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Millennial Contest #2
If at Faust You Don't Succeed
The last Millennial contest—between the forces of Good and Evil for control of the universe—didn't work out quite so well for Evil and its rooters. But it's time for the next round, and this time the demon Mephistopheles is carrying the ball for the forces of Darkness. But all is not as it seems. The harried archdemon mistakenly signs up a medieval cutpurse named Mack the Club, thinking him the learned Dr. Faust. The demon Azzie, still stinging from Evil's last defeat (and not being chosen to head the current effort), takes events into his own claws. And the pious angel Michael—well, let's just say some of his tactics in the titanic struggle to come are not quite cricket . . . .
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
20 people are currently reading
671 people want to read
About the author
Roger Zelazny
746 books3,887 followersRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for The Chronicles of Amber. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominations) and the Hugo Award six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966), and the novel Lord of Light (1967).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 17, 2020
I do like how Roger can make fun of religious concepts but at the same time keep his story balanced. There is a lot of humour in this book, but it is well written and has a place within the story. Now, I'm not familiar with the other author Rogery Zelazny collaborated with on this novel, but I can definitely recognize his signature touch to this story.
I might have a weakness for theology mixed with something else, especially when that something else is science fiction or fantasy. This novel was such a fun read. Sure, this book doesn't have the depth of the Lord of Light, but it is damn funny. It ridicules our concepts of heaven and earth and well of pretty much everything.
Faust as an old man who would do anything to eat a normal dinner and sleep with a pretty young woman is not exactly the most awe-inspiring hero but then again this is a satirical novel. There is also an anti-hero that is charming as hell- not a typical Faustian legend, is it? Where are the complexities, the inner struggle of one's soul? You won't find them with Faust. There is no great magician/alchemist/academic searching for truth but something more like most of the academics you might know: selfish, intelligent but quite close minded and egoistic. You know very human but not in the flattering sense of the word. That's the Faust of this book. You know, I think that this version ruined Goethe's Faust for me. IT is not precisely a PURE parody of it, but it does makes fun of it.
I might have a weakness for theology mixed with something else, especially when that something else is science fiction or fantasy. This novel was such a fun read. Sure, this book doesn't have the depth of the Lord of Light, but it is damn funny. It ridicules our concepts of heaven and earth and well of pretty much everything.
Faust as an old man who would do anything to eat a normal dinner and sleep with a pretty young woman is not exactly the most awe-inspiring hero but then again this is a satirical novel. There is also an anti-hero that is charming as hell- not a typical Faustian legend, is it? Where are the complexities, the inner struggle of one's soul? You won't find them with Faust. There is no great magician/alchemist/academic searching for truth but something more like most of the academics you might know: selfish, intelligent but quite close minded and egoistic. You know very human but not in the flattering sense of the word. That's the Faust of this book. You know, I think that this version ruined Goethe's Faust for me. IT is not precisely a PURE parody of it, but it does makes fun of it.
March 4, 2024
This book follows Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming and precedes A Farce to Be Reckoned With, but I didn't enjoy it as much the first book and never got around to trying the third. It's more of a Renaissance/Faust satire than a strict fantasy lampoon, and perhaps it's just a little too highbrow for me. There are amusing scenes and situations and some clever quips in the dialog, but I never felt involved with it as a story. I didn't think the style of the collaborators meshed as well as in the first book, but it's been a long time since I read it and probably should give it another chance.
September 13, 2012
I am an enormous Roger Zelazny fan (he’s my favorite author by a HUGE margin), but this was the first book of his I couldn’t finish.
In a word, it was terrible.
I liked the previous installment in this trilogy, Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming . But the writing in this book was beyond bad. And it’s not Zelazny’s fault.
According to volume 6 of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny , here’s what happened with Sheckley and Zelazny’s Millenium Trilogy:
- For Prince Charming, Zelazny gave Sheckley numerous ideas to choose from. Sheckley selected one, Roger outlined it (using skills he’d learned from Fred Saberhagen while they worked together on Coils ), Sheckley wrote a first draft and Roger rewrote it. I liked that book.
- For If At Faust You Don’t Succeed, Zelazny and Sheckley went back and forth, trading off the writing duties. Except that Roger learned one day that Sheckley had been rewriting all of his parts.
It shows.
I’ve read enough Roger Zelazny that I can generally distinguish his voice from a collaborator’s. And I can tell you that, for the first 158 pages of Faust (and potentially beyond that), Roger’s voice never shows up once.
Sheckley has a terrible tendency to give you the full historical background of every location or person or object that’s introduced to the reader. If you see a big block of text coming up (i.e., a page-long paragraph), you’ll know something is about to be introduced in unnecessary detail. One of the things I’ve always loved about Zelazny is his ability to pack a strong punch in so very few words—often, it’s the things he leaves out that give you insight into a character or event. But with Sheckley, I get a fucking Wikipedia entry for every stool and lantern in the bar.
Had Roger written the book, it probably would have been 100 pages shorter. And twice as good.
I mean, there’s definitely some potential there. The premise of a man being put into various historical situations so that a higher power could judge his morality (and thus, the morality of all humanity) on the decisions he makes is pretty interesting. But Faust was an obnoxious, self-absorbed character, and Marguerite was just some tag-along female he treated like crap. Honestly, one of the very few things that made me want to keep reading was the hope that Marguerite was playing him in some way, because if she wasn’t, then her “useless woman” character was just awful and insulting.
And don’t get me started on Sheckley’s dialogue. This garbage could be used as a cautionary study in a creative writing course. Sheckley’s characters say things that no normal person would say, all because they need their information transmitted to the reader. It felt like they were talking to me half the time, rather than each other. I’m a little surprised they didn’t address me by name, to be honest.
In the end, I’m wildly ashamed of the fact that I wasn’t able to finish a Zelazny book, but at the same time, I don’t really consider this a Zelazny book. It’s trash, and it gets 2 stars only because it could have been decent if Sheckley hadn’t Sheckley’d it up.
In a word, it was terrible.
I liked the previous installment in this trilogy, Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming . But the writing in this book was beyond bad. And it’s not Zelazny’s fault.
According to volume 6 of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny , here’s what happened with Sheckley and Zelazny’s Millenium Trilogy:
- For Prince Charming, Zelazny gave Sheckley numerous ideas to choose from. Sheckley selected one, Roger outlined it (using skills he’d learned from Fred Saberhagen while they worked together on Coils ), Sheckley wrote a first draft and Roger rewrote it. I liked that book.
- For If At Faust You Don’t Succeed, Zelazny and Sheckley went back and forth, trading off the writing duties. Except that Roger learned one day that Sheckley had been rewriting all of his parts.
It shows.
I’ve read enough Roger Zelazny that I can generally distinguish his voice from a collaborator’s. And I can tell you that, for the first 158 pages of Faust (and potentially beyond that), Roger’s voice never shows up once.
Sheckley has a terrible tendency to give you the full historical background of every location or person or object that’s introduced to the reader. If you see a big block of text coming up (i.e., a page-long paragraph), you’ll know something is about to be introduced in unnecessary detail. One of the things I’ve always loved about Zelazny is his ability to pack a strong punch in so very few words—often, it’s the things he leaves out that give you insight into a character or event. But with Sheckley, I get a fucking Wikipedia entry for every stool and lantern in the bar.
Had Roger written the book, it probably would have been 100 pages shorter. And twice as good.
I mean, there’s definitely some potential there. The premise of a man being put into various historical situations so that a higher power could judge his morality (and thus, the morality of all humanity) on the decisions he makes is pretty interesting. But Faust was an obnoxious, self-absorbed character, and Marguerite was just some tag-along female he treated like crap. Honestly, one of the very few things that made me want to keep reading was the hope that Marguerite was playing him in some way, because if she wasn’t, then her “useless woman” character was just awful and insulting.
And don’t get me started on Sheckley’s dialogue. This garbage could be used as a cautionary study in a creative writing course. Sheckley’s characters say things that no normal person would say, all because they need their information transmitted to the reader. It felt like they were talking to me half the time, rather than each other. I’m a little surprised they didn’t address me by name, to be honest.
In the end, I’m wildly ashamed of the fact that I wasn’t able to finish a Zelazny book, but at the same time, I don’t really consider this a Zelazny book. It’s trash, and it gets 2 stars only because it could have been decent if Sheckley hadn’t Sheckley’d it up.
January 8, 2010
The follow up to BRING ME THE HEAD OF PRINCE CHARMING, this series of books is probably my favorite of all the "Comical" fantasy novels out there, the trilogy being really intended for lit and fantasy geeks everywhere to get a good chuckle out of, but never doing so at the loss of a good story and interesting characters. The cast of figures is huge and as such, not everyone is as developed as you'd like them to be, but returning favorites from the previous book continue to entertain and the new figures, namely Mephistopheles and Mack and Marguerite, hold up well and have some blissfully laught out loud moments (the Kublah Kahn sequence in particular is very memorable). Definitely for people with a strong background in western culture, but for that crowd not one to be missed. Finally, our version of an airplane/beach read.
January 20, 2017
„Донеси ми главата на принца. Ако с Фауст не успееш. Просто шеметен фарс” на Роджър Зелазни и Робърт Шекли! Три големи романа, от двама големи автора в един голям том в страхотна (и стилна) твърда корица. Какво да ви кажа, когато от издателство „Бард” са решили да кръстят поредицата си „Велики майстори на фентъзи и фантастика” съвсем не са се изхвърлили. А че трилогията „Millennial Contest” си е точно за тук – в това няма никакво съмнение! А шеметен фарс ще получите и то в изобилие. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":
https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
December 29, 2022
{3.5 rounded down} For anyone who DNFed this along the way or should I say fell wayside as a victim to the book's writing, I can certainly emphasize. The book is carved out into pieces with each part, having its own nuggets of witty lines and criticism about grand society and the mundane. Although all know what the arc plot is officially meant to be, none of the reader and perhaps even the characters truly understand it. Was it the author's intent, perhaps to imply that this is how life is as one traverse it with but a flickering light to help navigate some obscure expected outcome? Even if that was the case, the journey itself is frustrating as there is no compass to guide us until the final {literal} tally is performed. In retrospect the final outcome may be expected to be the status quo and I did enjoy the somewhat arcane vocabulary of the period, but the apparent haphazard way everything was presented took away from my joy and appreciation.
October 18, 2024
2.75 Stars.
The first was better than this second book even if we had some interesting characters and situations.
The first was better than this second book even if we had some interesting characters and situations.
April 28, 2022
Bez trunke duha iz prvog dela, radnja meh, plitko filozofiranje na kraju - kao da je pisano na silu (što verovatno i jeste).
June 7, 2014
A thief takes the place of the selected representative of humanity in a history-hopping contest between heaven and hell for the destiny of humankind.
Picked up because I wanted something light and fun. Finished because sometimes my hatred for a book is so strong I have to see it to the bitter, misogynist end to fully grasp its awfulness.
Truly terrible. Flabby and unfunny – unpunny? – and, um. Look, I expect a certain amount of misogyny from Zelazny. I mean, don't get me wrong, I dig a lot of his books, but with a few exceptions the dude was not good at conceiving of women as something other than vaginas with legs. But there's that and then there's whatever the hell this is, and what this is is the fuck not okay. At one point a woman character notices all the shit going down and is like, "you realize you're a raging asshole who treats women like objects to be stolen from other men, fucked and then traded for favors with other men, and discarded, right?" And then the book is like, "oh, huh, yeah, I guess. Let's get back to that, though!"
Ick. I need to scrub my brain out.
Picked up because I wanted something light and fun. Finished because sometimes my hatred for a book is so strong I have to see it to the bitter, misogynist end to fully grasp its awfulness.
Truly terrible. Flabby and unfunny – unpunny? – and, um. Look, I expect a certain amount of misogyny from Zelazny. I mean, don't get me wrong, I dig a lot of his books, but with a few exceptions the dude was not good at conceiving of women as something other than vaginas with legs. But there's that and then there's whatever the hell this is, and what this is is the fuck not okay. At one point a woman character notices all the shit going down and is like, "you realize you're a raging asshole who treats women like objects to be stolen from other men, fucked and then traded for favors with other men, and discarded, right?" And then the book is like, "oh, huh, yeah, I guess. Let's get back to that, though!"
Ick. I need to scrub my brain out.
July 30, 2011
Another excellent read by Zelazny. He is one of my favorite authors. This story was very engaging. To being with, it was an entertaining adventure. He knows how to tell a story that moves. He blends a nice mix of history and mythology in the story. The humor in the story is also good. Some of the jokes land with a thud but it is forgiven because they are enough amusing passages to make up for it. If anything, I wish that the authors took more space to develop some of the intriguing sub-characters that were introduced in the story. For example, at one point Odysseus makes a plea for a return to the classical order in life. Having more of Odysseus in the story would have helped would have helped me better understand this point. You can put a classical Greek in a situation and his response to it would be different then a medieval and a modern person. And I would have enjoyed it if the book explored this idea more. The lack of this did not in anyway detract from my enjoyment of the story.
November 25, 2015
This is the sequel to Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, which I read (and enjoyed) at least twenty years ago. However, I recall being unable to get into this book and ultimately giving up on it. I gave it more of a chance this time and read the whole thing, but it never lived up to its predecessor. Honestly, it's a bit boring, and the writing style is uneven. Yes, it was written by two people, but sometimes it seemed like they alternated paragraphs without reading the previous one. The characters from the previous book do make appearances, but they're kind of shoehorned in, to the point where you don't need to have read the first book to follow this one - they don't have a whole lot to do with each other, other than both being about the Millennial Contest (the contest between Good and Evil to decide who gets to rule Earth for the next thousand years). All in all, pretty forgettable.
December 31, 2017
Dobro a zlo svádějí boj o to, kdo bude vládnout lidem v dalším tisíciletí a Faust má splnit několik úkolů, na základě nichž se o lidstvu rozhodne. Jenže od začátku je jasné, že švindluje dobro (Michael) i zlo (Mefistofeles), takže si čtenář není jistý, kdo na které straně stojí a komu fandit. Do boje se později zapojují i klasičtí hrdinové. Nakonec je nejsympatičtější hlavní postava - falešný Faust - Mack. Vlastně žádná z postav není vyloženě zlá, trpí svými vlastními problémy (např. trpaslík tím, jak se k němu chovají démoni) a to bývá často zdrojem humorných scének.
Několikrát jsem se smála i nahlas. Až později pochopila, že vlastně čtu druhý díl a knihu nenapsal jen Zelazny. A dozvěděla se o několika událostech z dějin, které jsem neznala. (hranice marností) Nepochopila jsem, proč Mefistofeles nakonec Mackovi pomáhal.
Faustovský duch = touha pomocí vědění vládnout ostatním
Pravda - jen jedno hledisko... vřelost, schopnost vládnout sám sobě, soucit další
Několikrát jsem se smála i nahlas. Až později pochopila, že vlastně čtu druhý díl a knihu nenapsal jen Zelazny. A dozvěděla se o několika událostech z dějin, které jsem neznala. (hranice marností) Nepochopila jsem, proč Mefistofeles nakonec Mackovi pomáhal.
Faustovský duch = touha pomocí vědění vládnout ostatním
Pravda - jen jedno hledisko... vřelost, schopnost vládnout sám sobě, soucit další
April 23, 2013
Not as good as the first book, and a little more all over the place. That being said, Zelazny was involved, so obviously it was fun to read. Maybe not as trippy as it could have been, but I wasn't expecting Amber so...that's not too big of an issue.
The discussion of morality was pretty good, if a bit like the monologue from Atlas Shrugged (not in content, in spirit).
Overall, I liked the characters, not for their personalities, but because they were very detailed and three dimensional. I managed to see some of the twists in the plot coming, but that also isn't that big of a deal for me. Not when I get to read Zelazny, at least.
The discussion of morality was pretty good, if a bit like the monologue from Atlas Shrugged (not in content, in spirit).
Overall, I liked the characters, not for their personalities, but because they were very detailed and three dimensional. I managed to see some of the twists in the plot coming, but that also isn't that big of a deal for me. Not when I get to read Zelazny, at least.
October 11, 2018
Spoiler alert!
The Good and the Evil in a game that will decide the fate of the humanity for the next 1000 years. One morally flexible angel, and one art loving demon recruit the great philosopher Faust to play the game on behalf of the human race. Only his place is taken by Mack the Club and the game is turned upside down. Add to the mix Helen of Troy, Margarita, one really grumpy dwarf, and one reformed witch and you get a hilarious race. Evil Marco Polo, shy Achilles, crusaders, clash of interests ..... The story has more twists and turns than an ancient Greek play.
The Good and the Evil in a game that will decide the fate of the humanity for the next 1000 years. One morally flexible angel, and one art loving demon recruit the great philosopher Faust to play the game on behalf of the human race. Only his place is taken by Mack the Club and the game is turned upside down. Add to the mix Helen of Troy, Margarita, one really grumpy dwarf, and one reformed witch and you get a hilarious race. Evil Marco Polo, shy Achilles, crusaders, clash of interests ..... The story has more twists and turns than an ancient Greek play.
June 9, 2018
4.5 stars.
This book is not for everyone, that's for sure, but if you're into religious satire, I strongly recommend this trilogy.
The book is full of intrigue and twists and turns drenched into philosophy and humour. It's a fast read but makes you think about it for days. Don't want to spoil anything but the resolution was high class.
This book is not for everyone, that's for sure, but if you're into religious satire, I strongly recommend this trilogy.
The book is full of intrigue and twists and turns drenched into philosophy and humour. It's a fast read but makes you think about it for days. Don't want to spoil anything but the resolution was high class.
June 10, 2011
Хареса ми повече от предишната (Донеси ми главата на принца), има повече неща над които може да се помисли и е малко по-сериозна.
September 17, 2012
Продължението на "Донеси ми главата на принца" е фарс в същия стил, с много чувство за хумор и невероятни приключения. Единствената причина да не получи по-висока оценка е фактът, че не го чете 15 годишен младеж. Доста брутално е усещането, че си надраснал Р.Зелазни.
June 13, 2018
Някак си няма как да не видя Бранд в думите на безименното, когато призовава Аззи да се предаде и да бъде част от неговата реалност ...
И някак си не мога да не си представям думите на Аззи в тоналността на Чък ...Звучат ми толкова еднакво!
И някак си не мога да не си представям думите на Аззи в тоналността на Чък ...Звучат ми толкова еднакво!
April 25, 2009
I love farcical fantasy, and this series is great. Very humorous!
January 14, 2015
I liked Bring Me The Head Of Prince Charming more, but this book is also funny :) But for me the first Millennial Contest was better! But this book... Like it :)
September 16, 2014
Funny and witty. The whole Millennium Contest serial is like that.
But "Bring me the Head of Prince Charming" was even better for me. ;)
But "Bring me the Head of Prince Charming" was even better for me. ;)
August 22, 2017
3.5. Two good writers on a lark. Sone surprising serious points along the way.
November 11, 2018
One of the greatest books I've ever read! Powerful without being pretentious! Absolutely loved it! The characters, the storyline, the humour were all on point! 5/5 stars well-deserved!
January 2, 2023
Lynn and I read, or rather listened to an audio version, over four days. I was also reading and listening to “Can Democracy Work? James Miller, 2018. Curiously, the two books, one fiction, the other nonfiction, have points in common.
The story Zelazny and Sheckley beckon us to enter can benefit from some knowledge of the flow of history and a bit of Renaissance esoterica. By comparison, James Miller’s study about struggles for democracy, with its historical and philosophical arcs likewise caught my attention. I was drawn to read both.
The central character in this second-millennium farce is Johann Georg Faust, AKA Doctor Faustus. If the name sounds familiar he became famous as the subject of a renowned play by Elizabethan writer Kit Marlowe. Apart from controversies in historical accounts of the doctor, Faust also became a subject for philosophers and storytellers ever since.
Enter Zelazny and Sheckley. These authors take on reality from very different perspectives. The result? A series about a once-in-a-millennium contest where Good and Evil, Light and Dark, scheme to win and shape the next thousand years of human history.
Last time the Demon Azzi, who had won twice before, for the dark side, lost a close competition. The scenarios for the contest had been his proposal.
Now, for the period covering the second millennium, it is the Archangel Michael, an angelic schemer in his own right, who drafts the scenarios. Michael’s pragmatism weaves a diversity of tactics into his otherwise good intentions.
His methods, he hopes, will enable Good to be more inventive and flexible when they interact with Evil. The rest is bureaucracy, and one can only shudder in anticipation of the possibilities!
The first twist, already announced in the book’s catalog description, sets up the human conflict. Readers encounter a common thief and mugger, who intervenes, and was mistaken for Dr Faust. This thief was mistakenly recruited by the arch-demon mephistopheles when he delivered notice that Faust’s role in the millennium contest had already begun. Seeing possible advantage, and fearing demonic persecution, our anti-hero played along.
Doctor Faust returned home in time to learn about the impostor taking rewards rightfully his. Oh, no, that is not the Faustian way, says he.
thus begins a chase accross time and Eurasia ranging from the Latin siege of Constantinople, to the pleasure palace of Kubla Khan, to the French Revolution. We even get a glimpse into opening night of Dr. Faustus in London. Azzie returns to insert his demonic schemes into the drama. How the story develops is worth the read, for those readers so inclined.
As developing historical-fantasy and horror writers, adding to my journalism and Lynn’s art, their story instructed us in plot and character development. Reading like a writer, also the name of a very worthwhile book, BTW, opens up this novel for appreciation beyond a casual read to entertain alone.
We do not discount reviews to the contrary, however, for me, at least, Five Stars for an instructive and entertaining romp through “If at Faust You Don’t Succeed.”
The story Zelazny and Sheckley beckon us to enter can benefit from some knowledge of the flow of history and a bit of Renaissance esoterica. By comparison, James Miller’s study about struggles for democracy, with its historical and philosophical arcs likewise caught my attention. I was drawn to read both.
The central character in this second-millennium farce is Johann Georg Faust, AKA Doctor Faustus. If the name sounds familiar he became famous as the subject of a renowned play by Elizabethan writer Kit Marlowe. Apart from controversies in historical accounts of the doctor, Faust also became a subject for philosophers and storytellers ever since.
Enter Zelazny and Sheckley. These authors take on reality from very different perspectives. The result? A series about a once-in-a-millennium contest where Good and Evil, Light and Dark, scheme to win and shape the next thousand years of human history.
Last time the Demon Azzi, who had won twice before, for the dark side, lost a close competition. The scenarios for the contest had been his proposal.
Now, for the period covering the second millennium, it is the Archangel Michael, an angelic schemer in his own right, who drafts the scenarios. Michael’s pragmatism weaves a diversity of tactics into his otherwise good intentions.
His methods, he hopes, will enable Good to be more inventive and flexible when they interact with Evil. The rest is bureaucracy, and one can only shudder in anticipation of the possibilities!
The first twist, already announced in the book’s catalog description, sets up the human conflict. Readers encounter a common thief and mugger, who intervenes, and was mistaken for Dr Faust. This thief was mistakenly recruited by the arch-demon mephistopheles when he delivered notice that Faust’s role in the millennium contest had already begun. Seeing possible advantage, and fearing demonic persecution, our anti-hero played along.
Doctor Faust returned home in time to learn about the impostor taking rewards rightfully his. Oh, no, that is not the Faustian way, says he.
thus begins a chase accross time and Eurasia ranging from the Latin siege of Constantinople, to the pleasure palace of Kubla Khan, to the French Revolution. We even get a glimpse into opening night of Dr. Faustus in London. Azzie returns to insert his demonic schemes into the drama. How the story develops is worth the read, for those readers so inclined.
As developing historical-fantasy and horror writers, adding to my journalism and Lynn’s art, their story instructed us in plot and character development. Reading like a writer, also the name of a very worthwhile book, BTW, opens up this novel for appreciation beyond a casual read to entertain alone.
We do not discount reviews to the contrary, however, for me, at least, Five Stars for an instructive and entertaining romp through “If at Faust You Don’t Succeed.”
July 31, 2023
Entertaining mix of the eternal struggle between Heaven and Hell, time travel, and classical Greek Mythology. While the authors are playing fast and loose with history, it is obvious that the Faust in this book is primarily based on the protagonist of Goethe's 19th Century play (rather than the historical Johann Georg Faust or the Doctor Faustus from Christopher Marlowe's 16th Century "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus"). Wacky hijinks ensue (as they say) when Mephistopheles mistakes an expelled divinity student and small time criminal as the famous doctor, sparking a whirlwind adventure/chase (the real Faust isn't going to give up HIS chance to be seduced by the powers of darkness without a fight) through history (4th Crusade Constantinople, the French Revolution, Elizabethan London, the palace of Kublai Khan, Renaissance Florence), Heaven, Hell, Limbo, and the Greek Underworld. Very tongue in cheek. This is the second book of the series, but can be read as a stand-alone (I haven't read BRING ME THE HEAD OF PRINCE CHARMING), although events of the previous novel are alluded to. 3.5 stars.
December 30, 2023
Oh my, I'm not sure what to say. When I was 14 and I read the "Nine Princes in Amber" series I was so taken by Zelazny. I went on to read The Lord of Light and several other books. I remember them fondly. But as a 50+ person re-reading them hmmmmm. . . they really take you back to a different time. A time when sci-fi authors could comfortably assume their market share was all male. Although I know Niven, Zelazny, Pournelle, Piers Anthony etc all those guys were grown and married when they were publishing away their books, their stuff reads pretty high-school, and very sexist.
If you can get past that, the story is amusing. It also assumes a level a literacy that I don't know if 14 year olds today have. I don't mean to sound snarky, just honestly, do they cover Faust in public school any more?
If you can get past that, the story is amusing. It also assumes a level a literacy that I don't know if 14 year olds today have. I don't mean to sound snarky, just honestly, do they cover Faust in public school any more?
January 9, 2023
This book is a romp through rules and regulations of a cosmic order. The fact that there can be a decent ending is surprising. Good and evil must surely remain for the world to work out. What gives is how that will happen when the cosmos is turned upside down from an overuse of magic devices.
January 13, 2025
Втората част е за това как Мефистотел иска Фауст да направи редица неща, само че взема един крадец за Фауст и става така, че истинският и лъжливият Фауст непрекъсната се състезават. Аззи се опитва да въведе справедливост, но в крайна сметка доброто побеждава
November 4, 2025
Good book. I didn't realize it was #2 in a series.
Funny. Rogue-type stumbles into a cosmic competition between Good and Evil. Has a fun view of Good and Evil-the individuals are just regular guys. It's like politics. Good Guys can be jerks and Evil Guys can be nice.
Funny. Rogue-type stumbles into a cosmic competition between Good and Evil. Has a fun view of Good and Evil-the individuals are just regular guys. It's like politics. Good Guys can be jerks and Evil Guys can be nice.
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