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Strange Matter #5
The Last One In
Michelle Boyd enjoyed her first time water-skiing on beautiful Lake Wataga. She floated peacefully, waiting for the boat to rocket off, pulling her into another thrilling ride. Then her sister saw the dark shape gliding through the water, relentless, large and powerful. It broke the surface with a tremendous splash, a large brown hump as wrinkled as an elephant... and as fast as a ski boat. Watched through the sinister eyes of the oldest living resident of the lake, Michelle and Erin learn a dark and terrible secret. A secret submerged in the murky depths of Lake Wataga for forty years has returned to watch, to wait... and to feed.
Audio CD
First published March 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 6, 2026
Being one of the very few Loch Ness Monster inspired kids’ horror book, Strange Matter’s “The Last One In” is of standard quality for this series: fuckin’ delectable. I loved Wattie (the monster); they had an eerie design and every appearance of them was great, especially the first encounter part way through the book—legendary aura. Akin to my personal favorite Strange Matter, there’s a heavily implied biting of the dust for a character which was kinda metal, and shows this series can have some balls comparatively to Goosebumps. The true villain of the book was interesting and the I liked all the lore additions we were drip fed and it subverted my expectations quite a bit. There’s an insanely thrilling final act, a great ending, and an overall interesting story. My complaints are pretty short and sweet: there’s some unbelievable suspension of belief in the climax with the architecture (of all things), and the first fifty pages are in comparison to the rest of the story kinda meh, though there’s things that do come into play from there at the end which I liked. Overall, 9/10. It’s in the realm of perfection, just could’ve been a teeny bit better. This series is scarily consistent; where are the duds at? Anywho, update on me and my wife, Strange Matter: we’ve adopted Rilo Buru, er, Rilo Strange now ig.
January 30, 2024
My beloved Strange Matter returns and this time Marty Engle has an early one for us. Didn't know what to expect here so let's go.
Michelle Boyd and her family are visiting Lake Wataga. She's trying out some lake antics when something bumps their boat. Everyone hears about this and caught a picture of an odd lump. People speculate about this being a sea monster.
Michelle, her sister Erin and local neighbor boy Billy head to find out the mystery, which goes deeper than they imagined.
This was just solid. I wouldn't say there's anything amazing here but there's not much bad here either. It offers enough fun sea monster action in a solid story.
It's not boring or that standard either. I like that this spreads around; with others getting in on this, including the media. Even the parents don't dismiss this as there is some photo evidence.
This is yet another in this round that gets started quickly and it works. Michelle (seen in Strange Forces) is a fine lead. She has a thing about wanting to do more, which isn't deep but is at least something that motivates her.
Erin and Billy don't do a lot but mostly work. Billy's full name is Billy Keen which is the same name as the Tune in to Terror kid but acts nothing like him so…name rehashing?
The story moves nicely as we find out more of the truth behind the monster. They go into the idea that these creatures should be left alone. One guy just wants to profit off it for example.
Without spoiling too much, there's a neighbor lady who ends up being somewhat complex. She has a dead husband who was looking for this monster.
Through this we get into solid themes that aren't too preachy. This kind of thing is common and it's done in a unique way which is what this book does well
Marty even explains it easily although it's already too simple to mess it up. Also, I dig the Cryptid stuff with Engle having clearly looked into the history of Loch Noss type stuff.
Writing is a bit clunky at times which is an early book jitters thing. There's even an editing mistake where it says “Michelle and I” despite this being her POV.
Overall, it's one of the most solid entries. Not one of the best but solid. It dies what it needs to and does it well. It has enough depth alongside solid tension.
Strange Matter continues to be pretty good.
Next we wrap this up with some Bone Chillers as we go back to where it all began.
See ya then.
Michelle Boyd and her family are visiting Lake Wataga. She's trying out some lake antics when something bumps their boat. Everyone hears about this and caught a picture of an odd lump. People speculate about this being a sea monster.
Michelle, her sister Erin and local neighbor boy Billy head to find out the mystery, which goes deeper than they imagined.
This was just solid. I wouldn't say there's anything amazing here but there's not much bad here either. It offers enough fun sea monster action in a solid story.
It's not boring or that standard either. I like that this spreads around; with others getting in on this, including the media. Even the parents don't dismiss this as there is some photo evidence.
This is yet another in this round that gets started quickly and it works. Michelle (seen in Strange Forces) is a fine lead. She has a thing about wanting to do more, which isn't deep but is at least something that motivates her.
Erin and Billy don't do a lot but mostly work. Billy's full name is Billy Keen which is the same name as the Tune in to Terror kid but acts nothing like him so…name rehashing?
The story moves nicely as we find out more of the truth behind the monster. They go into the idea that these creatures should be left alone. One guy just wants to profit off it for example.
Without spoiling too much, there's a neighbor lady who ends up being somewhat complex. She has a dead husband who was looking for this monster.
Through this we get into solid themes that aren't too preachy. This kind of thing is common and it's done in a unique way which is what this book does well
Marty even explains it easily although it's already too simple to mess it up. Also, I dig the Cryptid stuff with Engle having clearly looked into the history of Loch Noss type stuff.
Writing is a bit clunky at times which is an early book jitters thing. There's even an editing mistake where it says “Michelle and I” despite this being her POV.
Overall, it's one of the most solid entries. Not one of the best but solid. It dies what it needs to and does it well. It has enough depth alongside solid tension.
Strange Matter continues to be pretty good.
Next we wrap this up with some Bone Chillers as we go back to where it all began.
See ya then.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews