The Master's Apprentice A Re-Telling of the Faust Legend

Faust sells his soul to the devil, didn't he? I've not read a Faustian story and have been wanting to for about six months or so. And then I saw The Master's Apprentice and it sounded a little more interesting than the classic account, so in I dove. And yeah, I enjoyed every sentence. Pötzsch doesn't throw the reader into the middle of a story, teasing out the backstory as we read along. This Faust starts early in his life without lingering and I was drawn to him immediately, relating to the character through familiar childhood experiences. It felt believable. And I discovered that Faust is chaotic good, addicted to knowledge yet is a also rebel with a cause. He is driven, both by himself and nefarious forces and his story is one of acceptance and rejection at every phase of his life. There's something in him to fear, but my attraction to his character is almost impossible to describe. I cheered for him and I yelled at him. I've read my fair share of 16th to 19th century books, so as this title's Faust ventures out, I could easily appreciate his world. Faust is a genius surpassing Good Will Hunting with a Dan Brown vibe in the time just before Shakespeare. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. This isn't a book to read, it's a book to wade into, letting the protagonist's story to carry you along.. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me a chance to review The Master's Apprentice.

The atmosphere was creepy, dark and gripping. The plot was great and I enjoyed the writing so much that I finished the book in 3 sittings. However I had an issue with Johann's decision-making and character description. He's this super smart guy, but he behaves daft and cannot put 2 and 2 together when it comes to the situation around him. I was quite frustrated at times (he traveled with Tonio for a long time and clearly knew the 2 crows and one Raven and when he sees them following and watching him he just pushed the thoughts away and can't make the connection). So 3 stars for an entertaining and readable book. As native German speaker, I must say the translator did a good job even with the children's rhymes and songs.