I liked this book a lot, it would take me too long to explain all the reasons why. My favorite two things were 1. how the plot was complex and how Vileroy twisted everything into such weird problems that I never saw coming and 2. Bicé. She loves languages and "hides" so that she can learn and read even more. That's what I would do if I had all the time in the world, so I liked those parts of the story. Oddly enough, I also liked the moths, who weren't a huge part, but they were creepy and interesting floating in and out of scenes. There are some really great ideas in this book, but my objection to it comes from what I think is a pretty deep flaw in psychology. The authors present 4 children who were ready to make a deal with the devil in their youth -- around the age of 10 or 12. They disappear for a couple of years being trained in their new gifts and come back to the real world to start exercising them in their teen years. What bothers me is that, while they are supposedly quite ambitious, their ambitions are so easily channeled into the mundane activities of high school life. Sure, even precocious teens ARE interested in being pretty, popular, best on the team, best in debate, etc -- but I really think children who had a conception of making a deal with a devil and had life circumstances and emotional traumas large enough to make a Faustian bargain at age 10 would already be looking beyond high school at age 16. That said, I was impressed with the conclusion of the book -- both how the one(s) who beat the devil did it and the fact that not everyone decided to walk away. Just as a side note I also think it's pretty freakin awesome that a brother and sister write together and write so well. Makes me a little jealous :)
What do You think about Another Faust (2010)?
Sufficiently intriguing. It was a little dark though. But it still has an interesting twist.
—jon
It's hard to get into a book when you only like 2 out of 5 of the protagonists.
—ami
