Review: Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Young Adult Fantasy

Candlewick (August 25, 2009)

ISBN: 978-0763637071

400 pages

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

A devilish debut by a brother-sister team invites us into the world of the elite Marlowe School, where some gifted students are having a hell of a year.

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish — only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary "gifts." But as the students claw their way up — reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty — they start to suffer the sideeffects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins. At once chilling and wickedly satirical, this contemporary reimagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.

Another Faust is a decent first outing from co-authors, and siblings, Daniel and Dina Nayeri. In the realm of young adult paranormal fiction, this novel is stands out due to its premise alone. Based on the classic German legend, the story woven by the authors is built on a solid, pre-established  foundation. That said, it's rather easy to ruin a story through a retelling. Countless horrid Jane Austen remakes and spin-offs can attest to that. However, the Nayeri duo don't deserve to be lumped in with that bunch.

While the secondary characters are somewhat lacking in characterization, they aren't very essential to the story. The five central teenagers are all well-drawn and their combined evilness, depravity, loneliness, and sorrow is all but palpable. Part of what kept me from giving this story a solid B though was the fact that I didn't find any of these teens sympathetic enough. Even with the ones that we're obviously meant to root for in the end, it was a case of too-little, too-late. Another reason for the "C-" - Their ring-leader from hell, Madame Vileroy, is only alright as far as villains go. Sure, she's as bad as can be, but she also falls short of being truly fearsome. The best villains usually draw from some sort of pain or failure to propel their evil plans and Vileroy, being a bit two-dimensional, could not manage this and seemed all the more unreal because of that. Ultimately, this lack in Vileroy made the climax and conclusion feel unsatisfying.

Although I was expecting a pretty creepy tale, Another Faust happened to be even more creepy than I expected. The subplots are all disturbing in the best of ways and, despite the fact that the story meanders a bit midway through and takes a little too long to get to the action, they come together rather well. Though obviously thematically organized, I found it hard to reconcile the vague vignettes from what seemed to be Madame Vileroy's past with the larger story.

Despite some first-timer weaknesses, Another Faust wasn't all bad. The story is creative and the idea of basing the series on retellings of classics leaves the door wide open for greater books.
Grade: C-