Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler

In Ojibwe cosmology there are thirteen moons...

And in the pages of Ghost Lake are thirteen stories featuring an interrelated cast of characters and their brushes with the mysterious. Issa lives in fear of having her secret discovered, Aanzheyaawin haunts the roads seeking vengeance, Zaude searches for clues to her brother’s death, Garion wrestles with his sexual inclinations, Fanon struggles against an unexpected winter storm, Kylie fights to make it back to shore, Eadie and Mushkeg share a magical night, Tyner faces brutal violence, and Tyler, Clay, and Dare must make amends to the spirits before it’s too late. On the northern Ontario reserve of Ghost Lake the precolonial past is not so distant, and nothing is ever truly lost or destroyed. Because the land remembers.  

Awards

• 2021 Indigenous Voices Awards winner for Published Prose in English: Fiction 

Reviews
“Adler gifts us with this collection of intense life and death stories that straddle the worlds of the everyday and the fantastic. These stories challenge the notion of default reality and Adler crafts them with a deft hand.”—Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians

“Ghost Lake is the border to all things known—but not in the way wider society conceives them: there is no lighthouse imposing its dichotomy on the darkness. It invites recovery and connection from its characters beautifully; story, memory, and relationship build the landscape for them to walk on.  The people of Ghost Lake move through experiences with a curiosity and bravery that I hope all readers have—where there are no experts to place rules on a community’s desire to remember. We need more collections like this.”—Tyler Pennock, author of Bones

“A memorable, necessary read, Nathan Adler’s remarkable collection Ghost Lake delves into the life-changing passages of love and loss, revenge and redemption, survival and discovery. His vital, authentic characters journey through a world in which the boundary between the so-called real and the illusory—the realm of mysteries, spirits, and myths—is itself revealed to be the illusion. These imaginative, expertly crafted stories are guaranteed to illuminate and stir, to challenge and entertain.” —Daniel Scott Tysdal, author of The Writing Moment: A Practical Guide to Creating Poems

Educator Information
An interconnected collection of stories set on the fictional Northern Ontario Reserve of Ghost Lake, featuring a cast of interrelated characters and their encounters with the supernatural and other phenomenon, with themes ranging from love, loss, and relationships, to the meaning of monstrosity, violence, tragedy, and justice.

Ghost Lake is the sequel to Nathan Adler's debut horror novel, Wrist.

Pyromaniacs, vigilantes, mysterious phenomena, prehistoric beasts, cryptid species, grave robbers and ghosts… the stories of Ghost Lake feature a cast of interrelated characters and their brushes with the supernatural, creatures of Ojibwe cosmology, the Spirit World, and with monsters, both human and otherwise. Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler shows us that the precolonial past is not so distant, that history informs the present, and nothing is ever truly lost or destroyed, because the land remembers.

Additional Information
320 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"

An Indigenous monster story.

In 1872, dinosaur hunters become embroiled in a battle over the discovery of fossils in Northern Ontario as their excavation crews are driven mad by a bizarre and terrifying illness. Over a hundred years later, Church and his family show signs of the same monstrous affliction. As he begins to unravel his family's dark history, Church must race to protect the secrets buried deep in bones and blood. Set in the fictional town of Sterling and Ghost Lake Reserve, Wrist is Nathan Adler's debut novel.

Reviews
“A forest doesn’t know what the future holds, but it is patient.” I love how Adler solicits the assistance of the natural world in weaving his magical tale - fantastic, captivating from beginning to end. Meet the fantastic world of Adler’s people and follow their journey through Ojibway life and story. Adler peppers the story with the rhythmic sound of Ojibway and it seems to help tell the story in the same way the natural world helps tell the story.” – Lee Maracle, author of Celia’s Song

"Nathan Adler writes exceptionally well. His words weave together and tell a haunting story that leaves you wanting more." -Christine Smith (McFarlane), Freelance Journalist

"With a unique voice and narrative, Nathan Adler blends poetic imagery and Anishinaabe story to create something totally new and completely beautiful." – Cherie Dimaline, author of A Gentle Habit, The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy, and Red Rooms

Additional Information
198 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"