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Dustin Thomason Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Dustin Thomason
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Dustin Thomason

Dustin Thomason Biography

Dustin Thomason is an American writer and producer. He attended Harvard University, where he studied anthropology and medicine. He won the Hoopes Prize for undergraduate writing, and graduated in 1998. He began writing his first novel, The Rule of Four with his best friend, Ian Caldwell, after graduation, which was published in 2004. The book went on to become the best selling novel of the decade. His second novel 12.21, was again an international bestseller. He is also co-creator of the television drama The Evidence, and is executive producer for several other television series. Thomason now lives in New York City.



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Interview

Ian Caldwell & Justin Thomason discuss The Rule of Four, their co-written debut intellectual suspense novel that's been described as 'Dan Brown by way of Donna Tartt and Umberto Eco'.

The novel centers on a real Renaissance text, The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili; a book that is fairly obscure. Explain how you discovered this book and why you choose to develop your story around it.
We owe it to a Princeton seminar entitled "Renaissance Art, Science, and Magic." Ian’s final paper for the seminar dealt with a 1499 text entitled Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, one of the most beautiful and valuable books of early Western printing, and one that has divided scholars for years over its meaning and the identity of its author. By the time the research paper was finished, we were already planning to spend the summer writing an intellectual suspense novel together. The mystery of the Hypnerotomachia supplied a perfect starting point, and before long we had hatched a "solution" to the book’s mystery that became the centerpiece of the plot.

You seamlessly blend fact and fiction throughout the novel. For example, Savonarola is a real historical figure, about whom much is known, but what of Francesco Colonna, the author of the Hypnerotomachia? How much is really known about him and how fact-based is your portrait of him?
Oddly enough, scholars don’t even agree ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Dustin Thomason at BookBrowse
The Rule of Four jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Dustin Thomason but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Dan Brown

    Dan Brown

    Dan Brown is the author of many bestselling novels, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Rule of Four

    Try:
    The Da Vinci Code
    by Dan Brown

  • David Czuchlewski

    David Czuchlewski

    David Czuchlewski studied English at Princeton University under Joyce Carol Oates, and later studied medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He has published two books - The Muse Asylum and Empire of Light. (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Rule of Four

    Try:
    The Muse Asylum
    by David Czuchlewski

We recommend 10 similar authors


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