Shaman Pass: A Nathan Active Mystery [Large Print] [Paperback]

Stan Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2005

State Trooper Nathan Active is regarded as "half-white" by the Inupiats of the village where he is stationed. He was born in Chukchi but adopted and raised in Anchorage. Now he is called upon to investigate the murder of a tribal leader who, while fishing at an ice hole, was stabbed to death with an antique ivory and wood harpoon which had just been returned to the community by the Smithsonian in accordance with the Indian Graves Act.

Available only in Wheeler Softcover 4.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Jones's stirring, often moving second mystery (after 1999's White Sky, Black Ice), set in Northwest Alaska, trooper Nathan Active must solve the theft of a sacred Inupiat mummy. Well-meaning "naluaqmiut" (white men) at the Smithsonian have sent mummified "Uncle Frosty" to a museum, only to have the body stolen by villagers wishing to respect traditional native funeral customs. When a tribal elder turns up impaled on the mummy's harpoon at his lonely ice-fishing outpost, an extensive investigation follows across a vast barren area. Active tracks down a fascinating series of suspects living in isolated hunting and whaling camps and in squalid igloos, each with an intriguing story to tell. Active soon finds himself caught in a struggle between the fearsome power of "Shamans" (pagan devil doctors) and the legacy of Natchiq, a murdered prophet and social reformer. In time, the trooper and the reader achieve a deeper level of understanding of bygone traditions in a remote society where snowmobiles are replacing dogsleds and young children crave Pok‚mon cards. Jones skillfully depicts the beauty and desolation of the "treeless tundra" in winter as well as the hardships of survival in one of the world's most hostile climates. In the compelling ending, Active and his posse fly to a remote mountain pass to hunt for Uncle Frosty and his abductor. A handy Inupiat glossary and background history are included.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Nathan Active, an Inuit raised by white adoptive parents, has returned to his native town, where he is an Alaska State Trooper. When the murder of a curmudgeonly old Inuit leader is linked to the theft of a mummy slated for display in a new museum, Active finds himself in charge of the case. His investigation takes him back to a nineteenth-century rivalry between an Eskimo social reformer and a powerful shaman and deep into the treacherous, frozen wilderness, where he must find and stop a killer. The suspense is on the tepid side, but Jones' second Nathan Active mystery stands up nicely against Tony Hillerman's books in terms of the richness of its cultural specifics and the easygoing character of its protagonist. From the dialogue peppered with Inupiat terms (Jones leads off with a glossary) to the shivery sense of the bitter cold that permeates every aspect of Alaska life, Jones creates a stunningly authentic sense of Alaskan history and of a culture still in the throes of change. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 397 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; 1 edition (November 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597221082
• ISBN-13: 978-1597221085
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,971,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Return of the Mummy, January 24, 2006

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shaman Pass (Hardcover)

In this sequel to "White Sky, Black Ice," Alaska State Trooper, Nathan Active, an Inupiat Eskimo who was raised by white parents in Anchorage, makes the mistake of buying himself a purple snow machine, which as everyone in Chukchi knows, is the ladies' model. It's just one more indication that Nathan is the village naluaqmiiyaaq--the Inupiat word for an Eskimo who tries to pass as a white man.

Nathan wonders if he can endure the teasing long enough to get his transfer back to Anchorage. His relationship with his roommate, Lucy Generous is cooling because of his refusal to talk to her about his recurrent nightmare. Ditto with his birth mother. Instead, Nathan confides in the Inupiat herbalist-cum-psychiatrist, Nelda Qivit, who offers him advice on his sex life and sourdock tea.

And that's about it for the touchy-feely part of "Shaman Pass." So bundle up in your Refrigiwear overalls, your parka with the wolf-fur ruff, and your Sorel boots, because you're going to be spending the rest of the book on the tundra, the sea ice, and the arctic slopes of Shaman Pass.

The adventure begins when the Smithsonian Institute returns an Inupiat mummy nicknamed Uncle Frosty to Chukchi, in accordance with the Indian Burial Act. Museum owner, Victor Solomon (a full-blood Inupiat) wants to put Uncle Frosty on display to draw in more tourist dollars. Young Calvin Maiyumerak wants to secrete the mummy out on the tundra, which is what the pre-Christian Inupiat used to do with their dead.

The Law is on Victor's side, so Uncle Frosty is incarcerated in the museum and his proud new owner goes ice fishing.

The next morning, Victor is found with his parka frozen to the ice next to his fishing hole. Uncle Frosty's ivory harpoon is imbedded in his chest.

Uncle Frosty has vanished.

Naturally Calvin Maiyumerak is the main suspect, but this mystery is much too subtle for a quick arrest. Nathan must first learn who Uncle Frosty was in life, and why Victor was found with a shaman's amulet in his frozen mouth.

This is an unvarnished portrayal of the life and history of the native Alaskans. We are taken on a thrilling ride (even if it is on the purple ladies' model) through some of the harshest landscapes and seascapes on Earth.

Author Stan Jones was born in Anchorage, and has worked as an award-winning journalist there for most of his career. He is also a bush pilot, and readers will be imbibing lots of authentic and hair-raising detail about Alaska and Alaskans, along with the bones of this well-plotted mystery.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alaska's Tony Hillerman, June 19, 2003

By 

Madeleine A. Kane "Mado" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shaman Pass (Hardcover)

I recently read Stan Jones' White Sky, Black Ice and Shaman Pass. I read a lot of crime/mystery novels for the suspense and pace. I enjoyed the education about native Alaskans, their history and the geography of northwest Alaska that is imbedded in Jones' novels.

I have learned a lot about the American southwest, the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni from reading Tony Hillerman novels. Similarly, Jones educated me about the Inupiat and Northwest Alaska.

Hillerman has been working on the Chee/Leaphorn chemistry for years which I find successful and rewarding. I suspect that future Jones novels will continue to enhance the Active/Silver chemistry.

Alaska is a huge canvas which places no restraints on imagination as Jones has demonstrated.

Jim Dumas
Denver, CO

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shaman Pass, June 11, 2003

By 

Penguins71 (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shaman Pass (Hardcover)

This book is well written, well thought out, and the author knows what he is talking about. The characters are well developed, and the story has a flow that makes it hard to stop reading. In addition to the plot, there is also a great deal of information about northern Alaska and the Inupiat who live there. It was as much a learning experience as it was thrilling mystery. The imagery used to describe settings and situations stimulated my senses, and made me feel as if I were in the story. Jones paints a picture of the arctic winter landscape in the readers mind. I used to live in the Adirondacks of New York state's North Country, as it is called; and felt right at home with the pelting snow, subzero temperatures, and the nuances of living in hard winter weather. Overall, this is a great book that is worth reading.