I was slightly disappointed to discover upon opening this collection that the stories included within were not original commissions, but just "all the best" that had already been published. That being said, many of the stories were still great (and old favourites were present), so the collection was worth a peruse. I was less impressed with the inclusion of many older stories (R.L. Stveneson, etc) since I don't really like most of that type of author anyways. And gving us a random chunk of Dante's Inferno at the finale didn't feel right at all; all or nothing! ( )

A collection of devil themed stories, some quite excellent, but all of them enjoyable. ( )

Like any compilation of stories by different authors, some are good, some not so good. This book is an investment of time. Pretty large collection of stories involving the theme of the Devil. ( )

I found this book by chance at the public library, being interested in a few of the included authors. It's one of those monster theme collections, gathering thirty-six stories in which "the Devil" features as a principal character, from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first. (Longfellow's translation of the thirty-sixth canto of Dante's Inferno is the oldest item, and concludes the book.) Six stories I had read prior to their appearance here. "Thank you, Satan!" quoth the editor, introducing his first effort at anthology. Despite the title, most of these stories don't portray the Devil as sympathetic.

Charles Stross's story "Snowball's Chance" was a major attraction, and did not disappoint, other than its clumsy misquotation of the Law of Thelema. I suppose any 21st-century Big Book of Beelzebub is likely to include some content touching on the Great Beast who heralded the New Aeon. Nick Mamatas's fictional protagonist in "Summon Bind Banish" may be a full (i.e. Ninth Degree) initiate of O.T.O., but Mamatas himself obviously isn't. His pretended exposure of the Order's sovereign secret is overshadowed by the way that he vilifies Crowley with an impressionistic biography of mostly-true episodes.

Elizabeth M. Glover's "MetaPhysics" was cornball, but some of these pieces were genuinely funny. In particular I was delighted with the one-act comedy "Faustfeathers" by John Kessel, which casts Groucho Marx as the paradigmatic sorcerer. Jeffrey Ford's "On the Road to New Egypt" was a key inducement to my reading the book, and turned out to be hilarious.

Some of the creepiest stories were the most questionably related to the book's espoused theme, and these were often among the ones I had already read, such as China Meiville's "Details," "The Professor's Teddy Bear" by Theodore Sturgeon, and "The God of Dark Laughter" by Michael Chabon. Probably the most horrific story in the book that was new to me on this reading was "The Goat Cutter" by Jay Lake. The most surreal story was either "Lull" by Kelly Link or "The Heidelberg Cylinder" by Jonathan Carroll, and both of these get high marks from me.

Older selections included Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" (still excellent), Robert Louis Stevenson's "Bottle Imp" (how had I missed this one before?), and Mark Twain's "Sold to the Devil" (justly neglected by a mass readership). "Big names" likely to appeal to genre fans include Stephen King ("The Man in the Black Suit") and Neil Gaiman ("The Price" and "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale").

The book is a fairly mixed bag on the whole, as one might expect with such a large number of stories and such a narrow criterion for inclusion. Still, it was definitely worth the bother.

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. ( )