Up From Hell

by David Drake

Taranis and his men forage for the collected tribes of the Crow as they march against the Romans, but he brings back more than he bargained for when he frees a beautiful and mysterious prisoner, Alpnu. Together they face a power sealed in a cave for millennia and newly risen from Hell, in David Drake's story Up From Hell.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

41 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2016

About the author

David Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.

Reviews

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to Day 9 of my 2021 25 Days of Short Stories Christmas Advent Calendar. Each day I will be reading a short story from the collection of over 600 short stories and novellas available for free on Tor.com. This is a collection of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. I will be letting fate (and the random number generator) decide what I read each day.

Day 1: The Art of Space Travel by Nina Allan
Day 2: These Deathless Bones by Cassandra Khaw
Day 3: Swift, Brutal Retaliation by Meghan McCarron> (Trigger warning: Emotional abuse of children and women)
Day 4: Freeze Warning by Susan Krinard
Day 5: Daughter of Necessity by Marie Brennan
Day 6: The Girl in the High Tower by Genniger Albin
Day 7: Come See the Living Dryad by Theadora Goss
Day 8: Black Friday by Alex Irvine
Day 9 Up From Hell by David Drake

Man I had the worst Head Cold. No it was not COVID, just your average head splitting head cold. It has put me behind in my 25 days of Christmas Tor.com Short Story Advent Calendar.
Up from Hell is set in a magical Celtic Earth. Taranis, not the God, just a really good warrior is scouting when he and his companions come upon a cave full of trouble. I enjoyed this story. There was action but not a lot of character development. I could easily see this as a start of a series. Please don't get me started about the Freudian monster with the killer lady bits!

You can read Up From Hell by David Drake here.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great historical fantasy-romance. Fully up to standard. Recommended for David Drake fans, and others. 4 stars.

[Sachin Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short twisted little read from Tor.com - I should probably be going back to pick up rest of David Drake's historical fantasy books to make more sense of the story - but seemed like a neat little side adventure for one of his main protagonists from his series, a mix of horror and adventure. Good fast solid read. Inspired to pick up more of David Drake now.

[David Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drake Strikes Again

Didn't realize this was a short story. I started and didn't put it down till I drew up short when it ended all to soon. Typical Drake fantasy, part war fantasy part sword's and sorcery all good action with elements of Lovecraft thrown in. Like I said too short.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A historical fantasy short story of Taranis, a Gaulish warrior who rescues a mysterious noblewoman from a Roman villa when he and his men are on a supply raid. The world was interesting and the added element of magic and supernatural creatures was well done. I'm interested in more!

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this was set in Gaulish/Roman era France, this almost felt like a Conan story. Very masculine, but still a pretty entertaining read. I would probably read a series set in this world.

[David Harriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Terror

This is a David Drake horror story, with strange magic, horrible death, and a terrible monster. The getting there is fun, the characters manage to shine in a few pages, and the action gets quickly wild.
Recommended.

[A.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taranis scavenges with his men for food to feed the armies of the thousand chiefs. He often takes the advice of his cousin Galo who has a knack for finding things. But the day he leads them to a Roman villa where a wizard fights and a regal woman is held prisoner, everything changes.
***
A short story on the Tor website. Read it here:
http://www.tor.com/2016/08/18/up-from...
Typos… houseman I think is meant to be horseman, and life is meant to be lift.
And if I’m noticing typos, the story has lost me.
The narrative shifts back and forwards, and the ending just didn’t work for me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it just felt too much like a Conan style adventure - super strong leader guy beloved by his men, wins magic girl (who doesn’t bother with anyone else until she meets him) and defeats demon? Idk
And usually the Tor covers make me green with envy but this one has missed that too. All I keep seeing is the odd crease in his right arm and his right hand looks deformed. Plus, the beastie was meant to look like this:

The creature moved toward me in the moonlight, as pale as drifting fog. I could see it clearly, silhouetted against the clouds. I could see the sword still gripped in my right hand, but my muscles were frozen from the rap on the head.
The creature paused, looking down with its meaningless smile. Its groin opened and the member extended toward me. The teeth set around its circular mouth were needles like those of a dogfish.

Ewww… but the illustration misses the mark and usually Tor nail it.
And oddly that makes me disappointed. I’m used to the high standard.
2 stars

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining short story, set at the dawn of the Roman empire. Taranis and his men forage for the collected tribes of the Crow as they march against the Romans, but he brings back more than he bargained for when he frees a beautiful and mysterious prisoner, Alpnu. Together they face a power sealed in a cave for millennia and newly risen from Hell.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting. And not what I would have called historical, honestly. It seemed like a new world I'd never read about. And it was really well written (unlike this "review"), which is really what I am looking for nowadays. I have no time for poorly written nonsense even if the nonsense is spectacular.

[Bobbi Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would read more of this. It's a good short story on its own.