Rule of Four VS Da Vinci Code
Ever since "The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason came out, comparisons with an earlier and also widely successful book, "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown could not be avoided since they both tackle esoteric and "controversial" topics. But, while both books became #1 New York Times bestsellers, many critics claimed that "The Rule of Four" was a better read than "The Da Vinci Code" ( or DVC to abbreviate), on which I heartily disagree.
I agree that the "The Rule of Four", same with DVC, have really great mind-puzzles that will make you gasp in awe when the characters figure them out and plot twists that will make your head spin, but unlike DVC, it has a much slower (and I mean very slow) pace that I almost lost my enthusiasm to finish the book whereas DVC kept me thrilled & excited with every cliffhanger per chapter that I encounter. Also "The Rule of Four" kept on narrating flashbacks of the main characters' lives (and there were four of them!) and of the "historical facts" (like the story of the portmaster) that I feel like I was reading a really boring history book all the while screaming inwardly "where's the action?" which you wouldn't get until halfway with the book. Although DVC also explained "facts" it did it in a manner that kept me interested by being concise and to the point.
Those are my sentiments about the matter although don't get me wrong --- I also love "The Rule of Four" (a very erudite book by the way) albeit it didn't beget the same excitement as when reading DVC.
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Transferred from now-deleted Friendster Blog of mine
I agree that the "The Rule of Four", same with DVC, have really great mind-puzzles that will make you gasp in awe when the characters figure them out and plot twists that will make your head spin, but unlike DVC, it has a much slower (and I mean very slow) pace that I almost lost my enthusiasm to finish the book whereas DVC kept me thrilled & excited with every cliffhanger per chapter that I encounter. Also "The Rule of Four" kept on narrating flashbacks of the main characters' lives (and there were four of them!) and of the "historical facts" (like the story of the portmaster) that I feel like I was reading a really boring history book all the while screaming inwardly "where's the action?" which you wouldn't get until halfway with the book. Although DVC also explained "facts" it did it in a manner that kept me interested by being concise and to the point.
Those are my sentiments about the matter although don't get me wrong --- I also love "The Rule of Four" (a very erudite book by the way) albeit it didn't beget the same excitement as when reading DVC.
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Transferred from now-deleted Friendster Blog of mine