03-The Thing in the Crypt

About this book

Before he was a king, he was a boy in chains. In The Thing in the Crypt, the young Conan the Cimmerian has broken free of a Hyperborean slave pen and now runs south through the black spruce forests, half-frozen, armed with nothing but a length of broken chain, with a starving wolf pack hard on his heels. This sword-and-sorcery tale from the Hyborian Age follows the sixteen-year-old barbarian as he heads towards the legendary kingdom of Zamora, with its dark-haired women, thief-cities and towers of spider-haunted mystery. His head is full of dreams of gold, jewels and glory in the rich lands of the South. He has no plan, no allies and no equipment, only raw strength and the iron stubbornness of the Cimmerian people. The story is part of the chronologically ordered Conan series, which traces the career of Robert E. Howard's famous hero from his earliest adventures. It opens with a short chronicle of the Hyborian world, then plunges straight into a desperate flight through the wilderness, where the cold, the wolves and the unknown mountains may prove to be only the beginning of the danger. If you enjoy classic heroic fantasy, savage action and dark mystery, this short tale is a fast and atmospheric read at around 5,000 words. Buy now and start reading instantly in your browser.

Author

L. Sprague De Camp

Length

~19 pages

Reading time

22 min

Chapters

7

Released

October 24, 2026

Languages

🇬🇧 EN · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇩🇪 DE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇧🇷 PT-BR · 🇲🇽 ES-MX · 🇵🇹 PT · 🇺🇦 UK · 🇨🇿 CS · 🇸🇰 SK · 🇬🇷 EL · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇹🇷 TR · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇷🇴 RO · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇭🇷 HR · 🇷🇸 SR · 🇸🇮 SL · 🇱🇹 LT · 🇱🇻 LV · 🇪🇪 ET · 🇸🇪 SV · 🇩🇰 DA · 🇳🇴 NB · 🇫🇮 FI · 🇯🇵 JA · 🇰🇷 KO · 🇨🇳 ZH · 🇹🇼 ZH-TW · 🇮🇩 ID · 🇻🇳 VI · 🇹🇭 TH · 🇮🇳 HI · 🇸🇦 AR · 🇮🇱 HE

Formats

eBook

Print format

Paperback, 13.5 × 21 cm, 32 pages

Age rating

Teen 13+