Jack Faust

Rating:
Summary: Not bad...
Review: ...but, by the same token, not all that great, either. Michael Swanwick is one of science fiction's most accomplished literary artists, and for good reason. However, Jack Faust falls short. Mephistopheles, the classic character from the many re-tellings of the equally classic tale Faust (one of the more prominent of which was written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), can be viewed as evil incarnate. However, I would put him a notch lower than that, since his malevolence falls short much of the time. As the story goes on, though, Mephistopheles becomes more than simply two-dimensional and fleshes out into a fully realized character, his evil notwithstanding. The novel loses steam, however, when Faust begins to descend, morality-wise. The plot also begins to wind down, until we reach the horrendously predictable ending. Swanwick, I think, couldn't find anywhere else to go with the novel, so he slapped on the ending and sent it off to the publisher. Despite all the bad things I've said about this book, however, it's good and worth reading. Swanwick is clearly a good storyteller, but Jack Faust isn't up to his usual par.

Rating:
Summary: You'll either love it or hate it, but you MUST read it!
Review: Although not as richly rewarding and complex as "The Iron Dragons Daughter", this is another well-written, dark and ominous work by one of science fictions greatest story tellers. I have read many reviews and comments about this novel that stress (all too strenuously) the faults in Jack's character. Maybe I enjoyed the novel so much because I EXPECTED THEM!! It's a story about greed. The greed for knowledge, recognition, and power by all of the major characters. Knowing well the original tale by Goethe, I was well prepared to deal with Faust and all of his bungles.

Rather I found the true protagonist to be Mephistopheles. True he IS the "devil" in the tale, and the object of his desire IS the destruction of the human race, but he states this in the beginning and Faust still makes the pact! Who is the REAL devil there? Mephistopheles even goes so far as to warn Jack that once begun it will be unnavoidable, but Faust is so naive about human nature, and ignorant of his own faults that he is sure he can prevent it. The way that society exploits Jacks 'wonders', and its leaders wrestle over the newfound power, by the end of the novel I WANTED Mephistopheles to win. Humanity gone by-by. But then again, maybe that's because I (unlike Faust) understand human behavior all so well.

I highly recommend this book. If not for the challenging and emotional work usually derived from Swanwick's novels, then for the thought stimulation alone. Even those who disliked it have strong views about it, and anyone with an interest in history, science, sociology, (or all of the above) should read it and form their own opinion. And if that fails to stir your imagination, it is still a well-paced, fun read. And certainly worth your while.

Rating:
Summary: You'll either love it or hate it, but you MUST read it!
Review: Although not as richly rewarding and complex as "The Iron Dragons Daughter", this is another well-written, dark and ominous work by one of science fictions greatest story tellers. I have read many reviews and comments about this novel that stress (all too strenuously) the faults in Jack's character. Maybe I enjoyed the novel so much because I EXPECTED THEM!! It's a story about greed. The greed for knowledge, recognition, and power by all of the major characters. Knowing well the original tale by Goethe, I was well prepared to deal with Faust and all of his bungles.

Rather I found the true protagonist to be Mephistopheles. True he IS the "devil" in the tale, and the object of his desire IS the destruction of the human race, but he states this in the beginning and Faust still makes the pact! Who is the REAL devil there? Mephistopheles even goes so far as to warn Jack that once begun it will be unnavoidable, but Faust is so naive about human nature, and ignorant of his own faults that he is sure he can prevent it. The way that society exploits Jacks 'wonders', and its leaders wrestle over the newfound power, by the end of the novel I WANTED Mephistopheles to win. Humanity gone by-by. But then again, maybe that's because I (unlike Faust) understand human behavior all so well.

I highly recommend this book. If not for the challenging and emotional work usually derived from Swanwick's novels, then for the thought stimulation alone. Even those who disliked it have strong views about it, and anyone with an interest in history, science, sociology, (or all of the above) should read it and form their own opinion. And if that fails to stir your imagination, it is still a well-paced, fun read. And certainly worth your while.

Rating:
Summary: This isn't Goethe's Faust . . . .
Review: As he showed so expertly in The Iron Dragon's Daughter, industrialism and medievalism are two sides of the same rusty coin. Here, he takes the semi-legendary 16th century seeker after truth, Johannes Faust of Wittenberg and Nuremberg, and imagines an alien, trans-dimensional "demon" whispering in his ear, handing him on a platter the secrets of the universe. His fellow scientists are more interested in protecting their own positions than in learning new things, so instead of becoming a proto-physicist, Faust becomes a Promethean engineer. Before you know it, Germany is crisscrossed by telegraph wires, an ironclad Spanish Armada faces off against a missile-armed English navy, and industrial pollution is everywhere. Faust is in exile in London, separated forever from Margarete, the love of his life -- who has become a corporate CEO to be reckoned with. The irony throughout is dark and delicious, the style is triumphantly nasty, and the experience for the reader is extremely satisfactory.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling, if rather melancholy story.
Review: Few science fiction novels are set in pre-renaissance Europe. In fact, I can think of none besides "Jack Faust". I see this book largely as an allegory for the present day, in which we invent new technologies--often astonishingly powerful ones, with far reaching effects--faster than society can come up with new mores and social structures for dealing with them. As such, the author does a good job of presenting his warning to us by means of a fictional history whose events seem as obvious and unavoidable as tomorrow's dawn once they are set into motion. And yet he does so in a way that kept me turning pages one after the other.

As a whole, however, I found certain aspects of the book somewhat disturbing. More so because I cannot tell whether they come from the author himself or are natural artifacts of the story and the characters' evolutions. If you do purchase this book (and don't get me wrong; I'm not sorry I bought a copy), be prepared to confront some subtle mysogynies, racist attitudes, and the like. But as I say, I cannot tell whether these are the author's own beliefs or simply reflections of the times in which the novel is set.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling, if rather melancholy story.
Review: Few science fiction novels are set in pre-renaissance Europe. In fact, I can think of none besides "Jack Faust". I see this book largely as an allegory for the present day, in which we invent new technologies--often astonishingly powerful ones, with far reaching effects--faster than society can come up with new mores and social structures for dealing with them. As such, the author does a good job of presenting his warning to us by means of a fictional history whose events seem as obvious and unavoidable as tomorrow's dawn once they are set into motion. And yet he does so in a way that kept me turning pages one after the other.

As a whole, however, I found certain aspects of the book somewhat disturbing. More so because I cannot tell whether they come from the author himself or are natural artifacts of the story and the characters' evolutions. If you do purchase this book (and don't get me wrong; I'm not sorry I bought a copy), be prepared to confront some subtle mysogynies, racist attitudes, and the like. But as I say, I cannot tell whether these are the author's own beliefs or simply reflections of the times in which the novel is set.

Rating:
Summary: Dark Matters
Review: Having read some of his Fiction I was excited to finally get hold of a novel by Michael Swanick. It is a brilliant novel but it's quite a disturbing read. Most people who really enjoy reading like it because they get into the minds of the characters but at the centre of Fausts mind is evil itself. After a while it gets a bit claustrophobic. The ending is chilling. Buy it, but don't expect to finish it with a smile on your face.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or your money.
Review: I think this book was really dumb, and here's why. First off it moved very slow, and the story was very dull. Second, it's almost like Swanwick is trying to be controversial. His short fiction is very good ("Ancestral Voices" in the August issue of Asimov's Science Fiction -written with Gardner Dozois- was one of the best stories I have read in a long time) but this book lacks everthing that made "...Voices" good. This book did not deserve the Hugo nomination, and I am glad that it did not win. Don't waste your time with this one.

Rating:
Summary: There was a really good twist. It was a good book!!!!
Review: I thought it was a really awesome book!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: What this book's really about.
Review: It was a great book which I couldn't stop thinking about and wanted to tell everyone about. While the characters didn't seem very real, I think the novel is more about the story and is all about the way in which Mephistopheles manipulates Faust into the path which will destroy the world.