Friday, May 06, 2005

Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason: The Rule of Four

I am instinctively suspicious of novels with two authors. Non-fiction books with two authors strike me as dubious enough: can the authors really have a united vision of their subject, and a common style? But a novel with two writers.... Brrr.

So, The Rule of Four had me doubtful from the start. And another cause for worry was the fact that it was being touted as the next Da Vinci Code. And OK, so I read the Da Vinci thing and enjoyed it, up to a point, but it was instantly forgettable. What sort of a book was going to be produced by a couple of guys who were (apparently) trying to come in on Dan Brown's coat-tails?

Well, a darn sight better one than you might imagine, is the answer. But it took me a while to get to that conclusion. (And the book was, by the way, written before Da Vinci appeared.)

When I began to read The Rule of Four, my first impression was that it was going to be a typically over-hyped piece of commercial fiction. On the strength of the first chapter it seemed that these two (presumably inexperienced) writers just didn't have the technique to bolt together a gripping book: for my taste, they introduced far too many characters, too quickly. Indeed it took me a great many chapters to figure out who all these people were, and I'm not sure that I ever got a clear hold on some of them.

However, the book was never quite bad enough to persuade me to chuck it on one side, and as time went by I began to see that it had very considerable virtues.

First of all, it is a book set in a university, Princeton, and it is written by two educated men. And since I spent my entire working life in education, and still have an eccentric faith in its power to transform the world, that was something I welcomed. Furthermore, we have here two American writers who evidently have some respect for European culture, and that too was encouraging.

Another element which began to emerge was that, although the book is a whodunit, of sorts, with a solve-the-code mystery thrown in for good measure, it is actually a book about obsession. And that is interesting.

Obsessions, of course, take various forms. This one happens to be an obsession with a book published in Venice in 1499, but that can act as a metaphor (if you care for such things) for obsessions of various other kinds.

So, all in all, this book got better as it went along. And by the time I got to the end I was really quite impressed. True, the ending is far-fetched, if you look at it in the cold light of day. But you don't read the ending in the cold light of day, that's the point. You read it as a culmination of all that has gone before, and in that context I found it both moving and hopeful for the future.

Congratulations, then, to these two young authors. They have produced a powerful novel, which is, I suggest, in a wholly different league from Da Vinci. The UK paperback edition is said to have sold 250,000 copies in a few weeks, presumably on the Da Vinci connection, but whether all those hopeful punters will have actually read it all the way through I am inclined to doubt. It is by no means what you would expect from the hype.

Biographical note: Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason are apparently old school friends. Caldwell attended Princeton University, where he studied history; he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1998. Dustin Thomason attended Harvard University, where he studied anthropology and medicine. He won the Hoopes Prize for undergraduate writing, and graduated in 1998. Thomason also received his M.D. and MBA from Columbia University in 2003.

Whether two such highly talented young men will ever write any more fiction, either separately or together, remains to be seen.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes it works, some times it doesn't. I think it depends on the roles that the two authors assume. One might have the talent for detail and minutae, and the other have the grasp of the big picture.

I'm mostly familiar with fantasy genre authors, and David and Leigh Eddings have been hugely successful as joint authors. Of course I tend to find that they repeat themselves in terms of particular characters.

The most successful unison that I really enjoyed was a trilogy by Raymond Feist & Janny Wurts, the novels 'Daughter of the Empire' 'Servant of' and 'Mistress of'. Not particularly innovative, but an interesting construction of political ideals, sexual politics, and an east meets west theme.

The east meets west theme is very easy for fantasy authors to adopt though.

dhamel said...

I myself quite disliked the book. Here's my review: http://www.book-blog.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_book-blog_archive.html#109166482953740301

Anonymous said...

I read the varied comments about The Rule of Four on your website, and tend to agree with the view that it is somewhat obtuse and the flow is very patchy. Still, I didn’t regret reading it and did find it well written, at least in parts.

Having said that, I’d like to recommend another book that, although very different, is subtly threaded with ancient mystery, code and myth. I’m referring to my own recently published novel.

My novel is called Global Dawn and you can find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble under ISBN 0-9724586-7-0.

Global Dawn is the extraordinary tale of Reuven Sofer, a land surveyor, fated to be the agent of global change. The story is wrapped in alchemy and mysticism according to ancient Biblical and Mayan prophecies. It immerses us in its hero’s passions for women, music, philosophy and technology on the colorful artistic fringe of modern-day Israeli society. The Global Dawn project reaches a breathtaking climax on the mystical soil of Jerusalem, despite its creator’s painful struggle against the stern realities of daily life.

Reuven’s desire to raise planetary awareness worldwide by exposing people to a universally aligned data resource carries echoes of NASA’s Digital Earth project featured in a dedicated Foreword by Dr. Timothy Foresman, former leader of the Digital Earth at NASA.

Like The Rule of Four and the Da Vinci Code, Global Dawn features powerful discoveries uncovered by deciphering mystic codes and formulae embedded in classic, artistic finds. I can’t tell you more without spoiling the plot for you.

I do hope you’ll follow up my suggested lead, however, and will enjoy reading Global Dawn. I look forward to your reactions, in due course.

All the best,

Debbie Gelbard
http://www.webhaven.co.il/globaldawn.html
debnzeev@inter.net.il