Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Apocalypse Tango: A 5-story Collection
    Apocalypse Tango: A 5-story Collection
    Apocalypse Tango: A 5-story Collection
    Ebook70 pages1 hour

    Apocalypse Tango: A 5-story Collection

    By Dale T. Phillips

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    How does the world end? Self-launched bombs, asteroid from space, rain of fire, alien invasion, or virus and pandemic? Maybe none of those. Maybe it's giant lobsters. Or zombies. Here are five different takes on the end of the world-- as we know it. Some methods are long, drawn-out affairs, others threaten us in the blink of an eye. Even if our take on Mayan calendars was all misinterpretation, there are plenty of other terrors that we could fall prey to. Here are stories to make you think, and some to make you laugh. Come do the Apocalypse Tango and dance while the world burns.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGenretarium Publishing
    Release dateJan 23, 2014
    ISBN9781386925675
    Apocalypse Tango: A 5-story Collection
    Author

    Dale T. Phillips

    A lifelong student of mysteries, Maine, and the martial arts, Dale T. Phillips has combined all of these into the Zack Taylor series. His travels and background allow him to paint a compelling picture of a man with a mission, but one at odds with himself and his new environment. A longtime follower of mystery fiction, the author has crafted a hero in the mold of Travis McGee, Doc Ford, and John Cain, a moral man at heart who finds himself faced with difficult choices in a dangerous world. But Maine is different from the mean, big-city streets of New York, Boston, or L.A., and Zack must learn quickly if he is to survive. Dale studied writing with Stephen King, and has published over 70 short stories, non-fiction, and more. He has appeared on stage, television (including Jeopardy), and in an independent feature film. He co-wrote and acted in a short political satire film. He has traveled to all 50 states, Mexico, Canada, and through Europe. He can be found at www.daletphillips.com

    Read more from Dale T. Phillips

    Related authors

    Related to Apocalypse Tango

    Related ebooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Nine Haunting Postapocalyptic Novels

      Feb 3, 2022

      The paradox of imagined apocalypses is that they’re always more about the present than the future. Here's a list of a few haunting and evocative titles. The post Nine Haunting Postapocalyptic Novels appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Mar 1, 2019

      I was like you once, a sealed plastic bag of water filters floating on the sea. I thought my numbers proved my time and space on earth. I thought having children was a way of creating more love. I thought thoughts I was ashamed to speak in case they

      15 min read

    • Article

      Books

      May 29, 2023

      Books
      6 min read

    • Article

      For Humanity

      May 7, 2020

      For Humanity
      3 min read

    • Article

      As the World Collapses

      Jul 27, 2017

      As the World Collapses
      7 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Sep 12, 2022

      Books
      6 min read

    • Article

      Thirteen Ways Inside My Apocalyptic Heart

      Jul 17, 2019

      Debut novelist Kimi Eisele's list of her favorite world-ending art, including works by Hieronymus Bosch, the United Nations, and Dr. Seuss. The post Thirteen Ways Inside My Apocalyptic Heart appeared first on The Millions.

      9 min read

    • Article

      Post-Apocalypse Now: The Hard Work of Cli-Fi

      Feb 8, 2019

      What will our future look like? How fast and for how long will things change? Are we mentally and physically prepared to deal with the impacts of these changes on our communities and socioeconomic structures? The post Post-Apocalypse Now: The Hard Wo

      10 min read

    • Article

      Why We’re Drawn Into Darkness

      Oct 10, 2019

      Robert Macfarlane grew up obsessed twith climbing mountains and nearly died on several occasions as he scaled some of the world’s high peaks. He found a safer way to indulge his alpine passions, writing about the mystique of mountains. As someone dra

      6 min read

    • Article

      How the Lark Got Her Crest

      May 30, 2023

      How the Lark Got Her Crest
      15 min read

    • Article

      Until The Sea Closed Over Us And The Light Was Gone

      Jul 1, 2020

      —Dante, Canto XXVI But if the truth is dreamed of toward the morning—El Paso Although it was really last summer’s song,all this summer Despacito played on as slower then I turned myself to gazeupon Juarez. The summer everything hurts my eyes, a dozen

      6 min read

    • Article

      Older than Old

      Jan 17, 2022

      Older than Old
      3 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Jul 1, 2023

      People let themselves down so hard they took to clappingwhen the plane lands. Sometimes even at the creditsof a movie. Their funerals turned out to be for the livingall along. You wouldn’t know how much they hatedcrowded trains by the way they kept b

      3 min read

    • Article

      Everything Happens SOMEWHERE

      Jun 15, 2020

      Everything, even thought, takes place somewhere. When remembering ordinary happenings and previous conversations, most people automatically recall where they took place and at what time. If not, they may ponder, “Now, where was I?” For more important

      8 min read

    • Article

      Roger’s profanisaurus

      Oct 13, 2022

      Roger’s profanisaurus
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Spectre Of The Past

      Jan 25, 2024

      The Spectre Of The Past
      6 min read

    • Article

      Six Poems

      Feb 28, 2023

      Dear C, At first Virgil’s poem is quite dull; equivocalnames of products at The Container Store: Elfa White Medium Drawer, Mesh NarrowRolling Cart (Medium Solution), Narrow Classic Mesh Box and the number of pirouetting starseach product attained. An

      5 min read

    • Article

      Where Is Black Life Lived?

      Jul 21, 2020

      Where Is Black Life Lived?
      6 min read

    • Article

      Chairman Of The Hoard

      May 13, 2022

      Chairman Of The Hoard
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Apocalypse Tango

    4/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Apocalypse Tango - Dale T. Phillips

      Copyright © 2012 Dale T. Phillips

      Cover Design copyright 2012 Melinda Phillips http://www.snapichic.com

      Yesterday and Today was first published in Space and Time, Summer 1996, and later in Atomjack, Issue #87

      God Save the Queen was first published in Kasma, March 2010

      Night of the Annoying Dead was first published in Flashes in the Dark, December, 2010

      Try these other works by Dale T. Phillips

      Shadow of the Wendigo (Supernatural Thriller)

      The Zack Taylor Mystery Series

      A Memory of Grief

      A Fall From Grace

      A Shadow on the Wall

      A Certain Slant of Light

      A Sharp Medicine

      Story Collections

      Fables and Fantasies (Fantasy)

      More Fables and Fantasies (Fantasy)

      Crooked Paths (Mystery/Crime)

      More Crooked Paths (Mystery/Crime)

      The Last Crooked Paths (Mystery/Crime)

      More Crooked Paths (Mystery/Crime)

      Strange Tales (Magic Realism, Paranormal)

      Apocalypse Tango (Science Fiction)

      Halls of Horror (Horror)

      Jumble Sale (Different Genres)

      The Big Book of Genre Stories (Different Genres)

      Non-fiction Career Help

      How to Improve Your Interviewing Skills

      With Other Authors

      ROGUE WAVE: BEST NEW England Crime Stories 2015

      Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories 2016

      Windward: Best New England Crime Stories 2017

      Insanity Tales

      Insanity Tales II: The Sense of Fear

      Sign up for my newsletter to get special offers

      http://www.daletphillips.com

      DEDICATION

      For all those who came before us, that we might live for a brief time here on Earth

      CONTENTS

      Foreword

      It seems we’ve been predicting the end of the world ever since the beginning of the world. These days, there are a number of all-too-likely scenarios for bringing down the curtain on our existence. Everyone has their favorite end-of-days cataclysm.

      We even have a large number of people who believe in (and in some cases are actively working for) an imminent, fiery end to humanity, in which, of course, they will be saved by their belief— belief mostly in their own innate special place in the universe, which exempts them from the horrible death awaiting the rest of us. Despite the fact that their own guidebook, the Bible, says they shall specifically not know when this time comes. Can’t even follow instructions their own rule book, but they know the plan. Read the manual, people— this time without ignoring the parts you don’t like.

      There’s also a show (or possibly several by now) on television about people preparing for Doomsday, by laying in stores of food in bunkers and stockpiling guns. In one, they had about 500 jars of pickled cucumber stored up, despite the fact that the nutritional value is mostly nil. And that’s gonna get boring real soon. What’s for dinner, Ma? Pickled cucumbers again? AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!—Cue sound of gunshots echoing in the bunker. The funniest (or saddest) part is, many have these well-stocked lairs for bunkering down in, but have some elaborate plan that involves leaving their home base! Their thousands of dollars and years of preparation are going down the tubes in a heartbeat, with the first armed gang they meet.

      Once, at a firing range, we saw a man pull out an automatic rifle. When asked what he could possibly need that for, he said For when things fall apart. Note that it was not if but when. Rambo-boy wants the world to collapse, so he can enact his sick fantasy of shooting hapless starving survivors. No doubt his perfect world then involves retiring to his lair for the purpose of repopulating the earth from his stock of nubile young women, who are grateful to him for saving them from the awful fate of those outside his fence. A very popular fantasy for a certain set.

      Apart from man-made deadly endings, there are natural disaster possibilities. Years ago, in Yellowstone Park, the ranger on duty told us we were standing on a giant volcano that stretched for miles. My conception of a volcano was one measly hill, but the whole park is a massive caldera, and if it erupted, like some overripe pimple, it would likely make our whole planet uninhabitable. Geologically, it’s overdue to erupt. Sure, it may be thousands of years— or it may be tomorrow. Got a volcano rider on your insurance?

      Forget the Mayan calendar nonsense, that dead horse should no longer be beaten. The Mayans did not predict the world coming to an end this year. We will likely ring in the New Year, even though we’ll have to do it without Dick Clark, who passed on this year.

      What about an

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1