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Issue 49
ISSUE 49 : Tobias is a lonely man. He collects vintage comics and finds it difficult to connect with women after many humiliations. Until he meets Trish, the love of his life. But all is not as it seems. A darkly comic short tale of love, loneliness and an obsession with Billy Bunter.
- GenresHorror
Nook
First published December 21, 2011
13 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Hughes
16 books101 followersEx writer/director of promos and commercials, loving writing for the writing and not the pay - which is fortunate since I rarely get any!
I enjoy reading and writing the impossible made possible and in my writing use the vitality of cross-genre and magic realism to explore as many major themes as I can cram in, without slowing the storyline or plot development. It's what makes me happy and keeps me relatively sane. My son, when only five, asked me 'How can I be happy'? My answer was 'If what you are doing isn't working, stop doing it and do something else.' Not very clever perhaps, but anything else is madness.
***FREE Chapters of my supernatural thriller AND SOON THE SONG here: http://wp.me/p24Exb-av or if you want to prevent me from starving you could buy it from Amazon here: UK: http://tiny.cc/80h9bx
USA: http://tiny.cc/d7h9bx
***Goodreaders can read FREE chapters of my cross-genre novel, NORTHMAN, here: http://wp.me/s24Exb-northman or buy the full fat book here: UK: http://tiny.cc/77bfow US:http://tiny.cc/dfcfow
FREE Audiobook of my 'darkly comic' short story ISSUE 49, narrated by the author (me), here: http://wp.me/p24Exb-ah
******
Currently working on a third cross-genre novel which should be published within the year. Many thanks to Goodreaders who have downloaded my stories and extra thanks to those who have reviewed them - it's much appreciated.
******
Personal details: I have a fondness for the 'Lumberjack' song by Monty Python; enjoy the Kaiser Chiefs, Nickelback and Gustav Holst. I drink single malt Islay whiskey, like intelligent dogs, 'Casablanca', courageous people, classic cars, hot cross buns, F1, Malta, Derbyshire, the Okenfenokee swamp of Georgia, Orson Welles, reading, mediaeval history, 'Blade Runner'(Director's cut), ghost stories, Haiku, Vikings and climbing small hills whilst pretending they are mountains.
There's other stuff...
I enjoy reading and writing the impossible made possible and in my writing use the vitality of cross-genre and magic realism to explore as many major themes as I can cram in, without slowing the storyline or plot development. It's what makes me happy and keeps me relatively sane. My son, when only five, asked me 'How can I be happy'? My answer was 'If what you are doing isn't working, stop doing it and do something else.' Not very clever perhaps, but anything else is madness.
***FREE Chapters of my supernatural thriller AND SOON THE SONG here: http://wp.me/p24Exb-av or if you want to prevent me from starving you could buy it from Amazon here: UK: http://tiny.cc/80h9bx
USA: http://tiny.cc/d7h9bx
***Goodreaders can read FREE chapters of my cross-genre novel, NORTHMAN, here: http://wp.me/s24Exb-northman or buy the full fat book here: UK: http://tiny.cc/77bfow US:http://tiny.cc/dfcfow
FREE Audiobook of my 'darkly comic' short story ISSUE 49, narrated by the author (me), here: http://wp.me/p24Exb-ah
******
Currently working on a third cross-genre novel which should be published within the year. Many thanks to Goodreaders who have downloaded my stories and extra thanks to those who have reviewed them - it's much appreciated.
******
Personal details: I have a fondness for the 'Lumberjack' song by Monty Python; enjoy the Kaiser Chiefs, Nickelback and Gustav Holst. I drink single malt Islay whiskey, like intelligent dogs, 'Casablanca', courageous people, classic cars, hot cross buns, F1, Malta, Derbyshire, the Okenfenokee swamp of Georgia, Orson Welles, reading, mediaeval history, 'Blade Runner'(Director's cut), ghost stories, Haiku, Vikings and climbing small hills whilst pretending they are mountains.
There's other stuff...
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 6, 2012
It's not often that a plot twist takes me by complete surprise. The twist in this story caused my jaw to drop. Issue 49 is funny and creepy, well written, and totally entertaining.
August 3, 2017
Everything a short story should be !!! A good story about two lonely people finding love .... and just when you think you know where the plot is going, BAM! The ending which I did not see coming.
A thoroughly enjoyable read!!
A thoroughly enjoyable read!!
October 24, 2015
Issue 49 by J. D. Hughes Tobias has a big title for a little, boring job. He finds himself single just in time for a midlife crisis. He’s become accustomed to mediocrity, perhaps even comfortable with it. Women have always been a mystery to him and yet he feels socially obligated to keep giving it a try. His one true passion is the Billy Bunter comics, which he started reading in his youth and which he collects as an adult.
Much of the story is told in an even pace, reflecting the slow, yet steady, trod of Tobias’s life. His meals are often some questionable frozen entree from the market. He always shows up for work and gets his 8 hours a day in. He dutifully shows up to dinner parties and awkward coffees that well meaning friends and family arrange so that he can meet a potential lady friend. He’s stumbled painfully all his life in the dating field and after so many years of awkward rejections, he’s considering giving it up.
Nearly 2/3 of the way into the story, we finally meet Trish (who is noted in the description of the story so I don’t feel spoilery mentioning her here). They develop a true connection over old comics, including the Billy Bunter ones. Pretty soon, Tobias has decided she is the one and he has to take the chance, possibly facing the greatest rejection of his life. The pace of the story does pick up a little with Trish’s entrance.
And then we reach the end. That was a surprise! I wasn’t expecting the ending. Tobias and Trish both had a secret or two. In retrospect, perhaps a savvy reader could have guessed Tobias’s big secret. But Trish’s secret completely blind sided me. Essentially, we had plenty of carefully laid build up concerning Tobias and his lonely life. Then we have a very quick, whirlwind romance followed by BWAM! The End. I would have enjoyed this tale a little more if things had been drawn out a bit more in the last third of the story.
I listened to the free audio version of this book, which can be found at the author’s website.
Narration: J. D. Hughes lets you know right away that this is his first attempt at narrating a story, so I won’t judge him too harshly. You can see he tried hard with the first few female voices and they felt forced and I think they were spliced in too. By the time he comes to Trish’s voice, he is much more confident and her character’s voice sounds natural. Hughes also tossed in some music in between scene changes. At first, this was nice as it totally matched Tobias’s humdrum, just strolling through live existence. But then as the story turns a little romantically exciting and then suspenseful, these little music clips stayed the same. They no longer matched the tone of the story. Over all, I think it was a decent first attempt and Hughes just needs some practice and polish.
Much of the story is told in an even pace, reflecting the slow, yet steady, trod of Tobias’s life. His meals are often some questionable frozen entree from the market. He always shows up for work and gets his 8 hours a day in. He dutifully shows up to dinner parties and awkward coffees that well meaning friends and family arrange so that he can meet a potential lady friend. He’s stumbled painfully all his life in the dating field and after so many years of awkward rejections, he’s considering giving it up.
Nearly 2/3 of the way into the story, we finally meet Trish (who is noted in the description of the story so I don’t feel spoilery mentioning her here). They develop a true connection over old comics, including the Billy Bunter ones. Pretty soon, Tobias has decided she is the one and he has to take the chance, possibly facing the greatest rejection of his life. The pace of the story does pick up a little with Trish’s entrance.
And then we reach the end. That was a surprise! I wasn’t expecting the ending. Tobias and Trish both had a secret or two. In retrospect, perhaps a savvy reader could have guessed Tobias’s big secret. But Trish’s secret completely blind sided me. Essentially, we had plenty of carefully laid build up concerning Tobias and his lonely life. Then we have a very quick, whirlwind romance followed by BWAM! The End. I would have enjoyed this tale a little more if things had been drawn out a bit more in the last third of the story.
I listened to the free audio version of this book, which can be found at the author’s website.
Narration: J. D. Hughes lets you know right away that this is his first attempt at narrating a story, so I won’t judge him too harshly. You can see he tried hard with the first few female voices and they felt forced and I think they were spliced in too. By the time he comes to Trish’s voice, he is much more confident and her character’s voice sounds natural. Hughes also tossed in some music in between scene changes. At first, this was nice as it totally matched Tobias’s humdrum, just strolling through live existence. But then as the story turns a little romantically exciting and then suspenseful, these little music clips stayed the same. They no longer matched the tone of the story. Over all, I think it was a decent first attempt and Hughes just needs some practice and polish.
November 21, 2012
Wow, I did NOT see that ending coming! This was a very enjoyable story. There were a few places that were a bit hard for me to follow. I think this wasn't due to a real deficiency in the writing, but more a result of differences in speech patterns between Brits and Americans.
Overall, quite a good read, and very much worth the time! In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I must be a bit vague here, but there were a few elements of the ending that I don't necessarily feel were needed. However, they didn't detract from the story in a major way. I think they primarily served to push the twist ending into the realms of the truly bizarre.
Good stuff!
Overall, quite a good read, and very much worth the time! In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I must be a bit vague here, but there were a few elements of the ending that I don't necessarily feel were needed. However, they didn't detract from the story in a major way. I think they primarily served to push the twist ending into the realms of the truly bizarre.
Good stuff!
April 8, 2012
Issue 49 is a true classic in the suspense/horror genre. It is funny and horrific by turns with a protagonist who we cannot help but feel for. Tobias is a great character with a fairly unpleasant secret, but even in this short, we want him to succeed because his life is so awful.
It has all the twists and turns you could expect in any short story and I would defy anybody to guess the end!
Excellent! I will be buying more of this author.
It has all the twists and turns you could expect in any short story and I would defy anybody to guess the end!
Excellent! I will be buying more of this author.
January 28, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this short read. Creepy yet with added humour i really felt for Poor Tobias a lonely man who collects comics and who doesn't have much of a social life, he craves some female attention but struggles with his awkwardness and past down falls. Until he meets a woman who shares his interests in life and he couldn't be happier. What could possibly go wrong?
This is a dark twisted tale with a shocking ending. Great suspense and expertly written. Brilliant.
This is a dark twisted tale with a shocking ending. Great suspense and expertly written. Brilliant.
April 24, 2012
This is a terrific read! The writing is of a very high standard and reads like a mix of Stephen King and M.R. James. If you want a funny, horrific short story then this is the one to go for. The main characters are splendidly drawn and the story had me guessing right until the end. Classic stuff. Excellent.
November 23, 2012
This is not my usual genre but I'd read an extract from his new novel on his website and enjoyed it, so decided to see what else he'd written. Imagine a touch of Edgar Alan Poe blended with Neil Gaiman's humour and you get a slight essence of this story. Very witty, very well written and very unexpected: also strangely moving. I now intend to download his novel, Northman.
December 6, 2012
What a story!
Short (16 pages).
Free (as in, yeah, no paying involved, here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...)
And a total mindfuck.
I like that. A lot.
Short (16 pages).
Free (as in, yeah, no paying involved, here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...)
And a total mindfuck.
I like that. A lot.
September 11, 2014
This surprised me. Not because it's good (I very much enjoy JD Hughes' books), but because the ending was so wonderfully unique. Get the audiobook narrated by the author (download from his blog)
February 23, 2015
Tobias and Trisha each have their secrets. When they marry and the secrets are revealed the unimaginable happens in this amazing short story.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews