White Sky, Black Ice

I don't know if I've ever read a romantic novel about Eskimos. The land is savage and so are the stories. Two Eskimo men commit suicide at the beginning of "White Sky, Black Ice" and no-one seems to question the coincidence except for 'Dudley Do-Right' Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active. Nathan Active, an Inupiat Eskimo himself, is actually called 'Dudley Do-Right' by yet another man who is about to commit suicide. This comes much later in the book. Initially Nathan is suspicious of the suicides because both men appeared to have shot themselves in their Adam's Apple. Both of the dead men also had jobs at the Gray Wolf Copper Mine, run by a Norwegian conglomerate called GeoNord. Aha! You say. Evil Big Business ruins pristine Alaskan wilderness and destroys anyone who gets in its way. Well, no, not quite. "White Sky, Black Ice" is much more complex than that. There are also many subplots, one involving a shaman's curse on an Inupiat family who had already lost two sons by suicide. When the third son seemingly kills himself, everyone shrugs and says, "It was Billy Karl's curse." As Nathan Active puts it, "Despair blew through Chukchi's streets like the west wind. He wondered if he could endure it long enough to get his transfer to Anchorage." Active himself was given up for adoption by an unmarried Inupiat girl, and was raised by white parents in Anchorage. He certainly had no plans to return to Chukchi where his birth mother lives. Yet here he is, and all of the old Inupiat 'Aanas' plot to find a bride for the 'nalauqmiiyaaq' (almost white man) State Trooper, including his birth mother. Nathan slowly sifts through the clues offered up by alcoholic Inupiats, and little old 'Aanas' who blackmail him into giving them rides to the bingo game with his Explorer's flasher on. 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 detail about Alaskans, both native and white, and about the Alaskan wilderness, along with the bones of this well-plotted mystery. In fact, one of the characters is a rather likeable bush pilot, who we come across while trying to fix a tear in the fabric of his plane with a roll of duct tape. Unfortunately, it's too damn cold for the duct tape to stick. He takes Nathan up anyway. It's the code of the bush pilots not to get too excited about a little tear in the tail flap. This mystery is definitely not a cozy. It is edgy, boozy, and sad. The author's style and preferred setting remind me of Peter Bowen more than than Tony Hillerman. I will definitely be looking for the sequel to "White Sky, Black Ice."

What a pleasant surprise! I read all the Alaska mysteries, and generally find them lacking in depth. Mr. Jones has a wonderful protagonist in Nathan Active. A full- blooded Inupiak native adopted by white people at birth,he returns to his home village as a trooper. He then finds that he fits in neither world, that of his birth mother's native people, or the white one he leaves behind in Anchorage. Soon, he is embroiled in more intrigue than he can handle, as he tries to solve suicides that only he feels are murders. You will think you have the book figured out several times, only to find out you are wrong. Mr. Jones is very good at evoking mood, and making us understand his native Alaska. He lives his character daily.This is an excellent read! Keep them coming, Mr.Jones!

There are times when you stumble across a book you weren't looking for, get hooked on the first page, then savor it all the way through, feeling reluctant to finish but unable even to guess the ending. Stan Jones' WHITE SKY, BLACK ICE was this book for me. A mystery set in far-away(for me, a Florida resident) Alaska about strange goings-on in an Inupiaq town and surrounding area, the book fleshed out what it feels like to be a modern day native North American, it understands bug business, even flying a small plane. In keeping with the environment, perhaps, the prose is sparse yet amply descriptive, and the characters are richly imagined - they evoke ways of life and thought I'd like to know more about. I've often started with an author's latest book and worked backwards - it's a challenge to detect the development of an author's skill, albeit in reverse. It will be a treat to follow Stan Jones' development, having read his first book, in the other direction.

This book is a flawless gem! Born in a native village but raised in a big city, a young Alaskan State Trooper is posted to the town where he was born. He is faced with solving a puzzling series of suicides while trying to balance himself between two cultures. It's a corking good mystery and placed in a genuine Alaskan setting.I was a Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal in Alaska during its final territorial and early statehood years. What impressed me most about this book was its absolute authenticity. The natives, the way they live, their unique speech patterns, the land they live in, and the climate they endure are all true to life. Just as realistic are the problems facing a police officer in the rural areas of Alaska.WHITE SKY, BLACK ICE turned back the clock for me and I felt right at home, page after page. Read it. You'll learn more about the real Alaska from this book than from any guided tour!

Black Ice, White Sky, is the first in a series of Nathan Active mysteries written by Stan Jones. Mr. Jones has won many awards for his articles on environmental issues and has several years of experience as a bush pilot under his belt. His knowledge of Alaska and respect for the Inupiat people play a major role in the success of this novel and a success it is! Mr .Jones weaves a wonderful web of mystery into a little town called Chuchki where Nathan Active has returned to work as a policeman. Nathan Active was born here but was adopted out when he was baby to a white couple in Anchorage. I found myself immediately relating to Nathan, he was an outcast in his own town,with his own people. there was a constant struggle between his Native Self and his upbringing in Anchorage. Then the suicides started. I won't give any thing else away but I will say that from this book I learned many things about Innupiat Culture and about the constant struggle of their young people with alcoholism,and their self esteem. This book echoes the cries of Native People everywhere, and touches on a very serious problem. For me this was much more than a mystery, it was an Eye opener. I would definately reccommend this book to non mystery lovers as well, and I am holding my breath till the next Nathan Active novel hits the shelves