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katenetz 's review for:
The Rule of Four
by Ian Caldwell
A fine thriller - but why was there so much character development within the love story? why were the friendships presented as such fragile and precious things? I don't really want all this fancy-schmancy writing in my thrillers.
My biggest issue with the book, however, was that at no time was the reader told what was at stake. There was no "so what" about why the boys needed to de-code the manuscript. Eventually the reveal came (and it was a big one), but it's hard to sustain the emotional connection if I don't know why I should be egging them on. The first half of the book I kept thinking "or...you could just not work on the manuscript anymore and it would save all your relationships and you would be happy."
My biggest issue with the book, however, was that at no time was the reader told what was at stake. There was no "so what" about why the boys needed to de-code the manuscript. Eventually the reveal came (and it was a big one), but it's hard to sustain the emotional connection if I don't know why I should be egging them on. The first half of the book I kept thinking "or...you could just not work on the manuscript anymore and it would save all your relationships and you would be happy."