A Place to Hide

Strange Matter #4

by Engle, Barnes, Unspecified (Reader)

Trey Porter and his friends have been chased from their campsite by bullies, and are searching for a new one. One that's absolutely bully-proof. They decide on the legendary fort of Widow Hill, a Revolutionary War relic hidden deep in the forests of Fairfield. The path to the fort is not an easy one, however, as someone or something is trying to stop them any way it can. A dark secret awaits Trey Porter. A secret guarded for over two hundred years and desired by every dark creature that lurks in the forest. Trey promises not to reveal the secret. . . over his dead body.

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got another for the round for ya, whew I am going through these fast. Won’t have as much time for these next week so that’s why I am blazing at the moment. We got Strange Matter so let’s just jump into it.

Trey Porter and his friends are hanging out outside when local bully Waylon burst and his cronies show up. Waylon bugs them a lot and they are getting sick of it. They still wanna camp out and they need a place to hide. One of the friends knows of a legend about an old fort from 200 years ago and they check it out, only to see that the only legend didn’t tell the full story, as there’s plenty of worse things than bullies to hide from.

In what is clearly the theme of this round, this one falls in the middle for the series but is still good. It gets into it right away and is constant action/tension. There’s not much filler or down time here, while giving things enough room to breath. Trey is mostly just there but there is some mild emotion with bad things happening to his friends and some mild moral dilemmas.

It starts out seeming like it’ll be a simple survival story, which I am a sucker for but becomes more when we see what is in the fort. Basically, there’s a guy who is quite old and is protecting something from these lizard people. There’s more to it but yeah we get some wild backstory here. It has some history and tension is added as it goes. It’s able to add more which helps keep you on your toes.

It does struggle near the end as it starts to stretch a bit. The guy guarding this place goes back on forth on how good he is meant to be and it presents an interesting idea with showing you don’t always know you can trust. But it throws that away, including Waylon seeming to soften up. We also get implications that he is facing abuse from dad which is….something.

It’s been a minute so you may have forgotten but aside from a mention in Strange Forces, he later stars in Doorway to Doom which is still one of the best from the series so this set solid groundwork. As for what we got here, the resolution is solid enough but does lack a big wrapup to make the story as satisfying as it could have been.

It’s almost onto something to make it special but it’s not too damaging. It still remains solid enough with constant action and surprises. Strange Matter is just good at keeping things enjoyable and tension, it’s rarely a boring series and that’s why I look forward to it the most. And I’m used to the weird use of caps at this point lol.

So yeah, a lesser entry for the series due to some missed chances but still mostly a fun time. I am wishing for like one stronger entry in this round but I’ll take what I can get. And that’s about it, a more simple one this time.

Next time, we get the final two for the round. We finish up Deadtime Stories (until a couple more get added to archive which is looking slim by now) with Ghost Knight. See ya then.

(As a heads up, with the library being closed most of next week for thanksgiving and me not wanting to read on the phone too much these days, idk if I’ll finish the round before November ends but I’ll try. Also geez it’s almost December)

[John Banks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is the worst of them. But it's still better than most of its contemporaries and is leagues better than today's crop of kids horror fiction.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at a shop that usually doesn’t have much in terms of kids horror, with the occasional one or two books that I usually already own. When I saw this, I knew I had to read it as my next Strange Matter (after Second Sighting). The cover screamed Jurassic Park with the artstyle of a cursed, forgotten video game. And… the book fucking rules. Taking elements from The Goonies, Legend of the Lost Legend, and many other stories, this book felt like the perfect, finalized version of what I can only make out to be organized chaos. The story is unbelievably fun, with an all-time high in entertainment value. The plotting department (which is now producing a pattern) continues to make these books read like movies, and it utterly works. There’s well-done chase scenes and action (mind you, I don’t like action in books much), insane stakes, and great characters. Why I described this book as organized chaos is, well, just from a basic summary: Trey Porter must work with the living skeleton of Thomas Middleton—a soldier from the Revolutionary War—to fend off reptilian/raptor-like monsters that were once pirates and unlucky humans, all in hopes of protecting a sphere that has the power to grant almost any wish one is desiring when making physical contact with the sphere. Also, the reptiles hate rain, can turn people into them, and there’s a group of bullies that gets involved in all the madness. It’s chaotic but somehow isn’t overwhelming, and I love it. It takes the mindless essence of Legend of the Lost Legend’s antics but adds a wacky plot and some amazing tension. It works, and the final few pages—before chapter thirty-five—are some of the most dire I’ve ever read from kids horror. No less, inventive bangers or bangers nonetheless just have to come with an issue: the ending. *sighs* I saw it coming but was praying for a neater, less “all for nothing” resolution to the madness. Also, it’s dark—but not in the way alike to Cuckoo Clock of Doom where it works. If you know you know. Overall, 9.5/10–same as I gave Carrie earlier today, but I don’t know which of the two I prefer. This book utterly sweeps and it only makes me more excited to read more of this spectacle-driven series.

[Jaliah]

the book sounds a good book