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Fifth Season
Two short stories about seasons, childhood and the end of the world. Over 11,000 words in total.
Fifth Season:
Duncan was nine years old on 5/5. That was the day the extra season came, barging in between Autumn and Winter. For him, it was the most exciting thing ever!
All the rest of the world wanted to know was: when will it end? And how much of the world will end with it?
Nineteen Seventy-Steve:
Steve’s summer is the best! He’s going to remember it forever.
But can his childhood memories survive being ruthlessly inspected by his own future selves?
Fifth Season:
Duncan was nine years old on 5/5. That was the day the extra season came, barging in between Autumn and Winter. For him, it was the most exciting thing ever!
All the rest of the world wanted to know was: when will it end? And how much of the world will end with it?
Nineteen Seventy-Steve:
Steve’s summer is the best! He’s going to remember it forever.
But can his childhood memories survive being ruthlessly inspected by his own future selves?
45 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 26, 2012
3 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
David Wailing
23 books59 followersI was born in Nineteen Davidey-Dave (all the best people were born that year) and live in London. I write contemporary fiction, a blend of mystery, thriller and humour.
My most recent novel is Under, a horror/mystery set on the London Underground. Both it and Signal Failure - a prelude short story available for free - are the result of a long-held fascination with the London Underground and its history.
As a native Londoner I have travelled on the Tube thousands of times, but it always feels like inhabiting a slightly different world to the city on the surface. The facts and figures of the Underground are just as fascinating as its mysteries and shadowy corners, and I hope my book does justice to both aspects.
I have five other novels available as Kindle ebooks: Auto, Auto 2, Bang, Duallists and Fake Kate.
My most recent novel is Under, a horror/mystery set on the London Underground. Both it and Signal Failure - a prelude short story available for free - are the result of a long-held fascination with the London Underground and its history.
As a native Londoner I have travelled on the Tube thousands of times, but it always feels like inhabiting a slightly different world to the city on the surface. The facts and figures of the Underground are just as fascinating as its mysteries and shadowy corners, and I hope my book does justice to both aspects.
I have five other novels available as Kindle ebooks: Auto, Auto 2, Bang, Duallists and Fake Kate.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 28, 2012
This is a short book comprised of two (longish) short stories and a few ‘Drabbles’ – one hundred word super-shorts. Fifth Season is the first of these longer stories and is set a little way into the future. It begins with a near-global panic and we follow it through the eyes and the understanding of a 9 year old boy – one with a particular interest and intelligence. Nineteen Seventy-Steve is set in the past. Mostly! Those of us who remember the 1970s will find a sudden smile twitching our faces as we recall television programmes, adverts and the like. The drabbles are especially intriguing. It’s quite a feat getting a ‘story’ into 100 words.
David’s writing is usually unfussy, modern, I might almost say suave. Here it is very different. He accurately speaks in a young boy's voice and persuades us to believe it’s a child telling us the stories. Have you ever listened to a youngster telling you something s/he’s excited about and said ‘Slow down, take a deep breath and tell me again.’? It’s a bit like that. The story comes excitedly, phrases trying to leapfrog over one another, in a convincingly child-like way. All in all, it’s very well done.
David’s writing is usually unfussy, modern, I might almost say suave. Here it is very different. He accurately speaks in a young boy's voice and persuades us to believe it’s a child telling us the stories. Have you ever listened to a youngster telling you something s/he’s excited about and said ‘Slow down, take a deep breath and tell me again.’? It’s a bit like that. The story comes excitedly, phrases trying to leapfrog over one another, in a convincingly child-like way. All in all, it’s very well done.
January 4, 2013
I really enjoyed both of these stories, both reminded me in some ways of Stephen Kings' writing, which is a good thing, a very good thing!
I was born in Nineteen seventy dave which is right next to nineteen seventy Steve and I thought this story was fantastic, everything about it resonated with me and for a brief time I was back in the summers of my childhood. Really well crafted was the way both stories had an underlying edge which made me feel that something sinister was just around the corner! Maybe this was because of the way it reminded me of Stephen King.
A thoroughly enjoyable read!
I was born in Nineteen seventy dave which is right next to nineteen seventy Steve and I thought this story was fantastic, everything about it resonated with me and for a brief time I was back in the summers of my childhood. Really well crafted was the way both stories had an underlying edge which made me feel that something sinister was just around the corner! Maybe this was because of the way it reminded me of Stephen King.
A thoroughly enjoyable read!
November 28, 2012
I really enjoyed these short stories about the seasons seen through the eyes of children. I particularly enjoyed the second story Nineteen Seventy-Steve which was full of wonderful imagery from my childhood. I'm not a sci-fi fan but do enjoy David Wailing's short stories in this genre. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys good science fiction and a trip down memory lane.
December 2, 2012
Two wonderful skilfully told stories told from the perspective of a young boy. I enjoyed them so much that I had to implore my husband to read them too. I've now read several stories by David Wailing and none of them disappoint.
January 2, 2019
I like david wailing but this is a bit of an also ran. The first story has some interest the rest is simply nondescript
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August 16, 2014Fifth Season by David Wailing
Fifth Season is a collection of two short stories and some drabbles. Both stories are written from a young boy’s point of view (though different boy’s involved) The first story, Fifth Season is set in the very near future and tells us of the coming of a new season. It is a quite apocalyptic theme, but still light-hearted in the telling as it is cleverly told through the eyes of a small boy. It is a well thought out and entertaining read.
The second tale is Nineteen Seventy Steve which at first viewing is a nostalgic look back at growing up in the Seventies. It brought back many fond memories of my own childhood at this time. The long hot heat wave summers’ of the mid-Seventies, the TV shows, music, and making tapes for your mates from the radio, (with people chattering in the background while you were trying to record). The tale took a twist towards the end, however, looking at the same boy over many generations. I have to wonder whether younger readers will get this tale, or for that matter, understand the fine art of entertaining oneself with some cardboard and some sticky tape, (not to mention a pair of Val’s Blue Peter knickers). I’m a little undecided on this story, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Finally, we are blessed with a small collection of Drabble gems as the third course in our delicious meal. The whole lot only took me a couple of hours to read, but it was time well spent. Bravo.
Fifth Season is a collection of two short stories and some drabbles. Both stories are written from a young boy’s point of view (though different boy’s involved) The first story, Fifth Season is set in the very near future and tells us of the coming of a new season. It is a quite apocalyptic theme, but still light-hearted in the telling as it is cleverly told through the eyes of a small boy. It is a well thought out and entertaining read.
The second tale is Nineteen Seventy Steve which at first viewing is a nostalgic look back at growing up in the Seventies. It brought back many fond memories of my own childhood at this time. The long hot heat wave summers’ of the mid-Seventies, the TV shows, music, and making tapes for your mates from the radio, (with people chattering in the background while you were trying to record). The tale took a twist towards the end, however, looking at the same boy over many generations. I have to wonder whether younger readers will get this tale, or for that matter, understand the fine art of entertaining oneself with some cardboard and some sticky tape, (not to mention a pair of Val’s Blue Peter knickers). I’m a little undecided on this story, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Finally, we are blessed with a small collection of Drabble gems as the third course in our delicious meal. The whole lot only took me a couple of hours to read, but it was time well spent. Bravo.
March 21, 2015
The author temporarily leaves behind his technothriller Auto books and writes a duo of stories that are very good indeed. I urge readers to go into them without reading anything beforehand, not even the blurbs.
Both stories are told simply, from the viewpoint of a young boy. The technique is deceptively simple but what the author achieves is much much deeper, stark beauty seamlessly becoming sheer horror in the first story and something weirdly unsettling morphing into moving profundity in the second.
I enjoy Wailing's Auto books but, based on these, I'd love to read other work from him too.
Both stories are told simply, from the viewpoint of a young boy. The technique is deceptively simple but what the author achieves is much much deeper, stark beauty seamlessly becoming sheer horror in the first story and something weirdly unsettling morphing into moving profundity in the second.
I enjoy Wailing's Auto books but, based on these, I'd love to read other work from him too.
January 23, 2015
David Wailing never fails to entertain and these two short stories, both told from the perspective of a child, are no exception. Both are good but I think the title story was my favourite, if you can say that about a rather bleak story in which perpetual daylight gradually leads to the erosion of the economic and social structure of the culture which the protagonist was only just coming to terms with. Well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews