Dead Soul [Paperback]

James D. Doss (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (2003)
• ASIN: B000OTP110
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

More About the Author

JAMES D. DOSS is the author of twelve Charlie Moon mysteries, two of which were named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Originally from Kentucky, he divides his time between Los Alamos and Taos, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Us Living Here in the Middle World, October 12, 2004

By 

J. Davis (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Soul (Charlie Moon Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've been reading Doss's "Shaman" series since it first appeared in paperback, and it just keeps getting better and better. "Dead Soul" is the best of the series. As a stand-alone work, it is excellent.

I love the joking, sly, tongue-in-cheek diaglogs Charlie Moon has with the other characters. I can see myself carrying one a similar one with him, since I have do have dialogs like that often. I love Doss's unexpected (and non-PC) observations of life - the human carnivores eating the animal cracker herbivores; the poisonous look of junk food, followed by how good it tastes; how close we here in the Middle World actually are to the those other worlds, above and below and just other.

But especially, I love how Doss can get inside a person's head, to examine how faith, hope and belief continue to call to us, no matter how grounded we think we are in this, the workaday Middle World -- and that hearts that truly believe are the same, no matter how different the outer trappings of their belief systems may appear.

And all this with wonderful descriptions of the land of the Southern Utes -- both is this world and the other -- and with a murder mystery that, like one of Charlie Moon's dialogs, talks to us on one level, but leads us along to something completely different.

I will remember the feeling of this book long after I have forgotten the details of the mystery.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doss gets better and better., November 8, 2003

By 

D. C. Bauman "lover of Native American mysteries" (Clarks Summit, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Soul (Charlie Moon Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The newest James Doss novel is a very satisfying read. Having read all 8 novels this is the best by far. The first novels featured Scott Paris more than they did Charley Moon. The change to featuring Charlie Moon and the interplay with his aunt Daisy has made the novels more interesting. I enjoy the interplay between Aunt Daisy and Charlie as he tries to live the "modern" Ute way and she walks in the "old" Ute way. Although this novel still maintains the interplay between Aunt Daisy and Charlie, there is a definite movement on Charlie's part to being affected by the ghosts of the past. His night dreams seem to show evidence that the blood of a "Shamaan" runs in his veins. Many of the book jackets have stated that Doss does for the Utes what Tony Hillerman does for the Navajo. This is the first time that I truly believe that this is the case. The combination of Native American mysticism and modern day Ute civilization makes this novel an extremely satisfying read. It is also nice to see Charlie have a bit of romance. I hope the Senator's assistant is a continuing character. I can't wait for the next James Doss novel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Destroyed by failure to proof the scanned copy, December 9, 2010

By 

Heavy J Reader "photobear4" (Panhandle, NE USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dead Soul (Charlie Moon Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

I have been a fan of James Doss' work through many many of his works. Dead Soul is no exception to his writing skill and his ability to spin a truly fascinating tale. BUT.. whichever department of Minotaur/Macmillan was responsible for scanning and proofing the scanned copy dropped the ball badly. There was no chapter --among the 40+--that was not without egregious typos. Sometimes there were multiple typos per page. It is obvious that this book was scanned and dumped on the market without even an attempt at proofreading. At first the typos were just there, then they were an irritant, finally they were a total distraction. This was a fine book totally ruined by a slavish belief that optical scanning of a manuscript gives a perfect copy. And it points up the laziness and carelessness of the publishing company who let it find its way to the Kindle market. A 7.99 rip off of a book and an author, both of which deserved much better.