I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. I requested this book because I am a big fan of author Oliver Potzsch. After realizing that this was the second book in a set, I read the first one, which did not care for--not because it wasn't well-written, but the genre was just not for me. The second book definitely held my interest, but again the subject matter was not a good fit for my tastes. We get to know Johann Faustus's daughter, Greta, and his ever-loyal assistant, Karl, even better. All the while, Faustus is haunted by the evil Tony del Moravia who is constantly stalking him. It is a game of cat and mouse that includes some very gory details. Faustus is sometimes likeable and sometimes not, but you had to admire his devotion to Greta and her son, Sebastian. Potzsch does a good job with his research and gives a good amount of background information. We even get to meet Leonardo da Vinci during his final days. Much of the story is set in Rome during the 1500s and Potzsch does a good job bringing this time period to life. Even though this wasn't one of my favorite Potzsch novels, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a whirl.

Another wonderful Oliver Pötzsch novel of a magician and a young assistant, Greta in a tale set in 1518. Having enjoyed the Hangman’s Daughter series, I was anticipating another interesting saga and Pötzsch delivered. Inspired by the Faust legend the magician fate is left to the devil. A delightful tale as they outrun henchman, the Devil and societal disgrace.

It's the early 1500's and Johann Faustus, magician and astrologer to the elite, together with his assistants Karl and Greta are travelling the cities of Germany. But an unholy pact made years ago catches up with them and they have to flee. The journey takes them all over Europe, covering historic events of the time.

The Devil's Pawn balances magic and goth in a wonderful way and kept me glued to the pages. There are many interesting characters and attractive scenery.
Bit by bit the plot thickens and I'm curious to see how the curse will be broken.
Unfortunately after all the excitement the story just evaporates. Disappointing.

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for the ARC.

‘You are in demand, Johann Georg Faustus, and these are tumultuous times.’

Rome, 1518. Tumultuous times: peasants are rebelling while the church becomes ever greedier and more corrupt. Meet Johann Faust: a renowned magician, astrologer, and chiromancer. He is travelling through Germany with his loyal companion Karl and Greta, the orphaned juggler. But Pope Leo X wants Faust’s services. He sees alchemy as the best way to replenish the papacy’s drained coffers. But Faust has a deal with the devil, and the devil wants something else…

‘You can’t defeat the devil, but you can offer him a bargain.’

Faust is struck by a mysterious illness and perhaps his new friend Leonardo da Vinci can help. It is not only his own fate that Faust holds in his hands.

‘Only he who challenges his enemy can emerge victorious.’

Oliver Pötzsch has done it again. I have thoroughly enjoyed the books I have read in the Hangman’s Daughter series and while I have yet to read Faustus #1 (‘The Master’s Apprentice’), I now have a copy.

Can Faust outrun the devil? Will Pope Leo X get his just deserts? Does Leonardo da Vinci have the answers Faust is seeking?

This is an enthralling story, fast-paced, full of action and more than a few twists. And what does it tell us about human nature? Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Interesting read, I wish I had gotten to read the first book in the series, will definitely need to keep an eye on it in stores.

Giving it three stars because it was quite a lengthy read for my personally.

Oliver has done it again gave us a story from history that resonates with mystery. Dr. Faustus, his assistant Karl and daughter Greta draw us into a story about the devil, the pope, and the intrigue surrounding Faustus. In it, we meet Pope Leo X, Leonardo De Vince, and a host of minor characters that dotted history in the 1500s.

Thanks to Net Galley for offering me the chance to read this book. I have always found the "Hangman's Daughter" series great, but this matches it. I’m sure fans of this author will be looking forward to the book's publication.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/51608192

“Some thoughts oughtn’t be recorded – yes, not even spoken out loud. They are too dangerous.”

This sequel is living proof that the second part of Faust needn’t be a flop. Moving on at an even quicker pace than the first book, this second part delivers even more thrills and chills as we pick up the story several years the last events of the first book.

Having saved Greta from Tonio’s clutches, Johann enjoys years of relative peace travelling alongside his daughter and his assistant, performing his shows, trying not to shiver at the sight of crows and ravens. However, evil never sleeps. Against the backdrop of a still rapidly changing Europe caught in the middle of political intrigues, secrets and lies threaten to tear the trio apart. Karl feels inextricably bound to the doctor through years of love and devotion, but cannot help thinking about the future he could have made for himself if he hadn’t tied his fate with that of the doctor. Johann still hasn’t told Greta she’s his daughter, and is learning that this is the kind of lie that only gets deeper and worse with time. Greta, too, has something she isn’t telling anyone: a look at Johann’s hand foretold her a horrible, sinster end for the man she’d come to know as her brilliant, albeit somewhat dark uncle.

When a mysterious illness strikes the doctor and he receives an invitation to cast the horoscope of a bishop, the trio sets on a journey that marks the beginning of the end. They make new enemies and visit old friends, find love and heartbreak, and even meet the great Leonardo da Vinci.

It seems like the stakes for Johann are even higher this time around, as hе is forced to make decisions that might shape not only his fate, but that of his loved ones and possibly also the fate of the entire known world. Several powerful figures set their sights on Johann, determined to use his skills for their own dark purposes. And, of course, Tonio isn’t far behind either.

Pötzsch creates convincing and well-researched images of early modern life with a sure, steady eye, and the passages depicting Faust’s stay with Leonardo are definitely my favourites.

In a way, this second part is much bolder than the first because of how the scope is broadened to the fate of many others, not just that of Faust and his family. There are some things from the first book that I would have loved to see explained, and one of the temporal jumps in the story didn’t sit well with me, but the premises work well overall and are very exciting to read.

For me, the greatest value of this book, just like with the first one, lies in the dreamlike contemplation of human existence with all its vices and virtues. Curiousity, greed, addiction, affection, good and evil, all in there together to make up a human being. And ultimately, Faust, for all his agency, seems to be the most human of them all.

Although this book is a sequel, we are quick to discover that Faust isn't the only magician here. Pötzsch weaves an engaging tale to captivate the imagination which was a pleasure to read.

this was a great sequel in this series, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going through this read. It had the horror elements that I expected.

A beautifully written novel. I loved every minute of this book would highly recommend to other readers.

Oliver Potzsch doesn't just tell you a story, doesn't just write a book. Oliver Potzsch drags the reader from their couch into a tale of mystery and intrigue that leaves the reader asking for more.

The Devil's Pawn is the highly anticipated sequel to The Master's Apprentice but can be read on its own as well. In the tale, readers will follow Johann Faust, a traveling magician, who traverses the Germanic areas searching for the cause of his illness. He believes himself to be cursed by the devil. Faust unwittingly found himself indebted to the devil as a young man and now the devil has called in his due. Traveling with his assistant, Karl, and his daughter, Greta, Faust journeys far and wide in search of a cure, but are being chased agents of the Pope. The Pope believes that Faust is the keeper of a great secret, key to power over the empire, power the Pope wants.

This book is written much like Potzsch's other novels: it is simply delightful. The pacing is terrific, storyline is compelling, and the characters are relatable and likeable. There is an element of fantasy mixed with realism that allows readers to truly connect with the setting and events as if they were present in the tale.

This is the second book of a series… but it took me quite a few times to notice it; this is surely an indicator on how this book can be freely read as a stand-alone without having to have read the first one before. The things that happened in the first book are re-explained numerous times during the course of this book and in a quite exhaustive way.

The book is inspired by the character of the classic German legend of Faust, the same Goathe wrote the famous tragic play about.
It is quite a long book (it’s around 800 pages) but it doesn’t lose itself in the small things and there are various moments full of actions.

There are some many of these moments that in certain parts I would have preferred it to focus on one thing at the time, as there are so many events happening in the same place at the same time and seemed to rush through them jumping from one to the other. This for me seemed a bit chaotic and made the narration less deepened.

Lots of things in the book seem to get resolved more by fate than by the involvement of the characters. For most of the book the characters seem more like victims of the events then real protagonists of the actions. This changes a bit in the last part of the book but that is the general feeling that this book gave to me.

However don’t get me wrong, I really liked this book!
The turn of events are really effective! Some of them I totally wasn’t expecting and left me open-mouthed with a lot more eagerness to continue to read to see what was going to happen. Others instead were more predictable, but they weren’t obvious, instead they exalted the deductive ability of the reader, giving almost the same sensation of when you discover the culprit even before it’s revealed in a crime book.

I would never expect, when I was reading the first chapters of this book that it would end like this. It was a totally thrilling series of twists and turns and unexpected events. A totally recommended reading!

Very mysterious and many twists and turns I loved this book and couldn't put it down .... Unless I really had to.... This reminded me of the pope and the secrets they might keep .. must read for suspense fans ..

Amazing novel by an amazing author I have read several of his books. This novel is a sequel you don’t have to read the first one but you may want to just so you can keep track of events mentioned! Great book!

This book was not advertised or pitched as a sequel. If it was, it was very poorly done. I was so freaking confused throughout the whole thing. Maybe if I had read the first book, I would not be as confused. This rating can change depending on if I read the first one, then reread this one.

A book by Oliver Potzsch is never just a story - it is a journey in time, of fascinating adventures. His latest is no exception. The Devil's Pawn is a follow up to The Master's Apprentice, which you don’t have to read first, but it certainly helps. Set in the early 16th century, it follows Johann Faust, the famous traveling magician and astrologer of the German lands, who is searching for the cause of the mysterious illness that is crippling him. He believes it is a curse from the devil himself, who is calling on a long-ago debt that Faust unknowingly found himself in as a young man. He is accompanied by his faithful assistant, Karl, and his daughter, Greta, who believes Faust to be only a distant relative who saved her from unfounded accusations in prison as a girl.

They travel to France to meet with Leonardo Da Vinci, not only one of the greatest artists ever, but a like-minded contemporary who Faust believes suffers from a similar disease. Surely if anyone can discover a cure, it is the magnificent Da Vinci! But they are being pursued en route by associates of the Pope who believe that Faust is keeper of a great secret. The secret is key to retaining power over the empire far and wide and the Pope isn’t the only one after this mysterious knowledge. Will Faust find his own answers before he is captured? Will he and his companions overcome evil or succumb to its powers?

Once you finish this epic tale you are sure to feel a sense of accomplishment, as it’s not for those looking for a quick read. It is worth the endeavor and you will find yourself educated and entertained beyond anything you could have imagined.

This is a hollywood blockbuster screaming with excitement, history, magic, and dark luster. A thrilling continuation of the original classic.