32,406 words (2h15m-2h40m)
Genre(s): Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller
First published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories,1960

⸻

The Night of the Long Knives is a gripping, dystopian tale of murder, survival, and psychological dissection in a lawless future. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland where civilization has collapsed and murder has become the only currency of interaction, a lone wanderer—a seasoned killer who knows only violence—encounters an equally dangerous woman and a peculiar government agent. As their fates intertwine, their thirst for blood battles against a flickering hope for redemption. With its psychologically intense narrative and brutal existential themes, this story is a brilliant examination of human nature, morality, and the thin line between survival and savagery.