08/05
Posts: 22
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the ROF took six years? oh my no wonder i have the feeling that i'll finish it in that span 
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Alden
stranger
Reged: 03/09/08
Posts: 2
Loc: Manila, Philippines
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I've already ready it. Fascinating and good.
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Let angels guide you in your lofty quest...
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