I remember reading a novel where a guy wants to release demons on the world. He contacts another man who claims to be able to summon demons. This summoner had to pass an interview. He does so by making his eyes bleed, and having a demon turn the bloody tears to gold. Any idea what it was? I seen to remember Dean Koontz, but i don't think that is his style.
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Hi, welcome to SF&F. When did you read this? Do you recall any details of the cover?– DavidWCommented May 26, 2021 at 2:35
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1Gosh, it's been so long ago i can't remember when I read it. I think it was when I was in the Navy. That would've been 1988-1994. I don't remember anything about the cover. Thanks.– bcr666Commented May 26, 2021 at 2:39
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By the way, a short version was serialized in If and you can read it at the Internet Archive: archive.org/details/1967-08_IF/page/n5/mode/1up– user14111Commented May 29, 2021 at 9:26
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1 Answer
Black Easter by James Blish, also known as Faust Aleph-Null.
Black Easter is a fantasy novel by American writer James Blish, in which an arms dealer hires a black magician to unleash all the demons of Hell on Earth for a single day.
The scene with the tears is:
Out of the comers of Baines’ eyes, two slow thick tears of dark venous blood were crawling down beside his nose. He lowered the mirror and stared at Ware.
“Hypnotism,” he said, quite steadily. “I had hoped for better.”
“Wipe them off,” Ware said, unruffled.
Baines pulled out his immaculate monogrammed handkerchief. On the white-on-white fabric, the red stains turned slowly into butter-yellow gold.
“I suggest you take those to a government metallurgist tomorrow,” Ware said. “I could hardly have hypnotized him. Now perhaps we might get down to business.”
answered May 26, 2021 at 6:58
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1@MartinGoldsack There is an omnibus volume collecting the two, called The Devil's Day. (It was years before I realized they had been published separately at all.) Commented May 26, 2021 at 13:38