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Sympathy for the Devil
The Devil is known by many names: Serpent, Tempter, Beast, Adversary, Wanderer, Dragon, Rebel. His traps and machinations are the stuff of legends. His faces are legion. No matter what face the devil wears, Sympathy for the Devil has them all.
Edited by Tim Pratt, Sympathy for the Devil collects the best Satanic short stories by Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Stephen King, Kage Baker, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Kelly Link, China Mieville, Michael Chabon, and many others, revealing His Grand Infernal Majesty, in all his forms. Thirty-five stories, from classics to the cutting edge, exploring the many sides of Satan, Lucifer, the Lord of the Flies, the Father of Lies, the Prince of the Powers of the Air and Darkness, the First of the Fallen... and a Man of Wealth and Taste. Sit down and spend a little time with the Devil.
The price / Neil Gaiman --
Beluthahatchie / Andy Duncan --
Ash City stomp / Richard Butner --
Ten for the devil / Charles de Lint --
A reversal of fortune / Holly Black --
Young Goodman Brown / Nathaniel Hawthorne --
The man in the black suit / Stephen King --
The power of speech / Natalie Babbitt --
The redemption of Silky Bill / Sarah Zettel --
Sold to Satan / Mark Twain --
MetaPhysics / Elizabeth M. Glover --
Snowball's chance / Charles Stross --
Non-disclosure agreement / Scott Westerfeld --
Like riding a bike / Jan Wildt --
Bible stories for adults, no. 31: the covenant / James Morrow --
And the deep blue sea / Elizabeth Bear --
The goat cutter / Jay Lake --
On the road to New Egypt / Jeffrey Ford --
That hell-bound train / Robert Bloch --
The god of dark laughter / Michael Chabon --
The king of the djinn / David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum --
Summon, bind, banish / Nick Mamatas --
The bottle imp / Robert Louis Stevenson --
Two old men / Kage Baker --
With [text struck through] By good intentions / Carrie Richerson --
Nine Sundays in a row / Kris Dikeman --
Lull / Kelly Link --
We can get them for you wholesale / Neil Gaiman --
Details / China Mieville --
The devil disinvests / Scott Bradfield --
Faustfeathers / John Kessel --
The professor's teddy bear / Theodore Sturgeon --
The Heidelberg cylinder / Jonathan Carroll --
Mike's place / David J. Schwartz --
This I refute Beelzy / John Collier --
Inferno: canto XXXIV / Dante Alighieri (trans. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
Edited by Tim Pratt, Sympathy for the Devil collects the best Satanic short stories by Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Stephen King, Kage Baker, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Kelly Link, China Mieville, Michael Chabon, and many others, revealing His Grand Infernal Majesty, in all his forms. Thirty-five stories, from classics to the cutting edge, exploring the many sides of Satan, Lucifer, the Lord of the Flies, the Father of Lies, the Prince of the Powers of the Air and Darkness, the First of the Fallen... and a Man of Wealth and Taste. Sit down and spend a little time with the Devil.
The price / Neil Gaiman --
Beluthahatchie / Andy Duncan --
Ash City stomp / Richard Butner --
Ten for the devil / Charles de Lint --
A reversal of fortune / Holly Black --
Young Goodman Brown / Nathaniel Hawthorne --
The man in the black suit / Stephen King --
The power of speech / Natalie Babbitt --
The redemption of Silky Bill / Sarah Zettel --
Sold to Satan / Mark Twain --
MetaPhysics / Elizabeth M. Glover --
Snowball's chance / Charles Stross --
Non-disclosure agreement / Scott Westerfeld --
Like riding a bike / Jan Wildt --
Bible stories for adults, no. 31: the covenant / James Morrow --
And the deep blue sea / Elizabeth Bear --
The goat cutter / Jay Lake --
On the road to New Egypt / Jeffrey Ford --
That hell-bound train / Robert Bloch --
The god of dark laughter / Michael Chabon --
The king of the djinn / David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum --
Summon, bind, banish / Nick Mamatas --
The bottle imp / Robert Louis Stevenson --
Two old men / Kage Baker --
With [text struck through] By good intentions / Carrie Richerson --
Nine Sundays in a row / Kris Dikeman --
Lull / Kelly Link --
We can get them for you wholesale / Neil Gaiman --
Details / China Mieville --
The devil disinvests / Scott Bradfield --
Faustfeathers / John Kessel --
The professor's teddy bear / Theodore Sturgeon --
The Heidelberg cylinder / Jonathan Carroll --
Mike's place / David J. Schwartz --
This I refute Beelzy / John Collier --
Inferno: canto XXXIV / Dante Alighieri (trans. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
431 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
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2,149 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
July 9, 2011
I have to confess - Satan was my first bad-boy crush and one of the many reasons I left the Catholic Church. Not that I am a Satanist, but more a sympathizer. I mean, if you read the Bible you quickly get the idea that God is a complete and total dick. The story of the Fall of the Lord of the Morning is a great example of that. God tells his best friend that he has to kneel before him? Bah.
I hate trying to rate anthologies - often I will buy it for just one or two authors, but in this case I read most of the stories. And I hate to say I was kind of disappointed. Almost every single story was about making a deal with the Devil, and if I had read the blurb more closely I would have realized that. I had expected a variety of Satan stories - like, how about a bad day at the office in Hell? Doing extreme wickedness and not just haggling over a soul like a chicken at the market? Or so many other things.
If you liked stories about The Fall, then I highly recommend reading Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell.
I hate trying to rate anthologies - often I will buy it for just one or two authors, but in this case I read most of the stories. And I hate to say I was kind of disappointed. Almost every single story was about making a deal with the Devil, and if I had read the blurb more closely I would have realized that. I had expected a variety of Satan stories - like, how about a bad day at the office in Hell? Doing extreme wickedness and not just haggling over a soul like a chicken at the market? Or so many other things.
If you liked stories about The Fall, then I highly recommend reading Steven Brust's To Reign in Hell.
Shelved as 'on-hold'
June 8, 2016
Note: This review will be updated periodically, as I read each short story.
1. "The Price" by Neil Gaiman - ★★★★�
Because Neil freaking Gaiman! Is there anything written by him that's bad?
This story centers a family with a predilection to taking in stray cats.
This is a sad story that brought tears to my eyes. It turns out that the devil visits this family every now and then. When Cat is on the porch and can take him on, the family is safe (while Cat sustains serious injury). When Cat is taken to the basement to recover, bad things happen to the family members. So the father decides to keep him on the porch each night. This is heartbreaking.
You can read this short story , too. Also, you can see the short animation . There will be a 3D CG animated film based on this story.
2. "Beluthahatchie" by Andy Duncan - ★★☆☆�
1.5 stars
This one has a very good start: a black man (John) who died and went to Hell. Problem is he refuses to get off the train, and ends up in Beluthahatchie. It is explained to John by the devil that Hell was originally a small place and he had to come up with all sorts of names as it expanded (one of his self-proclaimed less-inspired names is West Hell).
After this point, I got lost. There is something of a messiah quality to John in all of the other black people's minds. It has something to do with his previous life. But I fail to understand what the story is all about, and the ending is equally bland.
3. "Ash City Stomp" by Richard Butner - ★★★☆�
Richard Butner's devil is quite funny looking and helpful. He is trying to save Seacrest's girlfriend from getting arrested for drug possession. Not to mention her ex's drug-induced death. Interesting!
This short story is also available .
4. "Ten for the Devil" by Charles de Lint -
1. "The Price" by Neil Gaiman - ★★★★�
Because Neil freaking Gaiman! Is there anything written by him that's bad?
This story centers a family with a predilection to taking in stray cats.
And then there is the black cat. Who has no other name than the Black Cat, and who turned up almost a month ago.
That cat, my wife had said when he first arrived, is a person.
This is a sad story that brought tears to my eyes. It turns out that the devil visits this family every now and then. When Cat is on the porch and can take him on, the family is safe (while Cat sustains serious injury). When Cat is taken to the basement to recover, bad things happen to the family members. So the father decides to keep him on the porch each night. This is heartbreaking.
I wonder what we did to deserve the Black Cat. I wonder who sent him. And, selfish and scared, I wonder how much more he has to give.
You can read this short story , too. Also, you can see the short animation . There will be a 3D CG animated film based on this story.
2. "Beluthahatchie" by Andy Duncan - ★★☆☆�
1.5 stars
Everybody else got off the train at Hell, but I figured, it's a free country. [...] I didn't know what the next stop was but I knew I'd like it better than Hell.
This one has a very good start: a black man (John) who died and went to Hell. Problem is he refuses to get off the train, and ends up in Beluthahatchie. It is explained to John by the devil that Hell was originally a small place and he had to come up with all sorts of names as it expanded (one of his self-proclaimed less-inspired names is West Hell).
After this point, I got lost. There is something of a messiah quality to John in all of the other black people's minds. It has something to do with his previous life. But I fail to understand what the story is all about, and the ending is equally bland.
3. "Ash City Stomp" by Richard Butner - ★★★☆�
The Big Favor sounded like, "I need to get to Asheville to check out the art therapy program in their psychology grad school," but in reality she had hard drugs that needed to be transported to an old boyfriend of hers in the mountains...
Richard Butner's devil is quite funny looking and helpful. He is trying to save Seacrest's girlfriend from getting arrested for drug possession. Not to mention her ex's drug-induced death. Interesting!
This short story is also available .
4. "Ten for the Devil" by Charles de Lint -
August 2, 2010
Please allow me to introduce Sympathy for the Devil, a fine new anthology filled entirely with short stories about the devil... who is, as we all know, a man of style and taste. However, you won’t just find the smooth-talking stealer of souls here. In addition to that famous version of His Grand Infernal Majesty, you’ll also find funny devils, monstrous devils, abstract devils and strangely realistic ones. Devils scary and not-so-scary, devils who are after children’s souls and others going after old men. Devils with a surprising amount of business acumen, and devils who try to get what they want, no matter the cost. There’s even one who engages in a competitive eating contest � the prize is, of course, someone’s soul.
Sympathy for the Devil, edited by Tim Pratt, offers up 35 very diverse short stories (and one piece of poetry) which all, without exception, deal with the devil in some form. If that sounds a bit one-tone for an anthology, well � it is. If ever there were an anthology to nibble at intermittently, reading a story here and there instead of reading the whole book cover to cover, this is definitely it. In that sense, it’s almost perfect as a nightstand book � the only problem being that some of the stories are positively terrifying, and if you happen to have a significant other sharing your bedroom, you might get funny looks when he or she spots your collection of devil stories by the bed.
As Sympathy for the Devil presents an impressive 35 stories, I won’t bore you by listing and reviewing all of them individually. Instead, here are a few of my favorites:
* Neil Gaiman is the only author with two stories in the collection. While the first one (“The Price�) is nothing special, the second one (“We Can Get Them for You Wholesale�) has an excellent build-up that leads to a terrifying finish.
* Elizabeth M. Glover’s “MetaPhysics� presents an effective and hilarious way for atheists to refute the Horned One.
* Kelly Link’s “Lull� was, for me, the biggest revelation in this anthology. It’s a gorgeously weird story that I couldn’t stop thinking about for days, and have reread several times since. I plan to read much more by Link very soon.
* Michael Chabon’s “The God of Dark Laughter� will have you looking at clowns in an entirely new way.
* China Mieville’s “Details� is one of those stories that will insinuate itself into your consciousness. It’s hard to forget it after you’ve read it.
* Jay Lake’s “The Goat Cutter� was the single creepiest story in the collection, until I got to...
* Theodore Sturgeon’s positively terrifying “The Professor’s Teddy Bear�.
* Another classic closes out the collection on a strong note: John Collier’s “Thus I Refute Beelzy� contrasts enlightened parenting with a decidedly dark finish.
While those are my favorites, there are many other great stories here, including some by well known authors such as Elizabeth Bear, Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Stephen King, Charles Stross and Scott Westerfeld, just to mention a few of the names listed on the cover (also featuring a great illustration by David Palumbo). On the other hand, I would have probably left out at least a handful of stories that bring down the anthology’s batting average a bit, but luckily there are enough good and great stories to balance things out.
Tim Pratt has done an excellent job bringing variety to the anthology’s dark subject, because Sympathy for the Devil contains something for everyone: horror, fantasy, weird fiction, classics, and even a surprising dose of humor. While not all the stories are equally strong, there’s easily enough good material here to justify the cover price.
(This review was also published on Fantasy Literature on 8/2/2010 - )
Sympathy for the Devil, edited by Tim Pratt, offers up 35 very diverse short stories (and one piece of poetry) which all, without exception, deal with the devil in some form. If that sounds a bit one-tone for an anthology, well � it is. If ever there were an anthology to nibble at intermittently, reading a story here and there instead of reading the whole book cover to cover, this is definitely it. In that sense, it’s almost perfect as a nightstand book � the only problem being that some of the stories are positively terrifying, and if you happen to have a significant other sharing your bedroom, you might get funny looks when he or she spots your collection of devil stories by the bed.
As Sympathy for the Devil presents an impressive 35 stories, I won’t bore you by listing and reviewing all of them individually. Instead, here are a few of my favorites:
* Neil Gaiman is the only author with two stories in the collection. While the first one (“The Price�) is nothing special, the second one (“We Can Get Them for You Wholesale�) has an excellent build-up that leads to a terrifying finish.
* Elizabeth M. Glover’s “MetaPhysics� presents an effective and hilarious way for atheists to refute the Horned One.
* Kelly Link’s “Lull� was, for me, the biggest revelation in this anthology. It’s a gorgeously weird story that I couldn’t stop thinking about for days, and have reread several times since. I plan to read much more by Link very soon.
* Michael Chabon’s “The God of Dark Laughter� will have you looking at clowns in an entirely new way.
* China Mieville’s “Details� is one of those stories that will insinuate itself into your consciousness. It’s hard to forget it after you’ve read it.
* Jay Lake’s “The Goat Cutter� was the single creepiest story in the collection, until I got to...
* Theodore Sturgeon’s positively terrifying “The Professor’s Teddy Bear�.
* Another classic closes out the collection on a strong note: John Collier’s “Thus I Refute Beelzy� contrasts enlightened parenting with a decidedly dark finish.
While those are my favorites, there are many other great stories here, including some by well known authors such as Elizabeth Bear, Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Stephen King, Charles Stross and Scott Westerfeld, just to mention a few of the names listed on the cover (also featuring a great illustration by David Palumbo). On the other hand, I would have probably left out at least a handful of stories that bring down the anthology’s batting average a bit, but luckily there are enough good and great stories to balance things out.
Tim Pratt has done an excellent job bringing variety to the anthology’s dark subject, because Sympathy for the Devil contains something for everyone: horror, fantasy, weird fiction, classics, and even a surprising dose of humor. While not all the stories are equally strong, there’s easily enough good material here to justify the cover price.
(This review was also published on Fantasy Literature on 8/2/2010 - )
January 7, 2012
The overall score (averaging the score for each) was 3.44. There's no half-stars so that rounds down to 3. As with any collection, there are some great stories here, some okay stories, and some bad ones.
"The Price" - Neil Gaiman: 4/5 - Cats and creepiness. What's not to like?
"Beluthahatchie" - Andy Duncan: 2/5 - Starts off interesting, but doesn't really go anywhere.
"Ash City Stomp" - Richard Butner: 3/5 - An interesting, odd devil.
"Ten for the Devil" - Charles de Lint: 3/5 - Magical music, the blues, and fiddling. Classic devil stuff.
"A Reversal of Fortune" - Holly Black: 4/5 - An eating contest with the Devil. It was actually sorta funny.
"Young Goodman Brown" - Nathaniel Hawthorne: 5/5 - Dark, moody, pessimistic. This Hawthorne fellow looks to have a bright future ahead of him.
"The Man in the Black Suit" - Stephen King: 5/5 - Scariest devil, yet. King knocks this one out of the park./w
"The Power of Speech" - Natalie Babbitt: 1/5 - Tried to be an Aesop's fable/silly/whimsical sort of story. Lame is what it is.
"The Redemption of Silky Bill" - Sarah Zettel: 5/5 - An excellent story of gambling with the Devil.
"Sold to Satan" - Mark Twain: 2/5 - This was just boring.
"Metaphysics" - Elizabeth M. Glover: 4/5 - Using physics to battle the devil? Win.
"Snowball's Chance" - Charles Stross: 3/5 - Might have given it a higher rating if the overabundance of written out accents didn't annoy me so much.
"Non-Disclosure Agreement" - Scott Westerfeld: 3/5 - Interesting, but not spectacular.
"Like Riding a Bike" - Jan Wildt: 2/5 - Meh.
"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant" - James Morrow: 2/5 - The 10 Commandments are an easy target and the author does nothing interesting with it.
"And the Deep Blue Sea" - Elizabeth Bear: 4/5 - Tangling with the Devil in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland? Hell yeah.
"The Goat Cutter" - Jay Like: 5/5 - Another brilliantly creepy tale. I won't look at school buses the same ever again.
"On the Road to New Egypt" - Jeffrey Ford: 2/5 - This story had more of hippie, pot-smoking, pimp Jesus than the Devil. Slightly entertaining, but mostly seemed to just want to push buttons.
"The God of Dark Laughter" - Michael Chabon: 5/5 - An excellent and creepy story. My only gripe? It wasn't really about the Devil.
"The King of the Djinn" - David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum: 3/5 - Nice to see a non-white protagonist, but the story was just okay.
"Summon, Bind, Banish" - Nick Mamatas: 1/5 - Didn't really do anything for me.
"The Bottle Imp" - Robert Louis Stevenson: 5/5 - A true classic. Am I a bad person for sorta wanting a more pessimistic ending, though?
"Two Old Men" - Kage Baker: 4/5 - Good stuff.
"...With By Good Intentions" - Carrie Richerson: 3/5 - Good, but not thrilling.
"Nine Sundays in a Row" - Kris Dikeman: 4/5 - Interesting POV.
"Lull" - Kelly Link: 4/5 - Fascinating use of time, but again not much to do with the Devil.
"We Can Get Them For You Wholesale" - Neil Gaiman: 5/5 - Excellent story, but didn't really involve the Devil. Evil, yes. Devil, no.
"Details" - China Mieville: 4/5 - Really enjoyed this.
"The Devil Disinvests" - Scott Bradfield: 3/5 - This one cracked me up.
"Faustfeathers" - John Kessel: 2/5 - This one is a play. I might have liked it better seeing it performed than reading it.
"The Heidelberg Cylinder" - Jonathan Carroll: 4/5 - Different and intriguing. Some of the ideas felt a bit rushed unfortunately. Could have used a few extra pages.
"Mike's Place" - David J. Schwartz: 3/5 - Heaven and hell as corporations? Okay.
"Thus I Refute Beelzy" - John Collier: 3/5 - Imaginary friends are not always friendly.
"Inferno: Canto 34" - Dante Alighieri: 5/5 - An excerpt from one of the greatest poems ever composed.
"The Price" - Neil Gaiman: 4/5 - Cats and creepiness. What's not to like?
"Beluthahatchie" - Andy Duncan: 2/5 - Starts off interesting, but doesn't really go anywhere.
"Ash City Stomp" - Richard Butner: 3/5 - An interesting, odd devil.
"Ten for the Devil" - Charles de Lint: 3/5 - Magical music, the blues, and fiddling. Classic devil stuff.
"A Reversal of Fortune" - Holly Black: 4/5 - An eating contest with the Devil. It was actually sorta funny.
"Young Goodman Brown" - Nathaniel Hawthorne: 5/5 - Dark, moody, pessimistic. This Hawthorne fellow looks to have a bright future ahead of him.
"The Man in the Black Suit" - Stephen King: 5/5 - Scariest devil, yet. King knocks this one out of the park./w
"The Power of Speech" - Natalie Babbitt: 1/5 - Tried to be an Aesop's fable/silly/whimsical sort of story. Lame is what it is.
"The Redemption of Silky Bill" - Sarah Zettel: 5/5 - An excellent story of gambling with the Devil.
"Sold to Satan" - Mark Twain: 2/5 - This was just boring.
"Metaphysics" - Elizabeth M. Glover: 4/5 - Using physics to battle the devil? Win.
"Snowball's Chance" - Charles Stross: 3/5 - Might have given it a higher rating if the overabundance of written out accents didn't annoy me so much.
"Non-Disclosure Agreement" - Scott Westerfeld: 3/5 - Interesting, but not spectacular.
"Like Riding a Bike" - Jan Wildt: 2/5 - Meh.
"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant" - James Morrow: 2/5 - The 10 Commandments are an easy target and the author does nothing interesting with it.
"And the Deep Blue Sea" - Elizabeth Bear: 4/5 - Tangling with the Devil in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland? Hell yeah.
"The Goat Cutter" - Jay Like: 5/5 - Another brilliantly creepy tale. I won't look at school buses the same ever again.
"On the Road to New Egypt" - Jeffrey Ford: 2/5 - This story had more of hippie, pot-smoking, pimp Jesus than the Devil. Slightly entertaining, but mostly seemed to just want to push buttons.
"The God of Dark Laughter" - Michael Chabon: 5/5 - An excellent and creepy story. My only gripe? It wasn't really about the Devil.
"The King of the Djinn" - David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum: 3/5 - Nice to see a non-white protagonist, but the story was just okay.
"Summon, Bind, Banish" - Nick Mamatas: 1/5 - Didn't really do anything for me.
"The Bottle Imp" - Robert Louis Stevenson: 5/5 - A true classic. Am I a bad person for sorta wanting a more pessimistic ending, though?
"Two Old Men" - Kage Baker: 4/5 - Good stuff.
"...
"Nine Sundays in a Row" - Kris Dikeman: 4/5 - Interesting POV.
"Lull" - Kelly Link: 4/5 - Fascinating use of time, but again not much to do with the Devil.
"We Can Get Them For You Wholesale" - Neil Gaiman: 5/5 - Excellent story, but didn't really involve the Devil. Evil, yes. Devil, no.
"Details" - China Mieville: 4/5 - Really enjoyed this.
"The Devil Disinvests" - Scott Bradfield: 3/5 - This one cracked me up.
"Faustfeathers" - John Kessel: 2/5 - This one is a play. I might have liked it better seeing it performed than reading it.
"The Heidelberg Cylinder" - Jonathan Carroll: 4/5 - Different and intriguing. Some of the ideas felt a bit rushed unfortunately. Could have used a few extra pages.
"Mike's Place" - David J. Schwartz: 3/5 - Heaven and hell as corporations? Okay.
"Thus I Refute Beelzy" - John Collier: 3/5 - Imaginary friends are not always friendly.
"Inferno: Canto 34" - Dante Alighieri: 5/5 - An excerpt from one of the greatest poems ever composed.
December 22, 2017
I started this book ...at least two years ago, got about 25% of the way through it, and abandoned it because it was so boring. But I'm always looking for more stories about the devil so I figured it would be stupid of me not to at least skim the rest of it. There were a few good stories here and there, but it was overwhelmingly just the same old crap.
On the one hand I feel like it was entirely too long and that maybe they should have picked a more narrow theme because there was just a lot going on. But on the other hand my other big complaint is that the stories were all too similar so I just don't know what they really could have done to make it better.
Also I know they were just trying to pick a catchy name but you really aren't going to find a lot of sympathy for the devil in this collection. I would say the first third [at least] of the book is just stories about people making deals with the devil and then tricking him by the end of it because he's just soooo dumb, which I just find to be so tiresome. There was a bit more diversity towards the middle although by the end I was just bored again.
Sigh. Really a disappointment for me because I love stories about the devil so much.
On the one hand I feel like it was entirely too long and that maybe they should have picked a more narrow theme because there was just a lot going on. But on the other hand my other big complaint is that the stories were all too similar so I just don't know what they really could have done to make it better.
Also I know they were just trying to pick a catchy name but you really aren't going to find a lot of sympathy for the devil in this collection. I would say the first third [at least] of the book is just stories about people making deals with the devil and then tricking him by the end of it because he's just soooo dumb, which I just find to be so tiresome. There was a bit more diversity towards the middle although by the end I was just bored again.
Sigh. Really a disappointment for me because I love stories about the devil so much.
January 19, 2016
I love the concept of this collection -- stories featuring the Devil -- but not the execution. There are a few classic stories and a few interesting ones, but otherwise it's just one bad story after another. I don't know whether to blame the editor; perhaps there are just not a lot of great stories with the Devil in them. But that's kind of hard to believe. Either way, this is a pretty bad collection.
March 24, 2017
Gem: "Beluthahatchie."
There are lots of other good stories besides, but I really love that one. The problem with this book is that the stories are divided between different ideas of the "Devil": as the supreme evil and adversary, a terrifying force to be fought, or as just a guy named the devil. These don't always go well together.
There are lots of other good stories besides, but I really love that one. The problem with this book is that the stories are divided between different ideas of the "Devil": as the supreme evil and adversary, a terrifying force to be fought, or as just a guy named the devil. These don't always go well together.
December 11, 2016
Приятна антология почти без пълнеж, учудващо за цели 35 произведения. Разказите се въртят около дявола и варират от чист ужас до хумористична пиеска. Повечето не са нови, но събрани на едно място във внушителна колекция правят доста добро впечатление. Четох я доста време, защото си подслаждах с по 2-3 разказа между другите книги. Може би за това ми хареса повече от колкото на другите читатели.
„The Price� by Neil Gaiman � Разказът е превеждан и на български, но това беше първият ми прочит. Много добра история за едно семейство, което намира коте на верандата си и го приютява. Всяка сутрин, обаче по него има следи от жестоки сбивания.
„Beluthahatchie� by Andy Duncan � Забавно, но доста стереотипно произведение. Един странен ад и един малко глуповат дявол тарикат са подложени на постоянните майтапи на наскоро починалия Джон. Образът му ми крещеше - Краля на делта блуса Робърт Джонсън.
„AshCity Stomp� by Richard Butner � Пълпи разказ за млада двойка, която качва на стоп един смотан, досаден и миризлив дявол. Когато се намесват стари прегрешения и отчаяни опити за правене на пари, двойката разбира, че дяволът също знае какво е благодарност.
„Ten for the Devil� by Charles de Lint � Типична за де Линт история, развиваща се в покрайнините на Нюфорд. Една млада музикантка, наследница на вещици, разбира, че може да манипулира световете с цигулката си. Обаче това умение привлича не3желан почитател. Отново се появява Робърт Джонсън, който има опит с вълшебната музика и черният и почитател.
„A Reversal of Fortune� by Holly Black � Забавна история, която вече съм чел в друга
антология. Надяждане с бонбони между дявола и крехко момиченце, за живота на любимия и питбул. Гнусните трикове са разрешени
.
„Young Goodman Brown� by Nathaniel Hawthorne � Мрачна и песимистична история с любопитен избор на изразни средства. Дълбоко вярващ младеж осъзнава, че съседите му почитат дявола.
„The Man in the Black Suit� by Stephen King � Най-плашещият дявол в компилацията, както можеше и да се очаква от Краля. Един спокоен следобед, едно хлапе отива за риба на близкия поток, един пътник го заговаря. И от там следват страх, ужас и дискомфорт, които единствено Стивън Кинг може да ти вкара.
“The Power of Speech”by Natalie Babbitt � Първият пълнеж в книгата. Нещо като басня, нещо като нищо. Дяволът си харесва една коза(защото много им се кефи) и я дарява с глас, за да я вземе от стопанката ѝ. Козата естествено е нагла и тъпа и свършва гадно.
„The Redemption of Silky Bill� by Sarah Zettel � Дивия запад, Дявола, Койота и един много изкусен комарджия. Игра на карти с постоянно качващи се потресаващи залози.
„Sold to Satan� by Mark Twain � Класикът ни разказва за една доста интересна сделка с дявола, подкована икономически и научно с познанията на 19 век. Забавно, но леко скучновато.
„MetaPhisics� by Elizabeth M. Glover � Пълна простотия излязла направо от женска глава, без никакви научни и религиозни познания, но за сметка на това с голямо самочувствие.
“Snowball’s Chance� by Charles Stross � Дяволът попада на скептичен пияница в ирландски
пъб. Без да се усети изпълнява желание, което скапва половината свят. Издразни ме само бруталния акцент по време на диалозите., буквално нечетим.
„Non-Disclosure Agreement� by Scott Westerfeld � Много добро попадение. Техник, занимаващ се със специални ефекти получава предложението на живота си. Да изгради АД 2.0. Работодателят естествено го извърта по гаден начин, искайки душата му. Описанията на новия ад са незаменими, направо.
„Like Riding A bike� by Jan Wildt � Поради административна грешка в ада пенсионираната Уилма получава ново младо тяло. Решила е да изживее новия си живот по различен начин. Чудесна идея, но нищо не е свършено с нея.
„Bible Stories For Adults, No. 31: The Covenant� by James Morro � Бог не е дал на Моисей заповедите, след като са счупени веднъж. В бъдещето един компютър има задачата да ги измисли, но Дяволът се намесва с логика. Пълна скука, даже ебавката с религията около която е изграден разказа е скучна.
„And the Deep Blue Sea� by Elizabeth Bear � Много добър. Куриер с мотор обикаля по безкрайните магистрали на свят след ядрена война. Всички куриери правят сделки за защита, сделки с нещо свръхестествено.
„The Goat Cutter� by Jay Lake � Бисерът на антологията. Двама ученици се сприятеляват със странния си съсед, който постоянно разфасова кози в двора си. Какво има в училищния автобус в единия му край и защо е изрисуван със странни символи?
„On the Road to New Egypt� by Jeffrey Ford � Исус и дявола са представени като глупаци наркомани, които се ебават глупаво с хората. Все едно е писано от осмокласник. Палячовщина и безсмислие.
„That Hell-Bound Train� by Robert Bloch � Еми, класик. Никакви забележки. Мартин получава от дявола часовник с който може да спре живота си на най-щастливия момент. Живота му преминава, но от алчност мъжът все не го спира някъде. Накрая се заковава в влака за ада.
„The God of Dark Laughter� by Michael Chabon � Много добър, ама няма грам дявол в него. След мистериозно убийство, местния шериф се замесва във вражда между два древни култа на клоуни. Зловещи клоуни винаги е добър сюжет и разказът не е изключение.
"The King of the Djinn" бъ David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum � От „модерните� напоследък разкази свързани с исляма в които, освен че има арабски терористи, нищо друго няма.
"Summon, Bind, Banish" - Nick Mamatas � Просто не, нестава.
„The Bottle Imp� by Robert Louis Stevenson � От скоро го има и на български в книгата на Изток –Запа�. Чудесна история. Една бутилка, която изпълнява желания, но завлича притежателя си в ада. Можеш да я продадеш, но само на по-ниска цена от която си я купил
.
„Two Old Men� by Kage Baker –Скучаещ� хлапе разнася през целия град съобщения между двама старци. На края на деня живота му не е вече същият.
„With By Good Intentions� by Carrie Richerson � Фамилия Сандовал получава поредната поръчка за пътно строителство. Този път ще павират ада и клиентът ще е много доволен, ако не си изпълнят сроковете. Едно от най-добрите попадения в сборника.
„Nine Sundays in a Row� by Kris Dikeman � Ако престоиш девет неделни нощи под определено дърво, дяволът ще ти изпълни желание. Даже кучето му те наглежда нещо да не се обърка. Също много силен разказ.
„Lull� by Kelly Link � История в историята, в историята. Луда бърканица от диаболизъм, мистерия и фантастика. Истинско удоволствие за четене и пълна бъркотия за разбиране
„We Can Get Them for You Wholesale� by Neil Gaiman � Втора история на Геймън в книгата, отново перфектна. Питър е кротък и добродушно предпазлив човечец с една единствена мания, не може да изпусне по-добрата сделка. Когато решава да убие годеницата си, добрите сделки почват да валят. До къде може да стигне? До краят естествено.
„Details� by China Mieville � Един от малкото разкази, от които ме побиха тръпки. Едно хлапе, всеки ден носи храна на малко откачена съседка. Целия квартал редовно минава пред затворената й врата за съвети. Момчето печели доверието й и изслушва странната и история.
„The Devil Disinvests� by Scott Bradfield � Забавен и с поука. Дяволът решава да се пенсионира. Взима си къща в добър квартал, жена и кола. Наследникът му обаче решава да ходи и да му досажда.
„Faustfeathers� by John Kessel � Опит за сатирична пиеса, получила се е пълна пръдня. Безвкусен хумор, клишета и тъпизми. Не можах да я дочета.
„The Professor’s Teddy Bear� by Theodore Sturgeon � Не че съм се съмнявал в Стърджън, отново брутално добър разказ. Всяка вечер преди лягане Джеръми разказва истории на чудовището. Странни истории за странно чудовище.
„The Heidelberg Cylinder� by Jonathan Carroll � Адът е пренаселен, за това квартирантите му се качват в нашия свят. Има едно общество, което предупреждава и предпазва хората. Работата с него, обаче си има цена. Луда, но доста добра история. Успя да ме изненада на няколко пъти и въпреки абсурдното си звучене в началото ми хареса много.
„Mike’s Place by David� J. Schwartz � Двата корпоративни гиганта Рай и Ад са бутнати от депресията. Дяволът е принуден да работи в бар и всички го харесват. Забавен.
„Thus I Refute Beelzy� by John Collier � Човек трябва да внимава, когато се прави на строг възпитател пред детето си. Някой въображаеми приятели са по-истински от колкото ви се иска.
„Inferno: Canto XXXIV� by Dante Alighieri � Последната песен на Данте � устите на Луцифер. Не съм я борил на английски, но си изрових книжката на български. Миии... гениален.
„The Price� by Neil Gaiman � Разказът е превеждан и на български, но това беше първият ми прочит. Много добра история за едно семейство, което намира коте на верандата си и го приютява. Всяка сутрин, обаче по него има следи от жестоки сбивания.
„Beluthahatchie� by Andy Duncan � Забавно, но доста стереотипно произведение. Един странен ад и един малко глуповат дявол тарикат са подложени на постоянните майтапи на наскоро починалия Джон. Образът му ми крещеше - Краля на делта блуса Робърт Джонсън.
„AshCity Stomp� by Richard Butner � Пълпи разказ за млада двойка, която качва на стоп един смотан, досаден и миризлив дявол. Когато се намесват стари прегрешения и отчаяни опити за правене на пари, двойката разбира, че дяволът също знае какво е благодарност.
„Ten for the Devil� by Charles de Lint � Типична за де Линт история, развиваща се в покрайнините на Нюфорд. Една млада музикантка, наследница на вещици, разбира, че може да манипулира световете с цигулката си. Обаче това умение привлича не3желан почитател. Отново се появява Робърт Джонсън, който има опит с вълшебната музика и черният и почитател.
„A Reversal of Fortune� by Holly Black � Забавна история, която вече съм чел в друга
антология. Надяждане с бонбони между дявола и крехко момиченце, за живота на любимия и питбул. Гнусните трикове са разрешени
.
„Young Goodman Brown� by Nathaniel Hawthorne � Мрачна и песимистична история с любопитен избор на изразни средства. Дълбоко вярващ младеж осъзнава, че съседите му почитат дявола.
„The Man in the Black Suit� by Stephen King � Най-плашещият дявол в компилацията, както можеше и да се очаква от Краля. Един спокоен следобед, едно хлапе отива за риба на близкия поток, един пътник го заговаря. И от там следват страх, ужас и дискомфорт, които единствено Стивън Кинг може да ти вкара.
“The Power of Speech”by Natalie Babbitt � Първият пълнеж в книгата. Нещо като басня, нещо като нищо. Дяволът си харесва една коза(защото много им се кефи) и я дарява с глас, за да я вземе от стопанката ѝ. Козата естествено е нагла и тъпа и свършва гадно.
„The Redemption of Silky Bill� by Sarah Zettel � Дивия запад, Дявола, Койота и един много изкусен комарджия. Игра на карти с постоянно качващи се потресаващи залози.
„Sold to Satan� by Mark Twain � Класикът ни разказва за една доста интересна сделка с дявола, подкована икономически и научно с познанията на 19 век. Забавно, но леко скучновато.
„MetaPhisics� by Elizabeth M. Glover � Пълна простотия излязла направо от женска глава, без никакви научни и религиозни познания, но за сметка на това с голямо самочувствие.
“Snowball’s Chance� by Charles Stross � Дяволът попада на скептичен пияница в ирландски
пъб. Без да се усети изпълнява желание, което скапва половината свят. Издразни ме само бруталния акцент по време на диалозите., буквално нечетим.
„Non-Disclosure Agreement� by Scott Westerfeld � Много добро попадение. Техник, занимаващ се със специални ефекти получава предложението на живота си. Да изгради АД 2.0. Работодателят естествено го извърта по гаден начин, искайки душата му. Описанията на новия ад са незаменими, направо.
„Like Riding A bike� by Jan Wildt � Поради административна грешка в ада пенсионираната Уилма получава ново младо тяло. Решила е да изживее новия си живот по различен начин. Чудесна идея, но нищо не е свършено с нея.
„Bible Stories For Adults, No. 31: The Covenant� by James Morro � Бог не е дал на Моисей заповедите, след като са счупени веднъж. В бъдещето един компютър има задачата да ги измисли, но Дяволът се намесва с логика. Пълна скука, даже ебавката с религията около която е изграден разказа е скучна.
„And the Deep Blue Sea� by Elizabeth Bear � Много добър. Куриер с мотор обикаля по безкрайните магистрали на свят след ядрена война. Всички куриери правят сделки за защита, сделки с нещо свръхестествено.
„The Goat Cutter� by Jay Lake � Бисерът на антологията. Двама ученици се сприятеляват със странния си съсед, който постоянно разфасова кози в двора си. Какво има в училищния автобус в единия му край и защо е изрисуван със странни символи?
„On the Road to New Egypt� by Jeffrey Ford � Исус и дявола са представени като глупаци наркомани, които се ебават глупаво с хората. Все едно е писано от осмокласник. Палячовщина и безсмислие.
„That Hell-Bound Train� by Robert Bloch � Еми, класик. Никакви забележки. Мартин получава от дявола часовник с който може да спре живота си на най-щастливия момент. Живота му преминава, но от алчност мъжът все не го спира някъде. Накрая се заковава в влака за ада.
„The God of Dark Laughter� by Michael Chabon � Много добър, ама няма грам дявол в него. След мистериозно убийство, местния шериф се замесва във вражда между два древни култа на клоуни. Зловещи клоуни винаги е добър сюжет и разказът не е изключение.
"The King of the Djinn" бъ David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum � От „модерните� напоследък разкази свързани с исляма в които, освен че има арабски терористи, нищо друго няма.
"Summon, Bind, Banish" - Nick Mamatas � Просто не, нестава.
„The Bottle Imp� by Robert Louis Stevenson � От скоро го има и на български в книгата на Изток –Запа�. Чудесна история. Една бутилка, която изпълнява желания, но завлича притежателя си в ада. Можеш да я продадеш, но само на по-ниска цена от която си я купил
.
„Two Old Men� by Kage Baker –Скучаещ� хлапе разнася през целия град съобщения между двама старци. На края на деня живота му не е вече същият.
„With By Good Intentions� by Carrie Richerson � Фамилия Сандовал получава поредната поръчка за пътно строителство. Този път ще павират ада и клиентът ще е много доволен, ако не си изпълнят сроковете. Едно от най-добрите попадения в сборника.
„Nine Sundays in a Row� by Kris Dikeman � Ако престоиш девет неделни нощи под определено дърво, дяволът ще ти изпълни желание. Даже кучето му те наглежда нещо да не се обърка. Също много силен разказ.
„Lull� by Kelly Link � История в историята, в историята. Луда бърканица от диаболизъм, мистерия и фантастика. Истинско удоволствие за четене и пълна бъркотия за разбиране
„We Can Get Them for You Wholesale� by Neil Gaiman � Втора история на Геймън в книгата, отново перфектна. Питър е кротък и добродушно предпазлив човечец с една единствена мания, не може да изпусне по-добрата сделка. Когато решава да убие годеницата си, добрите сделки почват да валят. До къде може да стигне? До краят естествено.
„Details� by China Mieville � Един от малкото разкази, от които ме побиха тръпки. Едно хлапе, всеки ден носи храна на малко откачена съседка. Целия квартал редовно минава пред затворената й врата за съвети. Момчето печели доверието й и изслушва странната и история.
„The Devil Disinvests� by Scott Bradfield � Забавен и с поука. Дяволът решава да се пенсионира. Взима си къща в добър квартал, жена и кола. Наследникът му обаче решава да ходи и да му досажда.
„Faustfeathers� by John Kessel � Опит за сатирична пиеса, получила се е пълна пръдня. Безвкусен хумор, клишета и тъпизми. Не можах да я дочета.
„The Professor’s Teddy Bear� by Theodore Sturgeon � Не че съм се съмнявал в Стърджън, отново брутално добър разказ. Всяка вечер преди лягане Джеръми разказва истории на чудовището. Странни истории за странно чудовище.
„The Heidelberg Cylinder� by Jonathan Carroll � Адът е пренаселен, за това квартирантите му се качват в нашия свят. Има едно общество, което предупреждава и предпазва хората. Работата с него, обаче си има цена. Луда, но доста добра история. Успя да ме изненада на няколко пъти и въпреки абсурдното си звучене в началото ми хареса много.
„Mike’s Place by David� J. Schwartz � Двата корпоративни гиганта Рай и Ад са бутнати от депресията. Дяволът е принуден да работи в бар и всички го харесват. Забавен.
„Thus I Refute Beelzy� by John Collier � Човек трябва да внимава, когато се прави на строг възпитател пред детето си. Някой въображаеми приятели са по-истински от колкото ви се иска.
„Inferno: Canto XXXIV� by Dante Alighieri � Последната песен на Данте � устите на Луцифер. Не съм я борил на английски, но си изрових книжката на български. Миии... гениален.
August 7, 2020
Some stories were very original and hard to put down; some were outright weird, but perhaps that’s just my opinion. The overall anthology definitely provides for an entertaining read, though, don’t expect to be frightened. It’s not really a horror story collection - some stories were somewhat humorous in tone and some, more serious, pondering the eternal questions of good and evil and the price one is willing to pay for one’s desires. It doesn’t terrify, but it makes one think instead.
July 18, 2015
The Devil. Satan. Lucifer. His Satanic Majesty. Is it just me or is the devil one of the most interesting characters in history available to write a short story about? So much possibility and yet, in many of the stories in “Sympathy for the Devil� he falls so short of the mark. What should have been a 5 star read falls to a mere 3.
Part of great anthologizing requires the writer/editor to really spend a considerable amount of time and effort reading and culling. Just because a famed writer puts the pen to paper does not mean that every word that falls to the page is golden. Good anthology editors know this and are willing to make cuts where the stories aren’t that good.
Not to say that the selections aren’t interesting. They range from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Salem, Massachusetts to Stephen King’s Maine. Mark Twain next to Neil Gaiman and Michael Chabon. And of course, Dante. Many authors, some shorts worthy of 5 stars in and of themselves but the overall effect is a 3 for me.
The 3 is due to unevenness in story quality and an anthology that runs about 125 pages too long. A long anthology is only as good as the quality within it and there lies the trap for the editor. The stories have to hold the readers interest and at about page 333 I was getting turned off on the whole subject matter and just wanted the book to end.
I have to admit a fault here as a reader: I am insistent on finishing every book I start. If you are a reader who can skip or skim the weaker stories, you might find this to be a 4 star read. I leave it to you, fellow reader, to make that decision. Just know going in that the devil is in the details.
Part of great anthologizing requires the writer/editor to really spend a considerable amount of time and effort reading and culling. Just because a famed writer puts the pen to paper does not mean that every word that falls to the page is golden. Good anthology editors know this and are willing to make cuts where the stories aren’t that good.
Not to say that the selections aren’t interesting. They range from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Salem, Massachusetts to Stephen King’s Maine. Mark Twain next to Neil Gaiman and Michael Chabon. And of course, Dante. Many authors, some shorts worthy of 5 stars in and of themselves but the overall effect is a 3 for me.
The 3 is due to unevenness in story quality and an anthology that runs about 125 pages too long. A long anthology is only as good as the quality within it and there lies the trap for the editor. The stories have to hold the readers interest and at about page 333 I was getting turned off on the whole subject matter and just wanted the book to end.
I have to admit a fault here as a reader: I am insistent on finishing every book I start. If you are a reader who can skip or skim the weaker stories, you might find this to be a 4 star read. I leave it to you, fellow reader, to make that decision. Just know going in that the devil is in the details.
May 22, 2013
3.5 stars
Please allow me to introduce Sympathy for the Devil, a fine new anthology filled entirely with short stories about the devil... who is, as we all know, a man of style and taste. However, you won’t just find the smooth-talking stealer of souls here. In addition to that famous version of His Grand Infernal Majesty, you’ll also find funny devils, monstrous devils, abstract devils and strangely realistic ones. Devils scary and not-so-scary, devils who are after children’s souls and others going after old men. Devils with a surprising amount of business acumen, and devils who try to get what they want, no matter the cost. There’s even one who engages in a competitive eating contest � the prize is, of course, someone’s soul.
Sympathy for the Devil, edited by Tim Pratt, offers up 35 very diverse short stories (and o... Read More:
Please allow me to introduce Sympathy for the Devil, a fine new anthology filled entirely with short stories about the devil... who is, as we all know, a man of style and taste. However, you won’t just find the smooth-talking stealer of souls here. In addition to that famous version of His Grand Infernal Majesty, you’ll also find funny devils, monstrous devils, abstract devils and strangely realistic ones. Devils scary and not-so-scary, devils who are after children’s souls and others going after old men. Devils with a surprising amount of business acumen, and devils who try to get what they want, no matter the cost. There’s even one who engages in a competitive eating contest � the prize is, of course, someone’s soul.
Sympathy for the Devil, edited by Tim Pratt, offers up 35 very diverse short stories (and o... Read More:
July 29, 2018
I'm giving this 3 stars because there were two stories I absolutely loved (Charles DeLint and Holly Black) and some others I really liked (Stephen King.) Alas, there were too many stories about the devil playing poker or blues guitar. The most evil thing he can do is play cards? Maybe those Baptists were right all along. I couldn't make it to the end but I also may not have been in a short story mood. I hope to pick this up and finish it one day. There are two stories by Neil Gaiman and a story by Robert Bloch as well.
October 17, 2015
There were some excellent stories. Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Michael Chabon, Charles de Lint and some others were excellent. There were also some classics. I always love rereading The Professor's Teddybear. There were also some major stinkers, which is not uncommon in your average short story anthology. Especially when it involves something so iconic as the Devil. A couple just did not really try to move beyond "the deal with the devil" or some that attempted to become esoteric in a way that became fairly unreadable.
Currently reading
July 14, 2024"And the Deep Blue Sea" by Elizabeth Bear - The Devil offers Harrie seven more years of life in post-apocalytic America if she surrenders the case that she's attempting to deliver in Sacramento.
"The God of Dark Laughter" by Michael Chabon - wc
"Thus I Refute Beelzy" by John Collier - wc
"Nine Sundays in a Row" by Kris Dikeman - wc
"MetaPhysics" by Elizabeth M. Glover - wc
"Mike's Place" by David J. Schwartz - wc
"Sold to Satan" by Mark Twain - wc
"The God of Dark Laughter" by Michael Chabon - wc
"Thus I Refute Beelzy" by John Collier - wc
"Nine Sundays in a Row" by Kris Dikeman - wc
"MetaPhysics" by Elizabeth M. Glover - wc
"Mike's Place" by David J. Schwartz - wc
"Sold to Satan" by Mark Twain - wc
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2015
Omg, it took me forever to finish this book. I checked it out from the SF library but didn't finish it and went back home for the summer. Once the school year started again, I checked it out again, but it took me ages to finish.
Like all anthologies, it is kind of a mixed bag. At one point however, I got a little fatigued because most stories were about making deals with the Devil. But later stories in the second half of the book were far more gripping and inventive with spins on the deal-with-the devil motif. Reading "Lull" by Kelly Link made the entire book worth reading.
I will briefly review/summarize all 36 stories. Briefly.
1. The Price by Neil Gaiman- A black cat must battle the form-changing Devil each night. Definitely a mysterious, good choice to start the book off with. Very short.
2. Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan- An African American man has died and sentenced to Hell only to find out that Hell takes the form of the Antebellum South and the tortured souls are slaves. The Devil said he couldn't come up with a worse punishment, bu having read Dante's Inferno, I know he can.
3. Ash City Stomp by Richard Butner- A young woman asked her boyfriend to drive her to a different city under the pretense of looking at a college. However, she is there to complete a drug deal. After stopping to see a cursed circle in the forest, the Devil hitchikes a ride with them. In the end, he warns the boyfriend when the drug deal goes awry, with I considered to be oddly nice of him.
4. Ten for the Devil by Charles de Lint- Staley plays the fiddle outside her trailer in a rural area and accidently summons evil. With the help of some friends, she is able to play the Devil away with her fiddle. She wants absolutely nothing from him and refuses to make a deal. This was the longest story so far and the one I enjoyed the most at this point. (It also made me realize that the majority of Devil appearances happens in rural areas).
5. A Reversal of Fortune by Holly Black- Nikki sells her soul to the Devil in exchange for him bringing her dog back from the dead. In order to keep her soul, she challenges him to an eating contest. This one wasn't as "adultish" as the others, but it was still enjoyable.
6. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne- Goodman Brown's world is shattered when he stumbles upon his Puritan community worshiping the devil. I absolutely couldn't stand the way Hawthorne's narration.
7. The Man in the Black Suit by Stephen King- While a lot didn't happen in this story, it was by far the most frightening because of the sheer amount of suspense. A dying man recounts how he was frightened as a child after he met a creepy man in a black suit (the devil) by a river.
8. The Power of Speech by Natalie Babbitt- Very short. The Devil wants a woman's goat (I don't know why), so he gives it the power of speech. Annoyed, she finally gives the goat to the Devil, but the goat irritates him so much, he turns it into a stuffed goat and gives it back to the woman. Quite bizarre.
9. The Redemption of Silky Bill by Sarah Zettel- When an angry Native American man makes a deal with the Devil to destroy the invading Americans, his fellow Native Americans seek out Bill, a gambler and all around bad person to challenge the Devil at cards and stop him. The ending was a little unclear, but apparently, Bill decides to go on the straight and narrow simply to spite the Devil.
10. Sold to Satan by Mark Twain- I absolutely loved how the Devil was personified in this story. He is made of radium, so he is radioactive/toxic. Mark Twain narrates as he meets the Devil who gives him business advice to invest in radium in exchange for his soul.
11. Metaphysics by Elizabeth M. Glover- Absolutely loved this one. A demon tries to steal an atheist's soul, since she has no belief or psalms to recite to save herself. However, she outsmarts him by using the laws of physics.
12. Snowball's Chance by Charles Stross- In a apocalyptic world, Davy is granted a wish from the Devil for being a nasty person. To get more wishes by spreading more misery, he decides to wish that the Devil removed the sunshield protecting the American and African continents from the Sun (which also makes the UK freezing). Because this book was published Night Shade Books, which apparently focuses in science fiction, there will be a lot more sci-fi/Devil mash-ups (to my satisfaction).
13. Non-Disclosure Agreement by Scott Westerfeld- A man redecorates Hell using the latest CGI movie technology. In exchange, the Devil tells him the secret to getting into Heaven, but he can't tell anyone or the Devil gets his soul, which torments him. Apparently, the secret to getting into Heaven is to give up technology and remove yourself from society.
14. Like Riding A Bike by Jan Wildt- Fifty-three year old Velma Fish was randomly chosen by that I assumed to be devils (but could have also been angels), to be transformed into the body she had at seventeen. There is some comedy in an old, out of touch woman having the body of a young adult. Little does the unearthly powerful committee know, Velma was pregnant at seventeen (but got an abortion she came to regret).
15. Bible Stories For Adults, No. 31: The Covenant by James Morrow- This story revolves around the premise that God never gave Moses another set of Ten Commandments after he broke them. In the future, a robot, YHWH, is constructed to piece the Commandments together. To it's surprise, it realizes the Commandments would all somehow negatively impact the peaceful, futuristic society and the Son of Rust (presumably the Devil) wants him to read them to the world. It was a rather harsh view of religion, but it was creative.
16. And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear- Harrie rides her motorcycle across the post-apocalyptic, radioactive western United States as a messenger. She has made a deal with the Devil for safe passage for ten years. However when she is hired to carry stem cells that could save lives, the Devil says he will give her soul back in exchange for the stem cells. The desert scenery was absolutely fantastic and I love it!!!
17. The Goat Cutter by Jay Lake- I loved this one!!! There were so many emotions going through it!!!!A young boy and he friend hang out with a man named Doug Bob, who must keep the Devil inside a broken down school bus outside of his house in the middle of nowhere. When the Devil escapes and Doug Bob is killed, the boy becomes possessed and trapped within the bus.
18. On the Road to New Egypt by Jeffrey Ford- A man picks up Christ and the Devil up in his car. The Devil and Christ bet his soul on whether or not a woman in Florida will exhibit miracle abilities.
19. That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch- Martian gives the Devil his soul in exchange for a watch that can stop time when he is happiest. However, life gets in the way and he only uses after his death on the train to Hell.
20. The God of Dark Laughter by Michael Chabon- A circus clown is found murdered with his face removed and a local sheriff must discover the truth regarding two opposing secret cults. (The devil really isn’t involved). I really enjoyed this one.
21. The King of the Djinn by David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum- Unbeknownst to Musa, his life-long acquaintance is the Devil. The Devil reveals that Musa’s son’s, Jamal, greatest desire is to become a terrorist wants to seek revenge against Israel.
22. Summon, Bind, Banish by Nick Mamatas- Alick makes a deal with the devil and delves into the occult. It flips into many points of view. Honestly, I didn’t understand exactly what was going on. Wasn’t sure if it was me or the story, probably me.
23. The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson- Keawe gets a bottle imp which grants wishes but at the price of your soul if you die. You must resell it for less than you got it. The setting in Hawaii was fantastic, the rules of the bottle imp actually reminded me of the Deathnote. This was a fantastic story, but the ending was a little predictable.
24. Two Old Men by Kage Baker- Markie, a young boy, ran back and forth relaying messages for God and the Devil within his small town. Apparently, Kennedy was some sort of prophet. I enjoyed the ending though, with God warning Markie about Ronnie’s gun.
25. With By Good Intentions by Carrie Richerson- Roy Sandoval and his family of highway pavers made a deal with the devil. In exchange for paving a road to Hell, they get out of Hell.
26. Nine Sundays in a Row by Kris Dikeman- Narrated from the perspective of the Devil’s servant dog. A young woman named Sally waits nine Sundays in a row so she can summon the Devil and sell her soul in exchange for being lucky at gambling.
27. Lull by Kelly Link- THIS WAS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS ONE!!!! This blew my mind, it was absolutely wild and crazy and AMAZING!!! It starts with a group of men playing cards in a basement. It explains to Ed’s recent divorce and how he now lives in a mysterious house in the middle of nowhere. The men agree to call a woman who they pay by the minute to tell sexy stories. She tells an amazing story about a world where people age backwards involving the Devil. A cheerleader tells the Devil about Ed (who the sexy storyteller didn’t know) and his wife Susan greeting aliens. It was spine tingling, creepy and absolutely amazing.
28. We Can Get Them for You Wholesale by Neil Gaiman- Straight laced Peter decides to hire an assassin to kill the man his fiancé is having an affair with. They offer him less money the more people he would tell them to kill and Peter can’t resist a deal.
29. Details by China Mieville- A young boy (why is it always young boys in these? Why not girls?) visits a strange woman who locks herself in a bare, white room. She knows more things than a normal person would and hides from the shape following her. I loved the description of the shape! It was so creative and interesting!!
30. The Devil Disinvests by Scott Bradfield- The Devil takes a break from the corporate life to reinvent himself.
31. Faustfeathers by John Kessel- A satire of Faust, but I have never read Faust, so I didn’t have much experience to go from. However, it was incredibly funny. I enjoyed all the sex jokes, especially when Robin ends up in the closet with Wagner. Perhaps if I had a greater knowledge of Faust besides the vague idea of a storyline, I would have gotten more out of it.
32. The Professor’s Teddy Bear by Theodore Sturgeon- A child is being controlled by a possessed teddy bear and has an ability kill people by changing the future. It flips back and forth between the child and him as an adult.
33. The Heidelberg Cylinder by Jonathan Carroll- The Devil is running out of room in Hell, so they are moving people into Earth neighborhoods. Bill ends up joining the ranks of the Heidelberg Cylinder, an organization trying to warn people. He has to give something to the Devil to escape Hell.
34. Mike’s Place by David J. Schwartz- Heaven and Hell’s respective corporations have gone under. The Devil works at a bar in this story, which is a satire of corporations going belly up.
35. Thus I Refute Beelzy by John Collier- A young boy (again) plays by himself but insists a creature named Beelzy plays with him. His father attempts to persuade him that Beelzy is part of his imagination.
36. Inferno: Canto XXXIV by Dante Alighieri- This is the final canto in Inferno were the poet Dante encounters the Devil, trapped in the ice. I loved that he had three heads with Judas, Cassius, and Brutus.
Like all anthologies, it is kind of a mixed bag. At one point however, I got a little fatigued because most stories were about making deals with the Devil. But later stories in the second half of the book were far more gripping and inventive with spins on the deal-with-the devil motif. Reading "Lull" by Kelly Link made the entire book worth reading.
I will briefly review/summarize all 36 stories. Briefly.
1. The Price by Neil Gaiman- A black cat must battle the form-changing Devil each night. Definitely a mysterious, good choice to start the book off with. Very short.
2. Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan- An African American man has died and sentenced to Hell only to find out that Hell takes the form of the Antebellum South and the tortured souls are slaves. The Devil said he couldn't come up with a worse punishment, bu having read Dante's Inferno, I know he can.
3. Ash City Stomp by Richard Butner- A young woman asked her boyfriend to drive her to a different city under the pretense of looking at a college. However, she is there to complete a drug deal. After stopping to see a cursed circle in the forest, the Devil hitchikes a ride with them. In the end, he warns the boyfriend when the drug deal goes awry, with I considered to be oddly nice of him.
4. Ten for the Devil by Charles de Lint- Staley plays the fiddle outside her trailer in a rural area and accidently summons evil. With the help of some friends, she is able to play the Devil away with her fiddle. She wants absolutely nothing from him and refuses to make a deal. This was the longest story so far and the one I enjoyed the most at this point. (It also made me realize that the majority of Devil appearances happens in rural areas).
5. A Reversal of Fortune by Holly Black- Nikki sells her soul to the Devil in exchange for him bringing her dog back from the dead. In order to keep her soul, she challenges him to an eating contest. This one wasn't as "adultish" as the others, but it was still enjoyable.
6. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne- Goodman Brown's world is shattered when he stumbles upon his Puritan community worshiping the devil. I absolutely couldn't stand the way Hawthorne's narration.
7. The Man in the Black Suit by Stephen King- While a lot didn't happen in this story, it was by far the most frightening because of the sheer amount of suspense. A dying man recounts how he was frightened as a child after he met a creepy man in a black suit (the devil) by a river.
8. The Power of Speech by Natalie Babbitt- Very short. The Devil wants a woman's goat (I don't know why), so he gives it the power of speech. Annoyed, she finally gives the goat to the Devil, but the goat irritates him so much, he turns it into a stuffed goat and gives it back to the woman. Quite bizarre.
9. The Redemption of Silky Bill by Sarah Zettel- When an angry Native American man makes a deal with the Devil to destroy the invading Americans, his fellow Native Americans seek out Bill, a gambler and all around bad person to challenge the Devil at cards and stop him. The ending was a little unclear, but apparently, Bill decides to go on the straight and narrow simply to spite the Devil.
10. Sold to Satan by Mark Twain- I absolutely loved how the Devil was personified in this story. He is made of radium, so he is radioactive/toxic. Mark Twain narrates as he meets the Devil who gives him business advice to invest in radium in exchange for his soul.
11. Metaphysics by Elizabeth M. Glover- Absolutely loved this one. A demon tries to steal an atheist's soul, since she has no belief or psalms to recite to save herself. However, she outsmarts him by using the laws of physics.
12. Snowball's Chance by Charles Stross- In a apocalyptic world, Davy is granted a wish from the Devil for being a nasty person. To get more wishes by spreading more misery, he decides to wish that the Devil removed the sunshield protecting the American and African continents from the Sun (which also makes the UK freezing). Because this book was published Night Shade Books, which apparently focuses in science fiction, there will be a lot more sci-fi/Devil mash-ups (to my satisfaction).
13. Non-Disclosure Agreement by Scott Westerfeld- A man redecorates Hell using the latest CGI movie technology. In exchange, the Devil tells him the secret to getting into Heaven, but he can't tell anyone or the Devil gets his soul, which torments him. Apparently, the secret to getting into Heaven is to give up technology and remove yourself from society.
14. Like Riding A Bike by Jan Wildt- Fifty-three year old Velma Fish was randomly chosen by that I assumed to be devils (but could have also been angels), to be transformed into the body she had at seventeen. There is some comedy in an old, out of touch woman having the body of a young adult. Little does the unearthly powerful committee know, Velma was pregnant at seventeen (but got an abortion she came to regret).
15. Bible Stories For Adults, No. 31: The Covenant by James Morrow- This story revolves around the premise that God never gave Moses another set of Ten Commandments after he broke them. In the future, a robot, YHWH, is constructed to piece the Commandments together. To it's surprise, it realizes the Commandments would all somehow negatively impact the peaceful, futuristic society and the Son of Rust (presumably the Devil) wants him to read them to the world. It was a rather harsh view of religion, but it was creative.
16. And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear- Harrie rides her motorcycle across the post-apocalyptic, radioactive western United States as a messenger. She has made a deal with the Devil for safe passage for ten years. However when she is hired to carry stem cells that could save lives, the Devil says he will give her soul back in exchange for the stem cells. The desert scenery was absolutely fantastic and I love it!!!
17. The Goat Cutter by Jay Lake- I loved this one!!! There were so many emotions going through it!!!!A young boy and he friend hang out with a man named Doug Bob, who must keep the Devil inside a broken down school bus outside of his house in the middle of nowhere. When the Devil escapes and Doug Bob is killed, the boy becomes possessed and trapped within the bus.
18. On the Road to New Egypt by Jeffrey Ford- A man picks up Christ and the Devil up in his car. The Devil and Christ bet his soul on whether or not a woman in Florida will exhibit miracle abilities.
19. That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch- Martian gives the Devil his soul in exchange for a watch that can stop time when he is happiest. However, life gets in the way and he only uses after his death on the train to Hell.
20. The God of Dark Laughter by Michael Chabon- A circus clown is found murdered with his face removed and a local sheriff must discover the truth regarding two opposing secret cults. (The devil really isn’t involved). I really enjoyed this one.
21. The King of the Djinn by David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum- Unbeknownst to Musa, his life-long acquaintance is the Devil. The Devil reveals that Musa’s son’s, Jamal, greatest desire is to become a terrorist wants to seek revenge against Israel.
22. Summon, Bind, Banish by Nick Mamatas- Alick makes a deal with the devil and delves into the occult. It flips into many points of view. Honestly, I didn’t understand exactly what was going on. Wasn’t sure if it was me or the story, probably me.
23. The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson- Keawe gets a bottle imp which grants wishes but at the price of your soul if you die. You must resell it for less than you got it. The setting in Hawaii was fantastic, the rules of the bottle imp actually reminded me of the Deathnote. This was a fantastic story, but the ending was a little predictable.
24. Two Old Men by Kage Baker- Markie, a young boy, ran back and forth relaying messages for God and the Devil within his small town. Apparently, Kennedy was some sort of prophet. I enjoyed the ending though, with God warning Markie about Ronnie’s gun.
25. With By Good Intentions by Carrie Richerson- Roy Sandoval and his family of highway pavers made a deal with the devil. In exchange for paving a road to Hell, they get out of Hell.
26. Nine Sundays in a Row by Kris Dikeman- Narrated from the perspective of the Devil’s servant dog. A young woman named Sally waits nine Sundays in a row so she can summon the Devil and sell her soul in exchange for being lucky at gambling.
27. Lull by Kelly Link- THIS WAS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS ONE!!!! This blew my mind, it was absolutely wild and crazy and AMAZING!!! It starts with a group of men playing cards in a basement. It explains to Ed’s recent divorce and how he now lives in a mysterious house in the middle of nowhere. The men agree to call a woman who they pay by the minute to tell sexy stories. She tells an amazing story about a world where people age backwards involving the Devil. A cheerleader tells the Devil about Ed (who the sexy storyteller didn’t know) and his wife Susan greeting aliens. It was spine tingling, creepy and absolutely amazing.
28. We Can Get Them for You Wholesale by Neil Gaiman- Straight laced Peter decides to hire an assassin to kill the man his fiancé is having an affair with. They offer him less money the more people he would tell them to kill and Peter can’t resist a deal.
29. Details by China Mieville- A young boy (why is it always young boys in these? Why not girls?) visits a strange woman who locks herself in a bare, white room. She knows more things than a normal person would and hides from the shape following her. I loved the description of the shape! It was so creative and interesting!!
30. The Devil Disinvests by Scott Bradfield- The Devil takes a break from the corporate life to reinvent himself.
31. Faustfeathers by John Kessel- A satire of Faust, but I have never read Faust, so I didn’t have much experience to go from. However, it was incredibly funny. I enjoyed all the sex jokes, especially when Robin ends up in the closet with Wagner. Perhaps if I had a greater knowledge of Faust besides the vague idea of a storyline, I would have gotten more out of it.
32. The Professor’s Teddy Bear by Theodore Sturgeon- A child is being controlled by a possessed teddy bear and has an ability kill people by changing the future. It flips back and forth between the child and him as an adult.
33. The Heidelberg Cylinder by Jonathan Carroll- The Devil is running out of room in Hell, so they are moving people into Earth neighborhoods. Bill ends up joining the ranks of the Heidelberg Cylinder, an organization trying to warn people. He has to give something to the Devil to escape Hell.
34. Mike’s Place by David J. Schwartz- Heaven and Hell’s respective corporations have gone under. The Devil works at a bar in this story, which is a satire of corporations going belly up.
35. Thus I Refute Beelzy by John Collier- A young boy (again) plays by himself but insists a creature named Beelzy plays with him. His father attempts to persuade him that Beelzy is part of his imagination.
36. Inferno: Canto XXXIV by Dante Alighieri- This is the final canto in Inferno were the poet Dante encounters the Devil, trapped in the ice. I loved that he had three heads with Judas, Cassius, and Brutus.
September 1, 2018
Nowhere near as good as I would have hoped.
A compilation of short stories about the Master of all evil, Satan, it's compiled of different stories by many different authors but all have the Devil as a main character. I'm not going to go through and list each story cause that would just take too much time and to be perfectly honest, the book wasn't good enough for that.
Yes, it had some good stories that definitely made you think but for the most part and especially at the end, the stories just seemed to get stranger and stranger. I don't know if maybe I was taking the stories too seriously but to be honest, I'm just glad to be done with the book.
Lucifer/Satan/The Devil, what have you, to me, it's one of the most interesting literary characters in existence. He was an Angel once, the favorite of God, but when God created Adam, Lucifers jealousy was so much, that he fought against Heaven and ultimately lost, thus being thrown into the pit of Hell along with the other Angels that fought beside him.
I wanted a character like the Lucifer from Miltons, Paradise Lost but instead a lot of the stories made the Devil out to be a joke, not cunning, not sly, just a parody and the stereotypical red skin, cloven hooves, horned , mustachioed man from so many stupid cartoons etc. I believe that was the biggest let down, that I went into this book expecting the stories to be epic when a lot of times they just fell flat.
There were some good stories but overall I just wasn't pleased. I'd say don't even waste your time with this book cause in the end it's just not worth it. I'm glad I read it but I'm glad it's done
A compilation of short stories about the Master of all evil, Satan, it's compiled of different stories by many different authors but all have the Devil as a main character. I'm not going to go through and list each story cause that would just take too much time and to be perfectly honest, the book wasn't good enough for that.
Yes, it had some good stories that definitely made you think but for the most part and especially at the end, the stories just seemed to get stranger and stranger. I don't know if maybe I was taking the stories too seriously but to be honest, I'm just glad to be done with the book.
Lucifer/Satan/The Devil, what have you, to me, it's one of the most interesting literary characters in existence. He was an Angel once, the favorite of God, but when God created Adam, Lucifers jealousy was so much, that he fought against Heaven and ultimately lost, thus being thrown into the pit of Hell along with the other Angels that fought beside him.
I wanted a character like the Lucifer from Miltons, Paradise Lost but instead a lot of the stories made the Devil out to be a joke, not cunning, not sly, just a parody and the stereotypical red skin, cloven hooves, horned , mustachioed man from so many stupid cartoons etc. I believe that was the biggest let down, that I went into this book expecting the stories to be epic when a lot of times they just fell flat.
There were some good stories but overall I just wasn't pleased. I'd say don't even waste your time with this book cause in the end it's just not worth it. I'm glad I read it but I'm glad it's done
June 21, 2024
There are some really solid stories in this collection; the stories by Gaiman, King, Bloch, and Hawthorn are classics for a reason. But, that was my biggest issue with this collection: all of the real bangers in this collection I had read previously. Many of the other stories felt repetitive - the devil is portrayed in a very similar fashion in many of the other stories. Some of the stories were anticlimactic, some were weird tales that seemed weird and/or exceptionally deviant and dark for the sake of being weird rather than a narrative purpose. Tim Pratt, the editor, accomplished what he discussed in his introduction, of providing numerous stories focused on the devil, but unfortunately, this collection just wasn’t for me.
October 23, 2017
The ratio of good to bad stories was weighed heavily towards terrible. Every other story was simple county bumpkin/child/ bumbkin child. The intro said Pratt had a hard time choosing so you'd think he could have gotten more variety. Also, very few actual devil involvement. Either some unseen malevolent force or unnamed demon. The few great stories can be found in other, better collections. Hard pass.
August 25, 2017
Some of the stories are fantastic. My favorite being the one by Neil Gaiman. However, some of the writing in this book is etrocious. Also, some of the stories are very generic and typical "devil at the crossroads" stories.
July 30, 2018
Some of the stories were good. Some were viscerally terrific. Some were meh. And a couple were 'what the F is going on' in ways both good and bad.
Is it worth a read?
Sure, because with this kind of diversity you're sure to find at least one you really, really like.
Is it worth a read?
Sure, because with this kind of diversity you're sure to find at least one you really, really like.
September 28, 2019
Not the best anthology I've ever read, by any means. A lot of the stories were already familiar to me, from other collections, and some were definitely skippable. Still . . . a few were excellent, and there were a lot of choices, so overall it was fun.
September 25, 2021
Took me long to finish this book, because some stories are good, some are awesome and some are pretty bad…it has two Neil Gaiman’s stories…so that’s enough to save it…there’s a couple of hidden gems as well…but I would simply cut half of the stories…as they don’t add anything�
January 27, 2024
Why there were some good stories in here this was mostly a disappointment with the quality just all over the place and no real coherence to the collection. Adding in Dante plus a whole play didn't help.
August 16, 2018
This is a collection of short stories, most of which are wonderfully told.
August 29, 2018
Mixed bag. Some amazing (Beluthahatchie), some disappointing (The man in the black suit - the last Stephen King I ever intend to read), and most are just so-so.
December 20, 2018
Nice collection of stories ranging from creepy to funny.
March 23, 2019
Read about 2/3 of the stories so counting this as read. Some solid stories by favorite authors.
October 4, 2019
Boring, hard to get interested.
May 15, 2020
A good selection of short stories - no surprises
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
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