Phaze, $2.00, ISBN 1-59426-522-4
Thriller, 2007
Time Warp is not a paranormal shagfest inspired by too many bad Star Trek episodes and even more vodka, in case you’re wondering. The title directly refers to the song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the one that Daniel Gallagher was dancing to when Alex, our heroine, first met him seven years ago. It is also indirectly a play on the fact that their first anniversary dinner was a blissful moment for the two of them, while the current anniversary dinner, despite some deliberate similarities to the first year, is far from magical. Today, the marriage is over but Alex invites Dan for one special anniversary dinner. For old time’s sake, of course. Hey, is that the theme song for that old TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents playing in the background?
Time Warp is one of the first two stories that kick off Phaze’s Fury line, which is a revenge-themed line of short stories. Talk about spoiling the fun a little because revenge isn’t just best served cold, it’s should be sprung on both the victim and the reader without advance notice. The fact that this story is published under the Fury imprint robs it of most of its suspense. At any rate, I’m not going to spoil this story any more than I probably have already, although you can probably guess by now that Alex is going to sic it real good on Dan.
I can actually see the twist at the end coming from a mile away but I must say, I do have a chuckle at the over-the-top crazy antics of Alex in this story. This story is really too short to offer anything more than a revenge fantasy, so it’s not as if I can say much about it here. However, the story line in Time Warp is very dependent on catching the reader by surprise due to its straightforward nature that leaves not much room for twists and other surprises. With Phaze putting out this story under its revenge fantasy imprint, half the pleasure from being surprised is already gone before the party has ever started.
Time Warp is a quick read that is easy to read and forget. However, if you want ideas on getting back at that ex-boyfriend or ex-husband, you can probably do worse than investing $2.00 on this story.
