The Devil in Iron

For the collection of the same title that contains this story, see The Devil in Iron (collection).
"The Devil in Iron"
Short story by Robert E. Howard
Cover for Weird Tales, August 1934.
Art by Margaret Brundage
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Fantasy
Publication
Published inWeird Tales
Publication typePulp magazine
PublisherRural Publishing Corporation
Publication dateAugust 1934
Chronology
SeriesConan the Cimmerian
 
Queen of the Black Coast 		 
The People of the Black Circle

"The Devil in Iron" is one of the original stories by American writer Robert E. Howard about sword and sorcery hero 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, the theft of a sacred dagger, and an unrelated trap that lures Conan to the island fortress roamed by the demon. The story's plot loopholes and borrowed elements from "Iron Shadows in the Moon" lead some Howard scholars to call this story the weakest of the early Conan tales.[2]

  1. ^ REHupa Fiction Timeline, retrieved 30 August 2012
  2. ^ Patrice Louinet. Hyborian Genesis: Part 1, page 452, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian; 2003, Del Rey.