Black Hills: A Novel

When Paha Sapa, a young Sioux warrior, "counts coup" on General George Armstrong Custer as Custer lies dying on the battlefield at the Little Bighorn, the legendary general's ghost enters him - and his voice will speak to him for the rest of his event-filled life. Seamlessly weaving together the stories of Paha Sapa, Custer, and the American West, Dan Simmons depicts a tumultuous time in the history of both Native and white Americans. Haunted by Custer's ghost, and also by his ability to see into the memories and futures of legendary men like Sioux war-chief Crazy Horse, Paha Sapa's long life is driven by a dramatic vision he experienced as a boy in his people's sacred Black Hills. In August of 1936, a dynamite worker on the massive Mount Rushmore project, Paha Sapa plans to silence his ghost forever and reclaim his people's legacy-on the very day FDR comes to Mount Rushmore to dedicate the face.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Hugo-winner Simmons, the author of such acclaimed space operas as Hyperion and Olympos as well as Drood, an intriguing riff on Dickens's unfinished last novel, displays the impressive breath of his imagination in this historical novel with a supernatural slant. In the author's retelling of Custer's last stand at the Little Big Horn in 1876, the dying general's ghost enters the body of Paha Sapa, a 10-year-old Sioux warrior who's able to see both the past and the future by touching people. The action leaps around in time to illustrate the arc of Sapa's life, but focuses on 1936, when, as a septuagenarian, he plots to blow up the monuments on Mount Rushmore in time for a visit to the site by FDR to atone for his role in constructing the stone likenesses. In his ability to create complex characters and pair them with suspenseful situations, Simmons stands almost unmatched among his contemporaries. 6-city author tour. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Simmons's previous novels The Terror (2007) and Drood (2009) meld historical figures and events to occult phenomena, and Black Hills follows a similar pattern. Here, Simmons fuses the triumph of American Western expansion and the marvels of early 20th-century science and engineering with Native American spirituality and mysticism. Simmons is a gifted storyteller whose meticulous research and evocative prose deftly transport readers to another time and place. However, the Christian Science Monitor found the frequent barrage of historical minutiae tedious and criticized the novel's interpretation of Manifest Destiny and the harsh treatment of native populations, which it considered obnoxious and disrespectful. However, most critics praised Black Hills as a highly imaginative, interesting novel and a worthy addition to Simmons's oeuvre.

From Booklist

Simmons, who has proven himself equally adept at horror, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, again tries something different. This is the story of Paha Sapa, who, as a boy, is present at Little Big Horn, where the spirit of a dying General Custer transfers itself to the young Sioux. This event, and the visions that accompany it (one in particular), set Paha Sapa on a course that will find him, decades later, poised to bring the newly completed Mount Rushmore crashing down. The story isn’t told in chronological order (evoking Little Big Man); this chapter may be set in 1876, that one in 1923, this one in 1934, then back to 1893. We see Paha Sapa at the beginning of his life and at the end; and we see, in bits and pieces, how he got there. Real people and events appear in the book—Doane Robinson, Buffalo Bill Cody, Custer himself—and Simmons blends the historical with the fictional so well that it’s difficult to see the dividing line. A well-constructed, highly imaginative novel that should bring new readers into Simmons’ ever-expanding group of fans. --David Pitt

From the Inside Flap

Black Hills is an important and revelatory novel, the most singular accomplishment to date by the always unpredictable Dan Simmons. With empathy and great narrative power, it illuminates a significant chapter in the nation's history, and takes us deep into the heart of an extraordinary American life.The story begins at the Battle of Little Big Horn in June of 1876. Eleven-year-old Paha Sapa (whose name, in the Lakota dialect, means Black Hills ), is present at the precise moment of Custer's death, a moment that will have enormous ramifications. The narrative that follows encompasses eighty years of highly charged history and ranges from the eponymous (and sacred) Black Hills of South Dakota to the Dust Bowls of the Great Depression to the emerging face of Mount Rushmore, where an astonishing revelation awaits.On one level, Black Hills is a story of profound and inescapable loss: of family, of cultural heritage, of the ancient gods that once dominated the Lakota's world. On another, it is a visionary account of love, hope, and unexpected discovery, and a meditation on the Mystery that lies at the heart of the heart of the universe. Absorbing, moving, and constantly surprising, Black Hills is, by any standard, a major novel, another landmark achievement in a constantly evolving career.

From AudioFile

Touching the recently killed General Armstrong Custer, Lakota Sioux youth Paha Sapa feels the white man's soul enter his body. There it stays, conversing with him about Custer's graphic marital memories for the next six decades as the Native American matures, marries, and works on the carving of Mt. Rushmore. Erik Davies performs the story's narrative passages and the voice of Paha Sapa, and Michael McConnohie takes on Custer's words. Davies concentrates on the many Lakota words, reading them slowly and carefully to ensure perfection. He gives the same gravity to Paha Sapa's English speech. McConnohie's Custer barrels through the general's lusty recollections at a more natural pace. Vivid descriptions of Black Hills events and the Chicago World's Fair round out this piece of historical fiction. R.L.L. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

About the Author

Dan Simmons is the award-winning author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Terror and Drood. He lives in Colorado. Visit www.dansimmons.com.

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