Conan the Barbarian-The Thing in the Crypt review

The Thing in the Crypt Review

Conan, roughly around the age of 16, is captured by the Hyperboreans in the events of Legions of the Dead. Hating a life of slavery, Conan eventually breaks his bonds by grinding away at the chain links on the floor. Fleeing captivity from the Hyperborians, he heads south towards Brythunia. During his travel, a pack of wolves pursue him across an icy river and attempt to gain ground on him through the forest. Realizing that he can't outrun the wolves much longer, Conan resolves to make a stand, and runs towards a rocky outcrop. Climbing the rocks, he notices a crevice, and heads inside.

The crevice opens into an antechamber, filled with an array of various objects. Conan, using iron and wood found inside the room, starts a small fire. It's light reveals the antechamber's interior, and he sees the skeletal remains of some great warrior on a throne. Conan sees an ancient sword lying across the warrior's legs, and Conan decides to retrieve it. Removing the sword, the ancient skeletal warrior comes to life, searching for his missing weapon. Conan, reeling in horror, slashes away at the mummy with the sword. A fierce enemy, Conan hacks off the undead warrior's hand, and gets the sword stuck in the undead's abdomen. Still pressing the attack, the mummy advances on Conan. Driven by his primal fear of the supernatural and self preservation, Conan forces the warrior into the fire where it is consumed. Conan finds an old fur cloak and decides to take his chances outside of the crypt against the wolves, rather than spending the night inside the antechamber. Exiting, Conan sees that the wolves had given up their hopes and perhaps moved along to easier prey.

In my opinion this story is one of the better pastiches written after Robert E. Howard. We again see that Conan doesn't freeze in the face of perhaps his greatest fear, the supernatural, or, in this case, the undead. Getting his belly full of the undead in the events of Legions of the Dead, Conan again experiences the horror of the reanimation of life. And that, is not something the he is very fond of.