Conan: Terror from the Abyss: The Heroic Legends Series

The Heroic Legends Series

by Henry Herz

Capturing the electric short fiction energy that led Robert E. Howard to be one of the top fantasy writers of the century, with exclusive serialized eBook stories starring Conan, Solomon Kane, and more by many of today’s top writers in fantasy and sword-and-sorcery.

Sailing together on the Tigress, Conan and Bêlit hijack and plunder a ship. Victorious but with a damaged ship to show for it, the pirates return to their secret island haven. They arrive to find their village under attack, not by men, but hideous things—part men, part aquatic creatures.

Powerful but ungainly, these bloodthirsty frog-men are faster and even more formidable in the water. Conan, Bêlit and her crew watch helplessly as the abominations abscond with the women of their village. Unable to give chase due to their damaged ship, Conan and Bêlit swear vengeance on these monstrosities.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Short Stories, Pulp

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad effort, but not great either. There was plenty of action and a variety of foes both human and monstrous. Once again, the crew seemed an afterthought. Howard developed and named crewman. I’m not understanding this in the Heroic Legends series. Also, Conan praying to Crom seems like pastiche fodder, not Howardian.

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting! Evocative of Howard's Conan

This one was rather intense and thrilling! I like that the author wove actual words from Howard's Conan into his dialogue. Conan felt like Conan, large and filled with attitude. Belit also read legit. I felt the tribal pirates were underserved a bit, and there were a few content editing snafus, and I was again surprised by coming to the ending when I did (a problem I have with many none-printed books. Overall the meat of this one is bloody and tasty.

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this fast and fun entry featuring both Conan and Bêlit that felt a bit more Howardian than some of the previous entries.

[Clint · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a strong effort. It didn’t feel Howardian. If you’re doing a Conan AND Belit story, you better bring your A-Game.

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The not very good Conan pastiches continue.
Conan and Belit fuck up some merchants, take their stuff and leave them to die.
Conan gives over explained orders to people who have been sailing as long as him.
Am I outraged when frog guys fuck up the pirate village and take their stuff? It's hard to not see that as fairplay, frankly.
Belit calls herself Queen of the Black Coast outloud? Is that a thing.
The witches hut is more a catalog of stuff than a description. No mood at all.
"We near our destination". Thank you explanatory Conan.
The black dudes are smearing on charcoal? For stealth at night? Is that a thing?
"Thugarths proximity leaches the very warmth from the tropical waters." Thank you occult expert Belit. "The creatures must have summoned it through their ceremonial portal." Again, thank you occult expert Belit.
There is no emotional weight to any of this. Things happen. I don't feel the need for vengeance that drives these characters to attack Cthulhu. I just don't . I don't feel the horror that Cthulhu esque monsters should have. I don't feel anything.
This series has almost lost me.
Oden, really really good. Read his.
John C. Hocking, not terribly Howardian, but good.
Brian Anderson was pretty good. It was interesting. I cared.
Past that this series has been mediocre at best. This one doesn't live up to that.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast paced story with an abrupt ending. The strengths of this story lie in its great descriptions and use of vocabulary. I didn’t buy Conan praying to Crom though.

[Andrew Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tale is interesting enough on its own, though I would prefer it with other short tales, different characters, and not to seek out alone, especially in regards to Conan and Bêlit. The reverence and fear of Nyxa within Bêlit's community didn't sit right with me, as I cannot see Conan nor Bêlit in that situation. Nyxa's foreknowledge at knowing what the threat is, and where to find them, as well as to have at least one conveniently timed trick up her sleeve for Bêlit made it a little juvenile. Conan giving a quick uncharacteristic prayer to Crom echoes John Milius' Conan more than Howard's. Not one of my favorites but not a bad story.

Bèlit
Bone Whispers by Michael Stackpole 3/5
Shipwrecked by V. Castro 3/5

Bèlit & Conan
Terror from the Abyss by Henry Herz 3/5

Bran Mak Morn
Red Waves of Slaughter by Steven L. Shrewsbury 3/5

Conan
Black Starlight by John C. Hocking 5/5
The Child by Brian D. Anderson 4/5
Halls of Immortal Darkness by Laird Barron 3/5
Lethal Consignment by Shaun Hamill 3/5
Lord of the Mount by Stephen Graham Jones 4/5
Shadow of Vengeance by Scott Oden 4/5

El Borak
The Siege of Lamakan by James Lovegrove 4/5

Kull & Brule if you know what's good for you
The Talons of Deep Time by Francesco Dimitri 5/5

Solomon Kane
Banquet of Souls by Steven Savile 4/5
The Hound of God by Jonathan Maberry 5/5

[Taylor Woolstenhulme · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Thugath's proximity leaches the very warmth from the tropical waters."

Listen, that's not dialogue - it's descriptive text from a D&D module. There's a lot to grumble about here. The complete lack of characterization for anyone not named Conan and Belit. The objectification of women - the prose itself wholly presents the kidnapped women as property of their male partners. The froglike Deep Ones being a credible threat until the narrative demands they're not. The prayer to Crom. The abrupt ending.

Regarding the prayer to Crom, I'm sure it's gonna be the primary issue most Conan nerds will have with Terror from the Abyss. Crom is a distinctly American god, in that his domain is effectively bootstrap theory. That's why Howard would never let Conan pray in the original canon, as Conan is meant to be the Ultimate Self-Starter. This is a point lost to many of the pastiche writers. I once had a simple criteria (is the situation worse than anything he experiences in Howard's work? if yes, fuck it, pray away) but I've ended up against it as a whole.

This is the worst of the Heroic Legends short stories, tragically not the overall worst Conan pastiche.

[Henry Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, I did not enjoy this story. It started with such great potential, and then it just became a caricature of a Conan pastiche. The dialogue felt unnatural. Conan didn't act and speak as most others have written. There are scenes that are just thrown in that don't advance the plot or illustrate anything about the characters, and felt it was just padding.

Of all the releases from Heroic Signature, this one missed the mark by a large margin, IMO.

[Matt Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howardian pirates vs Lovecraftian fish-men

Three and a half stars, really.

The classic Howard Conan tale "Queen of the Black Coast" has always presented a unique lure for pastiche writers, in that the middle portion of the 30-odd-page novelette spans years of Conan's life painted in broad strokes - specifically his "Bonny & Clyde of the High Seas" phase with the titular pirate queen - lending tantalizing possibilities for fleshing out those adventures/that relationship. At the outset, Herz seems primed to fully embrace depicting the couple as full-on antiheros (as the aforementioned broad strokes of the original story heavily suggest...well, more than suggest, really). Instead, he quickly circumnavigates this (albeit in a surprising, interesting way) by revealing Belit's pirate crew to be maritime family men, whose home comes under threat from unambiguously loathsome supernatural menace. From there, the tale just hits the ground running, and where it lacks in satisfying realization of its ideas (or for that matter, almost any sense of the defining romantic/sexual chemistry between Conan and Belit), it delivers the goods as a fun, nonstop wild ride.

[NOLA Bert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. Partly because of how uneven the Heroic Legends prose line has been and partly because I knew nothing about Herz before reading this story. Seeing that Herz is mostly a children’s book author surprises me with how hardcore this story is. Set during Conan’s time with Bêlit, the pirates of the Tigress face a Lovecraftian horror that made me think, “Of course, why didn’t I think of that!” I think my biggest complaint with the story is that the threat here might rival that of the threat in the “Queen of the Black Coast.” I think purists would object to the introduction of a “god” or Deep One never before mentioned by REH or Lovecraft. But purists don’t read pastiche I think. They’d also not like Conan praying to Crom, which I found a minor quibble. That never kept me from liking the Conan the Barbarian (1982) movie.

[Mark Tallen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story, only available currently as an ebook, published by Titan Books for £1.99 and $1.99. A fast paced short story that doesn't let up. Worthy of 3 stars in my opinion.
September (Cimmerian September 2024) has been a month for me to read some pastiche Conan stories. I've had a very enjoyable time doing so. At some point in the next couple of months, I hope to start reading John C. Hocking's first Conan novel, The Emerald Lotus. I've heard very good things about his Conan pastiche.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like this series is losing it's momentum. Not a terrible Conan pastiche but not a great one. A decent read if you have a half hour to kill and don't have a Howard original on you.

[S.wagenaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Fast moving, plenty of action and some slimy fish/frog men for Conan and Belit to carve up. Not a lot of character development or depth for secondary characters, but the story is too short to go deep, and it’s really not necessary anyway. It ain’t Robert E Howard, but still a fun and entertaining read.

[Gary Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conan and Belit

Conan, Belit, and crew return to their hideout only to find it has been attacked and some women taken by frog like creatures. So they vow to search, rescue the women, and get even with the creatures.

A good short story and besides who could ask for more than Conan, Belit, and the Tigress............

[Josh Lent · Rating 3 out of 5]

smells like fish

Simple but entertaining Conan story. Could have used some twists or set backs even, it was a straight ahead ride to the finish. the fight scenes were descriptive and exciting.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rousing Conan short

This is my first Henry Herz story. It is very evocative of Howard’s style. This is a nice quick read.