Customer Reviews

Shaman Pass

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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.

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

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.

Stan Jones has created a story that combines great story telling and a rather deep look at the culture of the Inupiats, a Native American tribe in Northwest Alaska. His plot is rich, dialogue is compelling and the characterization is exceptional. He manages to capture nuances of a culture that is quite alien to most of us. This includes subtleties of language as well as social differences among the inhabitants of that part of our country. I recommend the book highly.

I recently discovered the Nathan Active series by Stan Jones. Mr. Jones' portrayal of Eskimo life and the Inupiat culture is an added bonus to the fine mystery he has created. Shaman Pass is the second book of this series. I read it first and immediately picked up the first one, White Sky, Black Ice.
Jones populates his town of Chukchi with memorable characters, and peppers the dialogue with words from the native language. His description of the Alaskan environment is crisp and succinct and enhances the story; it never gets in the way of the plot.
I recommend both books, not just for mystery readers, but all readers in general.

This second Northwestern Alaska Inupiat mystery featuring state trooper Nathan Active thoroughly lives up to the promise of the first, `White Sky, Black Ice." Active, an Inupiat adopted by whites and raised in Anchorage, still takes a lot of ribbing for his city ways and bush ignorance, and he's still waiting for his transfer to Anchorage while carrying on an uncommitted relationship with a local woman.

Following the murder of a tribal leader at his ice-fishing camp, much of Active's dogged investigating takes place in remote, snow and ice-bound areas, reached on his bargain-priced, purple ("the Ladies' Model") snowmobile, or by harrowing airplane flights. The victim was killed with an antique harpoon, recently acquired by the tribe from the Smithsonian, along with the mummy it belonged to. The mummy was immediately "liberated" from the local museum, where it had been put on display, but the obvious suspects have good alibis.

As Active digs deeper, tribal legends and old traditions come into play. Understanding how the pieces fit into a modern murder requires the help of various villagers, including Active's birth mother and grandfather. The spectacular setting takes a central and active role too as Active asserts himself in places he may not be ready for. Early spring is a stormy, unsettled time and the climax builds during a raging blizzard in a remote mountain pass.

Atmospheric and involving, with bright flashes of humor and an enigmatic and increasingly surefooted hero, this series from an Alaskan native and bush pilot feels like the real thing.

If you like mysteries set in the Alaska bush, you'll love this book. Jones' use of the local Inuit language and culture puts you right in the plane and "snow-go" with him. The plot stays convoluted and keeps you guessing "who-done-it" up until the end. This book will especially appeal to men, I think, since it doesn't have much of that "mushy" stuff! Excellent read.

This being the second book of his, I had highly anticipated "Shaman Pass". I am happy to say I was highly entertained and even more impressed at Mr. Jones' second installment of Nathan Active mysteries.
He writes with great fervor.
"Uncle Frosty", a mummy has been stolen from the local museum. Victor Solomon turns up dead and has Uncle Frosty's amulet and harpoon on him. Hm....this is enough to bring in Trooper Active and have him do some serious investigating and flying across beautiful Alaska.
It's fabulous writing and another great lesson of Alaska. It's a great mystery from a great writer.

Adhering to the Indian Graves Act, the Smithsonian naluaqmiut (means more than one white man) send home the mummy "Uncle Frosty" to Alaska. Once in the northern state, villagers respecting centuries of tradition steal the body. However, not long afterward at a sheefish camp on the ice of Chukchi Bay, Inupiat tribal elder Victor Soloman is found bludgeoned to death by Frosty's harpoon.

Born in the village of Chukchi though raised in Anchorage, State Trooper Nathan Active investigates the murder. He quickly finds a herd of suspects with motives and opportunities. Nathan receives help (some unwanted) from his girlfriend and his native mother while struggling to learn and understand the matriarchal side of his heritage. Meanwhile his inquiries place Nathan in the dangerous middle of a deadly tug of war between the angatquq shamen and the followers of a murdered social reformer considered by many to be a prophet.

The police procedural aspects are strong and exciting, but serve as a method to enable the audience to receive a deep understanding of a people in which modern technology encroaches faster than snowmobiles drive the vast frozen tundra. Stan Jones provides a vivid picaresque scenario of surviving and residing in what would seem like a frozen wasteland, but is stark, beautiful, and more (at least as described by this author. Obviously fans of Alaskan mysteries will enjoy SHAMAN PASS, but so will anyone who appreciates an impressive who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

Stan Jones has turned in another stellar effort with "Shaman Pass", offering the reader a strong dose of excitement and suspense with a lot of information on the Inupiat life of Alaska. Others have compared Jones with Tony Hillerman, to which I would give a hearty "Amen." Jones manages to weave the fictional and cultural threads of this story deftly into a nice tapestry. This book is very well done and a refreshing break from the shoot-em-up thrillers that hog the market these days.