louisekf 's review for:

The Master's Apprentice: A Retelling of the Faust Legend by Oliver Pötzsch

4.0

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I wanted to read this book for a couple of reasons - I’m a fan of Oliver Potzsch’s Hangman’s Daughter series and I was intrigued to learn more about the figure of Faust - a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know much about Faust at all, just the general idea that he sold his soul to the devil for some sort of earthly advantage. Potzsch does a wonderful job of bringing the Holy Roman Empire of the late 1400s and early 1500s to life, particularly the areas that became modern Germany, as well as Venice. The mystical aspects of the tale were very well done. I enjoyed reading about how people traveled in those days, especially people like Faustus, who could juggle, read palms, do magic tricks, etc., to entertain people in the villages and towns they traveled to. At that time, the attitudes toward anyone who was even slightly “different” were brutal: witchcraft was accused often, with deadly results. Homosexuals were also burned at the stake. If you were interested in science, you may have been considered a heretic.

My only issue with the book is it is just SO long, over 500 pages, as is the second book in this series.

I bounced between the ebook and the audiobook. Malcolm Hillgartner did a terrific job with the narration.