Dinner For Two

by Michael J. Elliott

Imagine a world where slugs and snails are considered gourmet food, where anything living that moves could prevent you from starvation. In a post apocalyptic world, Gareth and Margaret try to maintain a semblence of normalacy by dining at one of the few remaining restaurants. The choice of food is limited and appears they may have to settle for rodent...until something much larger and more succulent suddenly becomes available. Dinner For Two will terrifying short story of a world where people will do anything to eat...and eat anything.

11 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2015

Reviews

[D.M. Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great post-apocalyptic tale

This is a great little story which was fun and interesting to read (if you like having your stomach turned that is!). It was dry and witty, grim and disturbing without being a gore-fest. The dialogue between the various people in the restaurant stood out to me as a strong point - it was well-written, a little funny and downright horrifying in places too!

A promising start for a new author. I look forward to more - he has real potential!

[Gertie]

Needs another cleanup to remove typos.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story, but it hits it's marks and got offstage.

Well done. Eewww, pun not intended.

You aren't sure what the patrons and maitre'd are until a ways through: apocalyptic survivors in the ruins of a formerly great metropolis, zombies, something else?

At an apocalypse restaurant, being all upper crust in a ruined town.

The setting and action is weird, and disgusting, and delightful.

The set pieces are well described.

Will definitely be looking up more by this author.

[J.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret and Gareth just want a decent meal, damn it. They're starving. But there's one problem; they live in a post apocalyptic world and good food is just hard to come by.
Well, lucky for them rat is on the menu.

Michael J Elliott has an eye for detail. If you're squeamish get over it and give this book a shot. It's short and well worth your time.

If you aren't squeamish, then get this book. This story is unique and darkly funny; horror at its finest.

[Joe Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What starts as a nice couple visiting a restaurant turns into something very twisted and not for the faint of heart. Look the nature of the text its probably something that's not for everyone. Luckily for the author I found it to be the opposite. I love how twisted this story was. The author is a great magician in this story. He holds very little back but yet does so in a tactful and constructive manner. He doesn't just throw gore and disgustingness nonchalantly, he builds an arch and helps keep a fluid flow to what you read. The story surprised me in how engaging it was, considering it really has no redeemable value or deep inter lying message. I suppose there is a bit of social commentary and psychology if you want to go above and beyond but really you are stretching to find a value for something whose value is very simple. This is for those of us who maybe got a kick out of Tales from the Crypt or those interesting Lloyd Kaufman Troma movies or even Peter Jackson's earlier horror romps. Quite a fun little tale spun here.

[Michael Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinner for Two, by Michael J Elliott is not a read for those with bad stomachs, but it is for everyone else. Dining out in a post-apocalytic world is a dichotomy. Imagine the Western civilization fighting for food like the rest of the world does now. The author has combined a thought-provoking story with a message and an image driven plot that works well together. I found myself laughing in parts. Honestly, I don't read this kind of material often, but I enjoyed it. It's short, as in short story, but long on message.

[John Clements · Rating 2 out of 5]

Formatting issues

I had a lot of issues with the text. Pages would go from white text on black, next page suddenly in a black text on white and not even at the same reading position. I believe I missed a few paragraphs besides having to re-read others. Needs to be cleaned up a bit.

[Kazz Mossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavenly is a restaurant where Margaret and Gareth go to eat. I don't want to give anything away from this short little story, but horror is as horror is! Beautiful written by the author, with some great descriptions that will make your stomach shift at the thought. Two great main characters with a little surprise about them that I didn't at first suspect.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice dinner out for Margaret and Gareth but all is not what is seems - a post-apocalyptic date night!

I'll definitely have this author on my "Look for" list.