Reviewed by Matthew Appleton
This review originally appeared in the February 1998 issue (#114) of The New York Review of Science Fiction.
Since Christopher Marlowe penned Doctor Faustus in 1604, the story of Faust has been retold in many major guises from Goethe’s Faust to Gounod’s opera to Randy Newman’s concept album Faust. Those who believe that that any further retellings just waste our time should take a look at Michael Swanwick’s latest novel, Jack Faust, which is more of a modern, adaptation of the famous tale; rather than a modern retelling.