Jack Faust

While Swanwick may not ever achieve the status of a Thomas Mann, he has penned a quite creative reworking of the traditional Faustian myth. Casting his vision on the template of science fiction, Swanwick adds interesting dimensions to the already complex Faustian characters. Mephistopheles appears as an alien force; as arrogant and manipulative an extraterrestrial as he ever was a demon. Margarete still appears as the innocent caught in the crossfire of evil and eviler. Wagner, the fanatic sycophant, who never realizes that not only is he a pawn, but he's a pawn that neither side cares enough to either advance or gambit. And Faust, the perpetual megalomaniac. His desire to master thoughts ends up making thoughts his master. He creates and creates but with no purpose except the creation, much like a pathogen. Ultimately the purpose, as in the traditional legend, serves those who gave him the tools to create.And in all this richness, Swanwick adds. This is a message to the future, our future, which is nightmarishly similar to Faust's reality. Ushering in an UltraIndustrial revolution, Faust overwhelms too many with too much and as Mehpistopheles knows, the gifts that mechanization brings to fruition are never used for benefit. For example, one of the first films produced after the invention of film (in the book) is no less than a pornographic movie (the title being a colorful four letter word starting with "f"). And in this uncontrollable momentum, this Newtonian nightmare, no end is in sight. Indeed, no end is possible. Like a vehicle out of control people will die because of the chaos. Mephistopheles is counting on the entire world to die. And he is not disappointed. Swanwicks reason for the reworking. Knowledge doesn't make us more certain of a future. It could very well be the opposite. What makes us certain of a future is knowledge used properly. Knowledge used without greed, without vanity; knowledge used with humanity, with compassion. Creation for a higher purpose. Faust was like a child who desired a toy and once that toy was possessed, only desired another which he did not have. It is not how much one knows, but how one uses that knowledge which they already possess . . . to help others. All this can be gathered from the classical workings of the myth. What Swanwick adds is a slight, but significant twist. In giving Jack Faust the knowledge to create scientific wonders without end, Mephistopheles knew that WE, as a people, would misuse them, regardless of if Faust misused them or not (he did). And that is the beauty, that is the addition Swanwick gives us to the Faust legend. We are all Faust. We are all culpable. Because we all had a hand in our own damnation. And consequently, if we are all Faust, we can all stop this damanation. We have a choice to stop the "death instinct", as Freud called it. But guilty or innocent we will drag each other down or lift each other up. It is, in the end, a simple matte

The story of Faust has ancient roots: the over-reaching anti-hero who offers the core of his being in return for material benefit is present in many folk tales and legends. In its best-known form it is a tragic cautionary tale of mediaeval Christianity: the sacrifice of the soul for wordly power and knowledge. This is how both Marlowe and Goethe presented the message. During and after the industrial killing frenzy of the Twentieth Century it became difficult to portray evil as 'outside': Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus is a more subtle work about art and Nazism, and the very human processes of self-annihilation that lead down the road to the the concentration camps and the gas chambers. By the end of the Twentieth Century though, science and technology had become the points of contention. Though knowledge has always been key to the Faust story, Michael Swanwick puts scientific and technical knowledge at the heart of his re-telling. It begins, as with Marlowe and Goethe, in mediaeval Germany, and a fine, dirty and pungently atmospheric Germany it is too. Swanwick's descriptive style is immensely rich and seductive and quickly pulls the reader into a world before computers, before cars, before factories, before steam, before states, before industrial warfare. Faust is desparing. He, alone of all scholars, has seen through the hypocrisy of contemporary scholarship, and he despises every bit of it. Burning his books to the dismay of his servant, Wagner, he is confronted with Mephistopheles, not a demon or a devil in the traditional sense, but a collective entity from another dimension, immensely knowledgeable (beyond Faust's wildest dreams), but also afraid of what humanity could become and unable on their own to do anything about it. Instead they intend to destroy the world through scientific knowledge. Even the name, Mephistopheles, is presented to Faust as a complex equation about quantum energy, the details of which he cannot understand, but the import - oh, is it not everything that he wants? The deal then is simple: Faust will have total knowledge, but in return, this being a thoroughly millenial retelling, that knowledge will destroy not just Faust but all humanity, irrevocably and forever. The cruelty then is not so much with Mephistopheles but with Faust from the beginning: he always knows that his knowledge will destroy and kill, and even understanding that there will be no divine salvation - one of Mephistopheles' first revelations is that there is no God - he still fools himself into believing that he can control the forces which he is about to unleash. This self-deception is only confirmed for him by the fact that he wins the heart of the one woman whom Mephistopheles tells him he cannot have: Margaret, daughter of a wealthy merchant.At first Faust tries to spread elements of his new knowledge in pure scientific form, for free, throughout Europe, but he finds only rejection and scorn. Finding that there is no interest in 'pure science', and

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.

jack faust is the best book in the markets toda from cover to cover it engrosses the reader in its marvel. i invite anyone who thinks otherwise to debate it with me.

Swanwick's earlier novels (Stations of the Tide, The Iron Dragon's Daughter) and his short stories (collected in Gravity's Angels) only hint at the scale, ambition, and power of Jack Faust. From the opening paragraphs, which introduce us to 16th century Wittenberg and hint ominously at the "pleasant suicidal fantasy of the spark that would come to liberate its timbers into explosive fire", Swanwick's meticulous, often metaphorical prose paints rich sensory portraits of Faust's time and place. That the plot follows the traditional lines of Goethe's Faust adds rather than detracts from the surprises Swanwick has in store. For hereMephistopheles is an extraterrestrial devil---a magnificent, protean being who accompanies Faust throughout his life, whether he wants company or not---and the pact Faust makes mirrors the compact humanity has made with 20th century technology. Thus Swanwick sets up a tale which ranges all over Europe and throughout Faust's life, culminating in as darkly nihilistic vision of the human prospect I've encountered in a long time. Unlike many SF authors who have explored similar territory, Swanwick never flinches from the implications of his novel's take on human nature and its infinite corruptibility. Lest I leave the impression that Jack Faust is a downer, let me add that the sheer pleasure of Swanwick's prose, sentence by sentence, page by page, makes this book a luxuriant, compelling read. And the wit and invention he brings to the problem of telling a story which necessarily must span several decades all but demands rereading, which the novel rewards handsomely. Best of all, this novel is about something: the nature of history, logic versus faith in a technological society, and above all the challenge that the runaway technological engine of the 20th century poses to all of us as that century seques into the next. Buy the hardcover; you'll want this one for your permanent collection.