TROUBLE WRITES AHEAD

It leads tothe end of the world.

An influencer. A priest. A goat.

And one man who insists—

“Could be worse, mate.”

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Cover of The End of the World by David Anthony Phillips

The stories so far

Four adventures. Several letters. One Gladstone bag nobody else can lift.

Cover of Gentleman of the Road and Beyond by David Anthony Phillips

A short film

“The Famous Disappointment”

Book One

Gentleman of the Road and Beyond

A chocolate date leads to a date with destiny. Zacharias turns up for both. Eventually.

A cocoa-scented letter leads Zacharias Zimmermann III to Diriyah, with his silent companion Henry Woodworm at his side and a Gladstone bag nobody else can lift.

Soon there are chocolate dates so boring they put people to sleep, five gossiping camels, the mythical Souk of the Sands preparing for the Moonlight Camel Marathon, and a chai shop that serves everything except an honest answer.

“…blimey.”
— Zacharias Zimmermann III

Available now in paperback and on Kindle.

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Cover of No Time Like the Right Time by David Anthony Phillips

Cover of No Peace Till Christmas by David Anthony Phillips

For readers 11+
—and grown-ups who never grew up.

A four-book Kindle collection

The First Four Adventures

Four complete stories. One Kindle collection.

Buy now€8.99Amazon.de price

Available now on Kindle.

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A short film

“A Matter of Awareness”

Book Two

No Time Like the Right Time

Zacharias has never much cared for being filed away. He’s not the only one.

A fading note takes Zacharias and his silent companion, Henry Woodworm, from the Orient Express to Berlin, where ZoZo has noticed that everyone follows the rules, whether they make sense or not.

Soon there are clocks running backwards, rooftop cats in Istanbul who seem to know everything, a grey door leading to the Central Office of Certain Outcomes — devoted to making sure nothing remains uncertain for long — and a chase through the streets in a food truck playing La Cucaracha.

ZoZo has questions. The Office would rather she didn’t.

“I should coco.”
— Zacharias Zimmermann III

Available now in paperback and on Kindle.

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A short film

“Turbo Fish”

Book Three

No Peace Till Christmas

Zacharias and Henry’s silent night has not accounted for Electric Fish Taste.

Zacharias Zimmermann III has come to a snowbound cabin for one quiet Christmas week.

No work.
No letters.
No trouble.

Then Electric Fish Taste arrive.

Three Japanese heavy-metal musicians. Three members of management. One rice cooker. And an ice-cream van that has taken a wrong turn.

They have a Christmas Eve concert in Kiruna. Unfortunately, their phones have no data, the roads are disappearing beneath the snow, and the van is about to have a particularly difficult day.

Soon Zacharias and Henry are heading north through Christmas markets, unexpected crowds and increasingly unreasonable transport arrangements, while the rest of the world discovers Electric Fish Taste rather faster than anyone intended.

Heavy metal from Japan.

“Quite.”
— Zacharias Zimmermann III

Available now in paperback and on Kindle.

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A short film

“Thereabouts”

Book Four

The End of the World

Zacharias and Henry discover that “Thereabouts” is not particularly well signposted.

Zacharias Zimmermann III has received an invitation. Unfortunately, it appears to be for the end of everything.

The location is BACK O’ BOURKE.
The instructions are less helpful.
Make your way thereabouts immediately.

Soon Zacharias and Henry are crossing Australia with Keith, a priest from Mount Hopeless who is quite certain Armageddon is approaching, #ColaCola, who is quite certain it isn’t, and Gerhard, a goat with an increasingly complicated relationship with the law.

There are buses.
Bicycles.
Police officers.
Disguises.

And a Never-Ending Road Map that appears to know where they are going, even when nobody else does.

Zacharias has been asked to contribute substantially to the End of the World. He intends to do exactly that. Whatever it turns out to mean.

“Apparently, none of this was necessary.”
— Zacharias Zimmermann III

Available now in paperback and on Kindle.

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A gentleman of very particular habits

Meet Zacharias

Zacharias Zimmermann III set out on his Wanderjahre—the old German custom in which young craftsmen travel before settling down—a good while ago. He still hasn’t finished.

He travels light, by most standards: a black hat, a twisted walking stick, a Never-Ending Road Map and a Gladstone bag that appears to contain rather more than it should.

Letters have a habit of finding him, often before the trouble they describe has properly begun.

His companion, Henry Woodworm, goes everywhere he does and says considerably less about it.

“Onward, Henry.”

About the author

David Anthony Phillips

David Anthony Phillips spent too many years as a creative copywriter before deciding that Zacharias Zimmermann III had waited long enough.

He lives in Hamburg. He has never ridden an emotionally challenged camel, been chased through the streets of Istanbul in a food truck, ridden in a one-horse open sleigh with a Japanese heavy metal band, or attempted to save the world with an influencer, a priest and a goat. But he did once own a Gladstone bag.

Pulp Fiction for Kids?