| Jack Faust | |
|---|---|
Cover of first edition (hardcover) |
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| Author(s) | Michael Swanwick |
| Cover artist | Nadine Badalaty & Greg Spalenka |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Steam-Punk, Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
| Publication date | September 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 337 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-380-97444-4 (hardcover) |
| OCLC Number | 247029490 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 21 |
| LC Classification | PS3569.W28 J33 1997 |
Jack Faust (1997) is the fifth published novel by American author Michael Swanwick. It was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award in 1997,[1] and for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1998.[2]
The plot is based around a modernization of the anti-hero, Dr. Johannes Faust, who struggles with his growing discomfort with modern thought and questions how and why things happen without scientific explanation. After burning his library and contemplating suicide, a mysterious being named Mephistopheles comes to Faust and offers him all the information of the universe. With Mephistopheles' help, the madman Dr. Johannes Faust becomes savior Jack Faust by accelerating human progress at a blinding speed, reshaping Germany and then all of Europe in his own image.