Myron I. Scholnick 6 min read

By a dancing fire, wine-flushed Henry leans in to hear his friend George's tale, of how, just last week, George met the Devil himself and sat down to an unforgettable interview.

Myron I. Scholnick's 1953 story is a wry fantasy and social-SF tale. Clever, genial golden-age SF. Read it for a cozy fireside yarn where a man recounts his droll, dangerous bargain with Old Nick, in a light, well-turned golden-age piece, its title from the proverb about needing a long spoon, that gives the Devil's-bargain tale a fresh, humorous spin.

In its time

Published in 1953, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

6 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).