Temnota

Phantom Valley #2

by Lynn Beach

Jason McCormack je slepý, ale tento handicap ho nemůže zastavit. S pomocí svého průvodce, vlčáka Errolla, a přítelkyně Cissy, pátrá po tajemných záhadách opuštěné indiánské Vesnice stínů (Shadow Village). Ale jeho pátrání může přinést nebezpečí a snad i smrt. A Erroll se záčíná chovat podivně, ohrožuje svého pána i ostatní. Jason se stává obětí podivných, děsivých náhod. Podaří se mu zvítězit nad Zlem, které na něj číhá v temnotě?

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Middle Grade, Mystery

124 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

This is a pen name for author Kathryn Lance.

Kathryn Lance, the author or co-author (or ghostwriter) of more than 50 print books (fiction, nonfiction, for adults and children), has moved into the world of e-publishing. Several of her out of print fiction books are or will soon be up on Smashwords and other online venues; new work, including short fiction and a YA sci-fi series, will soon be in print online as well.

A member of Authors Guild and Science Fiction Writers of America, Lance grew up in Tucson, Arizona, then moved to New York City for several years. Now she is back in Tucson, where she leads nature tours, writes, and has fun with her husband and four cats.

Reviews

[Courtney Gruenholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I have yet to find a decent priced copy of the first book in the Phantom Valley series just yet...I figured I would get the second one when it popped up for a decent price and it is in decent condition.

These books are middle grade horror but they are pretty good if they use to advertise the series in the back of Fear Street books. I enjoy them as a woman in my early 40s because I missed them the first time around and they are enjoyable if you like good scares without the gore.

The main character in this book is Jason McCormack and he is blind. Remember that because everyone is going to bring that up since he is new to Chileen Academy...in a positive or slightly negative way as the scenario calls for it.

His parents are the very worrisome type who think his handicap has him as fragile as glass even though Jason exercises to keep his body strong and they have had him tutored at home instead of letting him go to school like his childhood friend, Cissy Davis.

Probably because it is far away and they can't watch him every second of the day...

They finally give in once Jason's uncle who trains animals is able to find a dog to be Jason's companion. Too young for a technical guide dog, Jason is given a German Shepherd named Erroll and they become inseparable. Allowed to take Erroll with him to Chileen Academy, Jason heads off and is looking forward to some independence.

Unfortunately...it is in Phantom Valley in the weird and wild west where strange things happen.

A few chapters are from Erroll's perspective and we learn the dog is a good dog. He loves his Boy and wants to protect him but coming to this new place, Erroll can sense something. Dogs have a better sense of smell than humans and a weird way of sensing things we can't see and even though Jason's other senses besides his sight are keen...this is Erroll's mission.

Jason unpacks in his room and does so in a manner where he can tell the places everything goes as if he were at home. His roommate is a boy named Sandy and he wants to be extremely helpful to Jason in a way that makes him feel as if he were being treated like a baby. To Jason, Sandy seems a little loud and he does at times act obnoxious.

Trouble is that Sandy and Cissy are good friends so Jason is going to have to get use to Sandy. He does gian some respect for how good an artist Sandy is when Cissy has him feel a paper mache model of Phantom Valley he has been working on. Jason is intrigued by all the curves and learns that there is a place called Shadow Village.

Not an ancient Native American cemetery but an abandoned ruin that Jason wants to explore so you know that something bad is going to happen...

They come across a rock in front of a cave and despite Erroll trying his best to stop Jason from getting closer...he ends up pushing the rock aside and feels a chill coming from inside.

Naturally, caves can be cold but when it is accompanied by a buzzing noise that Cissy doesn't hear and causes your dog to start growling and howling...that is not normal.

Later that night, Erroll is barking and howling enough to wake up both Jason and Sandy as well as creep them out.

The next day full of classes, Jason meets the gym teacher, Mr. Tam. He treats Jason like a boy his age and he is positive and encouraging at Jason trying new things. Since swimming isn't taught until the next semester, Mr. Tam suggests rock-climbing by way of rappelling since he is the adviser to the academy's rock-climbing club.

Jason is brave and a positive role model for how blind people can do anything that people with sight can do. It also helps that I have a thing against heights and I am a wimp but I digress...

All of that goes downhill when during Jason's last class of the day, good boy Erroll starts growling and barking. To try and calm the dog down, Jason goes with Cissy and Erroll to run around in a field behind the academy and it seems to work until they come back...

Erroll pulls Jason of the path and a concerned Cissy follows which keeps both of them from being crushed by a large chimney stone that falls from the roof. With all of the creepy stories Cissy said involve Phantom Valley being haunted, Jason wants to go back to Shadow Village to explore.

Even Erroll knows that is a bad move and it pushes the dog to almost desperate measures where he almost bites Jason to his confusion and Cissy's horror. They head back to the academy and Jason decides to leave Erroll in his room for tomorrow and resort to his cane so that the dog can rest, the dog back to being a good boy but whining and clearly spooked.

That day at the rock climbing club meeting, Jason goes and does very impressively rappelling until the rope he is using snaps in half. With Mr. Tam's help, Jason gets safely to the ground but even though briefly shaken it doesn't plan on stopping him from doing actual rock climbing next time.

That impresses Sandy and it seems the two boys might be getting along until they return to their room and find Sandy's model destroyed. Sandy blames Erroll and the faculty are made aware of the dog's behavior of howling and growling and destroying personal property and tell Jason if it doesn't stop...Erroll will have to be sent away.

Soon, Cissy finds out about a possible explanation for the craziness that has happened since Jason moved the rock from the cave but it may be too late when the unthinkable happens...to leave Jason and Cissy alone in fighting the darkness.

If you have seen any kind of dog movie then you know that all of the stuff happening because of the obvious evil spirit isn't Erroll turning into a monster but trying to protect his boy. I'm a sucker for animals so my eyes kind of teared up but all ends well after a chilling climax and a last minute breath of relief.

The Dark is probably the least horrifying of the Phantom Valley books I have read so far but it is a good story about bravery and loyalty and not giving up hope as well as the old chestnut of not judging a person because they have a handicap. Jason is a capable protagonist and I don't know if it is because he is a teenage boy as the main character but Cissy is a girl and Erroll is a dog so...*shrug*...maybe they aren't as annoying?

If Sandy had been the main character then this would have been a whole different book...

Just kidding...he wasn't that bad and neither is The Dark if you have interest in reading it or any other book in the Phantom Valley series.

[Nader Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first time reading this series and I like this one.
The characters in the book are well developed and have good depth, despite some of the secondary characters may not be fully fleshed out, the main character develops wonderfully throughout the story.
The plot is good, but there are some moments that become too ambiguous, the ending may be suspenseful but leaves some questions unanswered , Overall the plot is coherent but may need some clarification at times, but among the drawbacks, some parts may seem a bit repetitive in terms of description and detail.
*******************************************************8
Verdict
(7/10)

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a irregular day for me to do this, but this was the best time I could do it. I wanted to fit in one more misc book before the end of the month. I could have fit in during next week but it worked better here. Anyway, this is a series I wanted to get to. It's by Lynne Beach who is actually a pen name for Kathryn Lance. Blog readers will know her from doing some Ghosts of Fear Street and the story Why I Hate Jack Frost from More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps. I ended up talking to her upon discover the latter thing, so I feel like I owned it to her to do this at some point lol.

It's a kid horror series that predated Goosebumps, coming out in 1991 and only having 9 books. When it ended, GB existed and while competition flourished, this ended before the rise of the rip offs. The same publisher, Pocket Books, did Ghosts of Fear Street and the regular series itself, so it actually got ads in Fear Street proper. I assume her working with this company is how she got the Ghosts job to begin with.

It wasn't a big series but hey, it's notable enough so I finally read one. The gimmick is that, like Fear Street, it's set around the same area, the titular one that is in some town where strange things happen. I don't know if continuity is involved though, it's generally new people each time./

As for this one, I liked it. It wasn't amazing but it was good, mostly. Jason McCromick is blind, and he has a seeing eye dog. He is sent to boarding school, wanting to there despite his parents being unsure about, only agreeing as long as he has the dog and he proves he can handle himself. He has his friend Cissy, who was sent there first due to moving so things do go well.

Until, of course, they upset an evil spirit by mistake, and strange things start happening, mostly to the poor dog, Errol. Now they gotta figure how to stop this.

So first off, yeah let's go over the blind thing. There's a dedication to someone from the "Arizona school for the blind and deaf", meaning Lance actually got help to do this, which is a big plus. That means genuine care went into it. I can't speak on how accurate it is but it's handled decently enough. Jason is a solid protagonist who is capable but not perfect. That said, they do mention it too much, especially early on. As it goes along it's less of an issue, but feel the need to remind you of it a bit too much.

They do try to showcase how he's treated by others, from some seeming insensitive by accident, to being super cool about it. So if it was gonna have it be a notable factor beyond set dressing, they at least tried to make slightly nuanced. It's not perfect, but it's about as decent as you could hope for in something like this.

Anyway, the evil spirit is kinda generic, there isn't much to it beyond a basic backstory. Scares are light, they work fine but I didn't feel the tension as much as I should have. It's got the kid gloves on but there is one bit of blood at least. There's a thing with the roomate Sandy that is developed alright until he vanishes in the 3rd act, giving them a hasty resolution.

Also, there's mention of native americans having lived here, and MD Spenser has just made me sick of that stuff in these. The handling there is whatever, it's not a big part of it and is fair, and the way it ties into the spirit is thankfully not what you think. I had to mention it if only because this keeps popping up lol.

Going to positives, it's well paced. Things get started early on and there's not much filler, it goes at a decent clip. There's good setup and payoff, and a decent enough climax and ending. The main highlight is how wholesome it is. Yeah, he has a good friendship with Cissy, and a good thing with the dog. A part of the plot has the dog acting up due to the spirit, and the school threaten to kick the dog out.

It leads to some decent emotional bits. The characters generally get along and are pretty helpful. Sandy is the closest to a jerk you get and even then he;s not fully that. It can be kinda cheesy but it's nice that we get this kinda stuff. The danger works alongside this, so while it's not a super scary story, it works as a story that combines danger with decent character stuff.

Oh and the writing is decent, nothing great but nothing clunky and it flows well. Also, we got POV chapters...with the dog. Yes, this has quick dog POV bits. Not kidding. It's goofy yet I love it. And despite the spirit being generic, I can appreciate that it's kept simple and it's over complicated.

Overall, it's nothing great as far as these go, but I liked it. It handles the subject matter well enough, and has some wholesome stuff with the characters. I wouuldn't say it's a must read but it's good and it stands out for these. I'm interested in the others, they seem interesting too. I'm not in a hurry but maybe someday. Check it out if you're interested.

Don't know what's next or when, gonna be in April and I have a Pike book first before I can anything else. Maybe I'll fit in something on the Thursday where I'll have a break following Elimist, we'll see.

[Uschi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you know that saying "Never judge a book by its cover"?
Well, I judged this one's. When I saw it, I had to read it. It looked like the most cheesy thing I had ever seen. I NEEDED to see what the story was actually like! It was most definitely the worst thing I have ever read in my entire life, and there is probably nothing worse.

I dislike writing reviews for things I have a negative opinion of since I'm more for spreading positivity - when I hate something, I usually just don't say anything. But this? Wow. Just wow. There's no way I can get away by keeping quiet.

I get this book is for children and incredibly light-hearted readers, but that does not change the fact it's absolute rubbish. Not only was every line laughable when meaning to be serious, but it could just be so bad that I felt every brain cell of mine slowly wither away. I- I just can't put into words how bad it was. It was just... Bad. Really bad. Whenever I think about it, I cringe then proceed to burst out into laughter. It's not even 'so bad that it's good', it's just literally terrible. Every negative word you can think of can be used as an adjective for this novel. But, I've got to say, Lynn Beach... You put thought into and wrote an entire book and had it published. I'll give you credit for that, regardless of how dreadful it was.

[Svet Mori · Rating 5 out of 5]

(approximate translation of my 2019 May 5th french review)

(read in french, under the title « Nuit noire »)

It's never easy to re-read a book crush : without surprises and the pleasure of discovering, will we like it the same ? Or did our brain embellished the memories we kept of it ? It's especially true when the crush happened twenty years earlier. Reading as an adult a book we loved as a child is seeing it with an unavoidable more critic gaze, even more when you're a « big reader ».

In « The Dark »'s case, we're comforted right from the first pages : the book is as enchanting and good as before, mostly thanks to its incredibly well-written hero.
The title, « The Dark », is a reference to his blindness.
Very modern for its time, the book calls out very naturally the neverending ableism every type of disabled person constantly has to deal with. As a disabled person myself, I was surprised about how accurate the book is with the depiction of ableism. Alright, Arthur is blind, but he's not a fragile little thing and almost independant ; often, the able persons are the ones making his life unnecessarily more complicated by wanting to « help » no matter what (even and especially when they aren't asked to), or placing him in embarrassing situations, like Arthur's roommate, wishing to make himself helpful and ending to do totally the opposite, the curious classmates, the watchful professor who understood what to do and NOT do, the overprotective parents... Obviously, the ones who do the best are those who don't try too much. Before being « a disabled person », Arthur is a boy who, like any other, just wants to live his life, without being consistantly reminded he is « different ».

The other strong point of the book is the relationship between Arthur and his service dog, Lord. We even got some scenes from his point of view, determined to protect his human. Because if Arthur can take care of himself and feel danger a bit more instinctively than his able-sighted comrades, he's also more exposed to surprise-attacks. Lord is a character on his own, being both Arthur's eyes and bodyguard. But Lord is also only a dog, whose behavior seem sometimes mysterious to the bipedes he lives with, especially when they have no clue about the enemy lurking in the shadows.

« The Dark »'s enemy may not be original, but as Arthur can only *feel* his presence – often when he's already too close – and about whom he can't do anything, gives to the story a very oppressive atmosphere. We fear a lot when the danger is clear and Arthur without landmarks or almost.

Yes, sometimes the narration jumps too quickly from a scene to another, like ending a conversation then having the next sentence happening several hours later without acknowledging it right away. It lacks also a bit of descriptions, but let's not forget it's a children's book.

Really, twenty years later, « The Dark » has absolutely not lost its glow. Alright, the magic faded a bit, I had less shivers... but it's not the book's fault : I am the one who, since then, read and wrote far creepier. The suspense is as breathtaking as back then.
The novel passes easily the trial of time and confirms the book crush once again !

[Zuzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager and absolutely loved it.