The Devil in Iron
| "The Devil in Iron" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Robert E. Howard | |||
 | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Fantasy | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Weird Tales | ||
| Publication type | Pulp magazine | ||
| Publisher | Rural Publishing Corporation | ||
| Publication date | August 1934 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| Series | Conan the Cimmerian | ||
| |||
"The Devil in Iron" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, first published in Weird Tales in August 1934. Howard earned $115 for the publication of this story.[1]
The plot concerns the resurrection of a mythical demon due to the theft of a sacred dagger, and an unrelated trap that lures Conan to the island fortress roamed by the demon. Due to its plot loopholes and borrowed elements from "Iron Shadows in the Moon", some Howard scholars claim this story is the weakest of the early Conan tales.[2]
Plot summary
In "The Devil in Iron", an ancient demon, Khosatral Khel, is awakened on the remote island of Xapur due to the actions of a greedy fisherman. Upon reawakening, Khel resurrects his vast fortress which once dominated the island, including its cyclopean walls, gigantic pythons, and undead citizens.
Meanwhile, Conan— a leader of the Vilayet kozaks— is tricked by an evil governor from Turan, Jehungir Agha, into pursuing Princess Octavia to the island of Xapur. Jehungir Agha plans for Conan to fall into a prepared trap on the island. The unforeseen resurrection of Khel and his ancient fortress, however, interrupts Agha's original plan.
When Conan arrives on Xapur, he must battle against not only the mercenaries employed by Jehungir Agha, but a giant serpent and the iron-fleshed monstrosity who is Khosatral Khel.
Publication history
The Devil in Iron was first published in the August 1934 issue of Weird Tales. The story was republished in the collections Conan the Barbarian (Gnome Press, 1954) and Conan the Wanderer (Lancer Books, 1968). It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) (Del Rey, 2003).
Adaptation
The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala in Savage Sword of Conan #15.
Notes
- ^ REHupa Fiction Timeline, retrieved 30 August 2012
- ^ Patrice Louinet. Hyborian Genesis: Part 1, page 452, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian; 2003, Del Rey.
External links
- The Devil in Iron at Project Gutenberg Australia
- The Devil in Iron title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
- Conan.com: The official website
The Devil in Iron public domain audiobook at LibriVox
 | This article about a fantasy short story (or stories) is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |