People
Staples’ blend of suspense, comedy and thrills is perfect for fans of Reservation Dogs and Stephen Graham Jones.”
From the Publisher
Ms., A March Must Read
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"Wooziness pervades Passing Through a Prairie Country, in which Marion escapes the clutches of a malevolent figure known as the Sandman and—with help from cousins Alana and Cherie—is drawn into a battle between good and evil, partially fought between slot machines and blackjack tables." —Chris Hewitt, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
"In this novel he smoothly combines a ghost story with life on the reservation and Indian-owned casinos in a lively and a-lot-of-fun story set among all the flashing lights, bells and whistles in a busy casino in northern Minnesota . . . Staples [...] gives us a creepy and fast-paced story that details the workings of a well-run casino and the spirits of those who have been there in life. A great summer read." —Mary Ann Grossman, Twin Cities Pioneer-Press
"Ojibwe writer Dennis E. Staples' blend of suspense, comedy and thrills is perfect for fans of Reservation Dogs and Stephen Graham Jones." —Lizz Schumer, People
"Illuminates how a community attempts to cope with ancestral trauma. This is worth a look." —Publishers Weekly
"The sense of timelessness and multiple points of view add to the novel's chaotic suspense, giving readers the impression they're trapped in an episode of Twin Peaks. This is a quick and unique read sure to appeal to thriller fans who also enjoy gothic horror." —Booklist
"Taking readers on a journey through the lavish Hidden Atlantis Casino, where no clocks hang on the walls, to the timeless realm of mysterious and death-dealing spirits, Dennis E. Staples delivers an otherworldly story that's haunting, darkly humorous, and chock full of fascinating Native lore." —Nick Medina, author of Indian Burial Ground
Kirkus Reviews
2025-03-08
From Ojibwe writer Staples, a hybrid of Native American mysticism and gothic paranormal horror.
Since it was built decades ago on the Languille Lake reservation, the Hidden Atlantis Lake Resort has been haunted by a malevolent entity locals know, whisperingly, as the sandman, and by the ghosts, living and dead, whom he’s sapped of their energies and robbed of their lives. These displaced souls shuffle about in the clock-free, no-cameras-allowed limbo of the casino and its surroundings, unable to move on. Enter Marion Lafournier, a young Ojibwe from the Bullhead clan who, fleeing a romantic disappointment, stops in for a bit of pain-numbing gambling. The susceptible Marion escapes only because his cousin Alana Bullhead, an employee who has the “sevenfire sight” and is thus attuned to the sandman and his predations, intervenes at the last second. Afterward Alana urges Marion, who’s shown incipient signs of being able to navigate the spirit world of their ancestors, to help her battle this false spirit. Meanwhile, Glenn Nielan, an aspiring documentary filmmaker, arrives at the resort to record this beautiful place’s essence, and also to do a bit of low-stakes gambling and relish the freedom that comes from being newly out of the closet—only to yield quickly to the state of lotus-eating uncaring that the sandman uses to entrap his victims. The sandman proves a much more formidable and resourceful adversary than Alana and Marion suspected and, ultimately, unable to trust what they see and hear, they have to take desperate, self-imperiling measures. The result is a shape-shifting, time-shifting, metaphor-shifting fever dream of a conclusion.
Often chaotic and murky, but the suspense builds to a satisfying end.
