The Devil in Iron


"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.
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.

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 and Conan the Wanderer. It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle and .

Adaptation

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala in Savage Sword of Conan #15.