Passing Through a Prairie Country - by Dennis E Staples (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A darkly humorous thriller about the ghosts that haunt the temples of sin and excess we call casino, and people who get caught up in a web resting on high stakes and low odds

Fleeing a recent breakup, Marion Lafournier, a mid-20s Ojibwe, seeks solace in the dim halls of the Hidden Atlantis Lake Resort & Casino, the reservation's main tourist attraction and source of revenue, where once again he finds himself at a crossroads between worlds and spirits.
For decades, a dark force has terrorized the Languille Lake reservation. A figure known only in whispers as a sandman in the shadows, he lurks in the casino leeching the dreams and ambitions from its citizens. Drawn by the siren song of the slot machines, Marion soon falls afoul of the sandman barely escaping the confrontation aided by the timely intervention of two casino security guards, his cousins Alana and Cherie. Meanwhile, Glenn Nielan, late out of the closet and aspiring to greatness, hopes to capture the faces of the land for a documentary while experiencing the thrill of a reservation casino again. But all who choose to play the sandman's wicked games are in danger of his hold.
We soon learn that Marion and Alana are the last members of the Bullhead clan, a family with ties to a sacred past, and a fierce determination to ensure their future. Alana with her Seven Fire Sight is the only person who grasps the danger the sandman poses. Aware of Marion's ability to sometimes navigate the spirit world, she enlists his help in defeating this scourge.

But the power and reach of this menace go far beyond what Alana anticipated and she and Marion soon find themselves in a battle for the lives and souls of the reservation's residents.

About the Author

DENNIS E. STAPLES is an Ojibwe writer from Bemidji, Minnesota and the author of This Town Sleeps. He graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with an MFA in fiction. He is a graduate of the 2018 Clarion West Writers Workshop and a recipient of the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship. His work has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction and Nightmare magazine. He is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation.