The Beast Cometh

by Adam Ortyl

This is a short story where we take the tropes of 'The Quest' and 'The Hero' and turn them on end. Things don't quite go as expected.

Our hero is in a dark dank cellar where he is searching out the beast. Will he find it? Probably. Will it be what he expected? Most likely not.

9 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2013

Reviews

[megHan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel sorry for our "hero" and wish to know more. There's just not enough to understand why it is that he's doing this and that - What's the point? I just can't get over the fact that there's no real beginning or end, but a whole lot of middle. This short story feels like it was extracted from the middle of a novel and I really wish the author would put it back so I can read the whole thing.

[Alysa H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little story, though very juvenile in its humor. It does turn some tropes on their heads, which is great, but then others are simply upheld. It also feels like a snippet from a longer novel, as opposed to a fully-formed short story in itself. I get the feeling that Ortyl would do well with longer work that involves more world-building.