Midlist Writer: Post-Apocalyptic A to Z: Doomsday

Friday, 4 April 2014

Post-Apocalyptic A to Z: Doomsday

We're going to take a religious turn with the Post-Apocalyptic A to Z and talk about Doomsday. Many religions predict the end of the world and the most influential religions in the West--Christianity, Judaism, and Islam--all teach that the world will someday be wiped clean.

Despite the rather grisly depictions of what Doomsday will be like, the faithful don't seem to worry about it overmuch. One of the points of millennial religions, of course, is to prepare oneself for the End Times. Some less mainstream religious factions predict the end coming very soon, or even try to bring it about.

Personally, I think we should just assume that the world isn't going to end anytime soon and that we should take better care of it. "God helps those who help themselves," as they say. (Actually that line isn't in the Bible or Koran, it originated in ancient Greece).

End Times literature has always been popular, and perhaps the most famous series of Doomsday books is the Left Behind series, which covers the adventures of people who didn't get taken up in the Rapture. I've never read these myself and was wondering if any readers out there could share their impression of these books?

Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, by Viktor Vasnetsov. Painted in 1887. Click here to see a full size as this format really doesn't do it justice.

9 comments:

Jules said...: I agree, it's not going to end some time soon and we should all take better care of it. Great post. Happy A-Z ing :); 4 April 2014 at 02:29
Cifar said...: Everything comes to an end so will be the world but It's not near I am sure.
I have followed you and
I am participating in A to Z challenge at The Other Side; 4 April 2014 at 04:01
Cathrina Constantine said...: I like what you said about not ending any time soon and we should take care of the Earth! I've seen and read a lot about Doomsday and the Four Horsemen. Recently the tv show Sleepy Hollow is all about the four horsemen.; 4 April 2014 at 04:16
Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: We have to keep living no matter when the end is coming.
Haven't read the books.; 4 April 2014 at 06:06
Chrys Fey said...: Doomsday! What an excellent pick for D! I don't think we're anywhere near the end of our world, but all great things come to an end. In the meantime, we certainly do have to take better care of Earth.; 4 April 2014 at 10:41
Unknown said...: Yes we should take better care of it, but that doesn't mean I'm not building a bunker (kidding); 4 April 2014 at 12:05
Suzanne said...: I agree :) It may well end at some point, but we should enjoy every day and take care of each other and the planet!
Suzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
xx; 4 April 2014 at 12:33
Sunday Visitor said...: Nice word for D!!; 5 April 2014 at 00:36
KC Kendricks said...: I'd never thought of Doomsday for the D-day post. Very interesting theme for this year's challenge.

A to Z participant at Between the Keys; 5 April 2014 at 04:32

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?

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Friday, 4 April 2014

Post-Apocalyptic A to Z: Doomsday

9 comments: