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Dominoes In Time
Like the first domino in a chain, the most traumatic episode of a person’s life shapes all things to come.
For a fashion model, the key event is a repulsive facial blemish caused by a photographer with an unusual camera. For a man in a post-apocalyptic shelter, it’s the need for emergency medical attention from the last remaining doctor: his ex-wife. For a homeless man, it’s the realization that the backward-walking man beside him controls world events from his park bench.
Matthew Warner ranges from the 19th to the 43rd century in this collection reprinting eighteen horror and science fiction stories. In the foreword and story notes, Warner describes how his life inspired these tales of infidelity, parenthood, and death. It includes some of his most popular stories, such as “Backwards Man” and “Second Wind.”
For a fashion model, the key event is a repulsive facial blemish caused by a photographer with an unusual camera. For a man in a post-apocalyptic shelter, it’s the need for emergency medical attention from the last remaining doctor: his ex-wife. For a homeless man, it’s the realization that the backward-walking man beside him controls world events from his park bench.
Matthew Warner ranges from the 19th to the 43rd century in this collection reprinting eighteen horror and science fiction stories. In the foreword and story notes, Warner describes how his life inspired these tales of infidelity, parenthood, and death. It includes some of his most popular stories, such as “Backwards Man” and “Second Wind.”
266 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2015
21 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Warner
58 books32 followersWhen critic Feo Amante gave Matthew Warner’s first novel, The Organ Donor (2003), a five-star review and labeled it a “straight-on modern classic of horror,” the praise went straight to Warner’s head. He wrote several more things, such as the novel Eyes Everywhere (2006), which Publishers Weekly described as “disturbing … compelling and insightful,” and a radio play and stage play premiered by theaters in central Virginia.
His opinion column, “Author’s Notes,” ran for five years on the Horror World website and consisted of a blend of commentary, autobiography, and tutorials about the writing craft. Guide Dog Books collected a portion of those columns into its debut non-fiction title, Horror Isn’t a 4-Letter Word: Essays on Writing & Appreciating the Genre (2008).
Blood Born (2011), is an apocalyptic monster novel set in the Washington, DC, area where he grew up. His first urban fantasy novel, The Seventh Equinox (2013), is set in a fictitious city inspired by his current home of Staunton, Virginia. Dominoes in Time (2015) collects sixteen years of horror and science fiction stories.
Other works include screenplays for Darkstone Entertainment and the novelization of their film Plan 9 (2016). His most recent novel, Empire of the Goddess (2018), depicts a nightmare version of modern America. Yes, one even worse than the actual America.
Warner lives with his wife, the artist Deena Warner, and sons, Owen and Thomas. In 2007, they opened a print and website design business, Deena Warner Design, serving the publishing industry. He’s a member of the Horror Writers Association and an enthusiastic practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“One of the bright stars of today’s constellation of speculative dreamers.” — Keith Minnion
His opinion column, “Author’s Notes,” ran for five years on the Horror World website and consisted of a blend of commentary, autobiography, and tutorials about the writing craft. Guide Dog Books collected a portion of those columns into its debut non-fiction title, Horror Isn’t a 4-Letter Word: Essays on Writing & Appreciating the Genre (2008).
Blood Born (2011), is an apocalyptic monster novel set in the Washington, DC, area where he grew up. His first urban fantasy novel, The Seventh Equinox (2013), is set in a fictitious city inspired by his current home of Staunton, Virginia. Dominoes in Time (2015) collects sixteen years of horror and science fiction stories.
Other works include screenplays for Darkstone Entertainment and the novelization of their film Plan 9 (2016). His most recent novel, Empire of the Goddess (2018), depicts a nightmare version of modern America. Yes, one even worse than the actual America.
Warner lives with his wife, the artist Deena Warner, and sons, Owen and Thomas. In 2007, they opened a print and website design business, Deena Warner Design, serving the publishing industry. He’s a member of the Horror Writers Association and an enthusiastic practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“One of the bright stars of today’s constellation of speculative dreamers.” — Keith Minnion
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October 10, 2015Contents
7 - Foreword
AIN’T IT ROMANTIC?
011 - "Picture Perfect"
029 - "Muralistic"
039 - "At Death We’ll Not Part"
051 - "Springs Eternal"
057 - "Cocktail Party of the Dead"
063 - "Life Insurance"
THE JOY OF PARENTHOOD
079 - "Cat’s Cradle"
089 - "Second Wind"
103 - "With the Eyes of God"
111 - "Maybe Monitored"
119 - "It’s Just Business"
123 - "The Three Golden Eggs"
INTERMISSION
129 - "And That’s When the Bathroom Exploded"
LOOKING BACK
141 - "Backwards Man"
153 - "Bummers"
163 - "Monarch of the Mountains"
LOOKING FORWARD
183 - "Noah’s Temple"
211 - "Die Not in Vain"
255 - Story Notes
This is copy V of 36 signed numbered copies.
7 - Foreword
AIN’T IT ROMANTIC?
011 - "Picture Perfect"
029 - "Muralistic"
039 - "At Death We’ll Not Part"
051 - "Springs Eternal"
057 - "Cocktail Party of the Dead"
063 - "Life Insurance"
THE JOY OF PARENTHOOD
079 - "Cat’s Cradle"
089 - "Second Wind"
103 - "With the Eyes of God"
111 - "Maybe Monitored"
119 - "It’s Just Business"
123 - "The Three Golden Eggs"
INTERMISSION
129 - "And That’s When the Bathroom Exploded"
LOOKING BACK
141 - "Backwards Man"
153 - "Bummers"
163 - "Monarch of the Mountains"
LOOKING FORWARD
183 - "Noah’s Temple"
211 - "Die Not in Vain"
255 - Story Notes
This is copy V of 36 signed numbered copies.
March 25, 2016
My awesome friend gave me her (gorgeous) copy of Thunderstorm's Private Reserve signed/limited edition hardcover for Christmas and I love it more than when I first saw the cover. I had not read anything by Matthew Warner before and with so many books in my never-ending "to be read" pile, it was put on my book shelf and remained eye candy until this week when curiosity won out and I picked it up.
I typically go into a book with some sort of expectations, my own or from the word of mouth of others. With Dominoes in Time, I had none, and perhaps that is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so completely. I can honestly say it is one of the few anthologies that I have read where I liked every single story. I'm not going to go through and give you mini-summaries of all of the stories.
My favorite stories are: At Death We'll Not Part, Cat's Cradle, Second Wind, Noah's Temple and Die Not in Vain. At Death We'll Not Part makes you realize that there are worse things than dying. Cat's Cradle still creeps the crap out of me when I think about it. Second Wind was both fascinating and heartbreaking. Noah's Temple, my absolute favorite story in the book, is just brilliant and I would happily read a sequel to this. Matthew Warner has exceptional attention to detail and this story fell into place perfectly. Die Not in Vain has the best airplane description I have ever read. I hate flying and Warner managed to encapsulate the feeling of every nerve in my body during a flight. The rest of the story is equally gripping and disturbing. They can't all be my favorite but they were all worth reading and I would do so again.
My first instinct is to go out and buy everything I can find by Matthew Warner, because all I want is more. My second is to tell you to do the same. To say that this man can write is an understatement. His prose is brilliant, witty, and unabashedly his own.
I typically go into a book with some sort of expectations, my own or from the word of mouth of others. With Dominoes in Time, I had none, and perhaps that is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so completely. I can honestly say it is one of the few anthologies that I have read where I liked every single story. I'm not going to go through and give you mini-summaries of all of the stories.
My favorite stories are: At Death We'll Not Part, Cat's Cradle, Second Wind, Noah's Temple and Die Not in Vain. At Death We'll Not Part makes you realize that there are worse things than dying. Cat's Cradle still creeps the crap out of me when I think about it. Second Wind was both fascinating and heartbreaking. Noah's Temple, my absolute favorite story in the book, is just brilliant and I would happily read a sequel to this. Matthew Warner has exceptional attention to detail and this story fell into place perfectly. Die Not in Vain has the best airplane description I have ever read. I hate flying and Warner managed to encapsulate the feeling of every nerve in my body during a flight. The rest of the story is equally gripping and disturbing. They can't all be my favorite but they were all worth reading and I would do so again.
My first instinct is to go out and buy everything I can find by Matthew Warner, because all I want is more. My second is to tell you to do the same. To say that this man can write is an understatement. His prose is brilliant, witty, and unabashedly his own.
April 15, 2016
4.5 stars.
DOMINOES IN TIME, by Matthew Warner, is a collection of short stories with one common thread: the domino effect. All it takes is one change, one minor alteration in someone’s life, to set into action a chain of events that could potentially have far reaching consequences. Whether it be something as random as a bottle lying in the road, to finding a stray cat on your doorstep, Matthew Warner has penned an impressive collection of tales that will transport you to places and scenes you’ve never imagined.
As this is the first collection I’ve read by this author, I will say that I was very impressed. HIs overall writing style and imagination had won me over after only the beginning “section” of tales. Of those six stories, I had already rated two of them as five-star material, and a third a 4.5*.
It turned out that my absolute favorite story, in terms of raw emotion and the most vividly haunting sense–that actually sent real shivers through me–wasn’t even in that section!
I won’t go through and detail each and every tale, but only name some of my personal favorites. These included: “Die Not in Vain”–the details involved with this one were so accurate that I could almost “feel” the character’s pain; “At Death We’ll Not Part”–a funeral director’s guilt over the death of his beloved wife does not diminish over time . . .; “Springs, Eternal”–a man so in love that he is willing to do anything to bring his wife back. LOVED the ending!; “Picture Perfect”–it all begins with a blemish on a model’s previously perfect skin . . .; “With the Eyes of God”–gives pause to the question of whether begin able to see and know everything is such a great thing after all . . . ; “Second Wind”–this one was quite an emotional ride; “Backwards Man”–a complex tale that had me questioning all the little “coincidences” and occurrences that surround us at any given moment; and my personal favorite of the entire collection, “Cat’s Cradle”–this story was so eerie and yet utterly convincing that I honestly shivered while reading it! I loved the entire concept, from beginning to end.
As in any collection, each person will have a unique reaction to different themes–based upon their own experiences and preferences. What I will say without hesitation, is that Matthew Warner has such a variety of ideas collected here, that I am certain every horror fan will find something that resonates with them.
Highly recommended!
DOMINOES IN TIME, by Matthew Warner, is a collection of short stories with one common thread: the domino effect. All it takes is one change, one minor alteration in someone’s life, to set into action a chain of events that could potentially have far reaching consequences. Whether it be something as random as a bottle lying in the road, to finding a stray cat on your doorstep, Matthew Warner has penned an impressive collection of tales that will transport you to places and scenes you’ve never imagined.
As this is the first collection I’ve read by this author, I will say that I was very impressed. HIs overall writing style and imagination had won me over after only the beginning “section” of tales. Of those six stories, I had already rated two of them as five-star material, and a third a 4.5*.
It turned out that my absolute favorite story, in terms of raw emotion and the most vividly haunting sense–that actually sent real shivers through me–wasn’t even in that section!
I won’t go through and detail each and every tale, but only name some of my personal favorites. These included: “Die Not in Vain”–the details involved with this one were so accurate that I could almost “feel” the character’s pain; “At Death We’ll Not Part”–a funeral director’s guilt over the death of his beloved wife does not diminish over time . . .; “Springs, Eternal”–a man so in love that he is willing to do anything to bring his wife back. LOVED the ending!; “Picture Perfect”–it all begins with a blemish on a model’s previously perfect skin . . .; “With the Eyes of God”–gives pause to the question of whether begin able to see and know everything is such a great thing after all . . . ; “Second Wind”–this one was quite an emotional ride; “Backwards Man”–a complex tale that had me questioning all the little “coincidences” and occurrences that surround us at any given moment; and my personal favorite of the entire collection, “Cat’s Cradle”–this story was so eerie and yet utterly convincing that I honestly shivered while reading it! I loved the entire concept, from beginning to end.
As in any collection, each person will have a unique reaction to different themes–based upon their own experiences and preferences. What I will say without hesitation, is that Matthew Warner has such a variety of ideas collected here, that I am certain every horror fan will find something that resonates with them.
Highly recommended!
May 3, 2016
DNF @50%
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews