Review: Two Excellent Short Stories in 1 book by David Wailing
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2013
This is a review of Fifth Season by David WailingBoth these shorts are written using a child's voice, and really show off the author's skills in creating believable characters in very short order.Fifth Season centres on the reactions of 9-year old Duncan and his family, when a fifth season rudely butts in between winter and autumn in the southern hemisphere.Duncan's life, and that of his family and friends in Sydney is turned upside down with the emergence of this 'season' which creates havoc with the natural order. Though a 'short', it could easily have been adapted into a much longer novel.I particularly liked David Wailing's grasp of the thought processes of a 9 year old (Weeeiiird!), and I was intrigued to learn that in Oz, the sun rises in the East and then travels NORTH before setting in the West - that kind of detail makes reading anything by David Wailing a real pleasure.Nineteen Seventy Steve is a pure nostalgia trip for anyone old enough to remember what it was really like (I am).Again written from a childs perspective, the story is seen from young Steve's point of view as he shares the joy of being young in the seventies.As another reviewer has pointed out, this story could easily have been written by Stephen King - yes, it really is THAT good.To top it off, at the end of the book there are a number of 'drabbles' - stories of exactly 100 words, all of which I found interesting and a good bonus!5 stars (again!)