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 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 Hugo Award-winning author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Olympos and The Terror. He lives in Colorado.

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