The rule governing the dance is strictly enforced, and the services of Charlie Moon, a policeman of Ute ancestry are employed to see that order is maintained. Charlie is especially effective because he uses the Ute philosophy of not confronting the offender directly -- which generally results in a peaceful solution to the problem.

Several tribes host Sun Dances. The Ute Mountain people sponsor a dance considered to be very taxing, not only because of the dance itself, but also because the dance site is in a remote area in the mountains. At this year’s contest, Hooper Antelope, a Ute dancer, collapses. Despite CPR attempts by Charlie Moon and Winston Steele (a white doctor), Hooper dies.

Charlie’s Aunt Daisy, a Ute Shaman, is certain that Hooper did not die of natural causes. She believes he was “witched,” and hounds her nephew to investigate the matter further. Daisy, an inveterate busybody with her own agenda, launches an investigation of her own. She doesn’t trust Charlie to conduct an investigation that is up to her exacting standards, and her curiosity is insatiable.

The Shaman’s Game is an excellent novel that requires the full attention of the reader, especially in the early chapters. The plot is intimately tied to Ute tribal customs and traditions. These customs are unusual to the white man’s way of thinking, and thus somewhat difficult to understand initially. As the reader becomes involved with the story line, it becomes obvious that mystical forces play an important part.

Whether or not the reader chooses to accept these forces as real is not really at issue because the characters themselves believe them and act accordingly. As one accepts certain premises in science fiction books, one accepts the Utes’ beliefs for the purpose of the plot.

A great deal of detailed information about the tribes of the Southwest and the Utes in particular is presented in The Shaman’s’Game. The Utes are basically a peaceful people, and are quite skilled in the art of indirect communication. This ability allows them to tactfully point out unacceptable behavior without offending the person who has committed the blunder.

The reader who likes to solve the mystery along with the book’s protagonist may find The Shaman’s Game somewhat frustrating. The clues are there, but the reader must understand a great deal about the Ute lifestyle and way of thinking in order to unravel the mystery. A fair amount of educated guessing will help, but the complete solution to the puzzle is intimately connected to the Ute traditions.

For those readers who wish to be entertained and educated, the novel is a delight. I learned a great deal about Ute burial rituals, and the Ute lifestyle. Their religious belief would, I am sure, be considered superstitions by whites, though in reality they are not so different from Christian beliefs.

The main characters are truly engaging and unique. Aunt Daisy is spunky, with an uncanny ability to get her own way. Charlie is clever, shy and taciturn, but very sensitive to the needs of others. Delly Sandman is my favorite character because she is caught between two cultures. Ute by birth, but educated in the white man’s world, she finds it very difficult to resolve the differences between the two cultures in dealing with her problems.

James Doss has produced a successful novel in The Shaman’s Game. In learning the solution to the mystery, the reader is educated in the ways of a truly fascinating people. Since James Doss has recently retired from a career in engineering at Los Alamos Laboratory, perhaps we can look forward to an increase in the number of mysteries from him in the future.

--Andy Plonka