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.”