If at Faust You Don't Succeed [Paperback]

Roger Zelazny (Author), Robert Sheckley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1994

The last Millennial contest--between the forces  of Good and Evil for control of the  universe--didn't work out quite so well for Evil and its rooters.  But it's time for the next round, and this time  the demon Mephistopheles is carrying the ball for  the forces of Darkness. But all is not as it seems.  The harried archdemon mistakenly signs up a  medieval cutpurse names Mack the Club, thinking him the  learned Dr. Faust. The demon Azzie, still  stinging from the Evil's last defeat (and not being  chosen to head the current effort), takes events into  his own claws. And the pious angel Michael--well,  let's just say some of his tactics in the titanic  struggle to come are not quite cricket . . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The fate of humanity rests in the hands of a failed monk in this comic sequel to Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (Bantam, 1991).
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Zelazny and Sheckley make for a synergy that's  just about unequaled in fantasy  humor."--Star Tribune, Minneapolis.

"So  much fun that you can almost imagine the two authors  chortling."--Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 359 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Spectra (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553565486
• ISBN-13: 978-0553565485
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #716,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley, May 15, 2001

By 

Aaron K. - See all my reviews

This review is from: If at Faust You Don't Succeed (Paperback)

If At Faust you don't Succeed is the second book of a trilogy made by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley. Though this book wasn't nearly as good as the first, I must say that it was still a worthy sequel. In this book, there is a contest being held between good and evil, and the victor gets to rule over mankind for the next thousand years. In this book, a human named Faust was chosen to represent mankind, but a thief named Mack accidentally got put in his place. So Faust goes off in search of Mack through time and space so he can switch places with Mack and gain his rightful place in the contest. If at Faust you Don't Succeed seems to be a bit more serious than the book before it (Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming), so some readers may be turned off by this fact. Other than that, it is still a great book and worth reading if you were a fan of the first book.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The humors of heaven 's busybees and hell's busybees, August 13, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If at Faust You Don't Succeed (Paperback)

8/13/01 I have read both Zelazny's and Sheckley's books:"If At Faust You Don't Succeed"(timed in the middle ages with the wrong apothecary being kidnapped by the evil forces in error) and "Bring Me The Head Of Prince Charming", where body parts of the dead, are used to reconstruct a Prince (using legs of a coward who'd run away during a battle which gave the legs the magic of 'speed').They had credit cards from the supernatural world for their expense account to be able to pay for the services and supplies they needed from 'dark humans' who dealt in darkness with the occult,etc.The bottom line in these millenium wars between good and evil was that the good would default if they used any dishonest means to win the power of 1000 years and the bad would default if they used anything but their atypical deceptions to win the power to influence the world for 1000 years.. Although you're almost sure from the beginning who'll win, the book has enough slapstick humor to make you want to go the route with them as the baddies feel they've got their scheme in place this time.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars an entirely unworthy sequel, July 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: If at Faust You Don't Succeed (Paperback)

Unlike its predecessor, "If at Faust" is not funny, the characters are entirely unformed--even the ones we met in the prequel--and there are many agitating inconsistencies in the plot. This is supposedly about a contest between good and evil which takes place at the close of every milennium. It was pretty clear when the first book took place, but this one is less certain. Are we in the year 2000? There's no indication. If we are, why do the contestents concern themselves so much with the medieval and renaissance cultures? Demons in the contemporary world might have been fun. And if this is not the year 2000, why in the world is there a contest? Several stages and characters are set up and introducted and then are just left alone, never developing into anything important or interesting. Basically, nothing happens, and it's just not funny. It's missing the absurd adorability and enchanting ingenuity (and humor) of the first book, "Bring Me the Hea! d of Prince Charming." All I can say in it's favor is that it's a very quick read.