Black Hills

A Novel

By: Dan Simmons

Narrated by: Erik Davies, Michael McConnohie

Paha Sapa, a young Sioux warrior, first encounters General George Armstrong Custer as Custer lies dying on the battlefield at Little Bighorn. He believes - as do the holy men of his tribe - that the legendary general's ghost entered him at that moment and will remain with him until Sapa convinces him to leave.

In Black Hills, Dan Simmons weaves the stories of Paha Sapa and Custer together seamlessly, depicting a violent and tumultuous time in the history of Native Americans and the United States Army. Haunted by the voice of the general his people called "Long Hair", Paha Sapa lives a long life, driven by a dramatic vision he experiences in the Black Hills that are his tribe's homeland. As an explosives worker on the massive Mount Rushmore project, he may finally be rid of his ghosts - on the very day FDR comes to South Dakota to dedicate the Jefferson face.

©2010 Dan Simmons (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"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 his ability to create complex characters and pair them with suspenseful situations, Simmons stands almost unmatched among his contemporaries." ( Publishers Weekly)

A Great Tale from a truly talented writer

I do not know why I downloaded Black Hills. But I am truly glad that I took the time to check out the book. It's a totally emcompassing work of historical fiction. The author has taken great pains to study the culture of the Lacota Sioux -- in particular, Paha Sapa -- who we meet when he is a child of 11. Paha Sapa, whose name means Black Hills in Lacota, takes a minor part in "The Rubbing Out of Long Hair." He becomes haunted with the ghost of General Custer and carries that hostile spirit in his mind until he grows old.
Paha Sapa's journey follows the history of the Sioux nation. His entire tribe is murdered by the U.S. Army. He has to learn to live in the world of the people he calls "waichu". These are the white men, who the indians refer to as "fat takers".
As the plot develops, we learn much about Sioux language and culture. Paha Sapa joins Buffolo Bill's Wild West Show. He becomes a demolition expert and works on the monument at Mount Rushmore. Of course, he becomes a husband and father. My only regret is that Mr Simmons left out many details in the courtship of Paha Sapa and his wife, Rain.
If you love a great story, you will not be disappointed it Black Hills.

Worth a listen, not among my favorite Simmons book

I generally enjoy Dan Simmons books, with "Carrion Comfort" being among one of my all time favorites.

This book is one of Simmons' recent trend for historical fiction, such as "Everest" or "the Terror." For myself, I am not as much of a fan of his historical books (I almost gave up on Simmons after reading "The Crook Factory") but I did find Black Hills enjoyable and worth the listen, It still suffers from some of the flaws of some of the other Simmons historical fiction, such as his tendency to bring in famous historical figures into the books as if to say, "see how well I researched this topic." I also found the ending to be a little too 'deus ex machina.'

Worth a listen.

Lots of History & Detail

Good Story, Excellent narrator. Libby character 1st showing is annoying. Gets better. Killer Historically !

Good Story

I like Dan Simmons' historical fiction stories, like Drood and The Terror, and this one did not disappoint, or at least not much. It did feel like it was dragging at times, but I felt the same about Drood and The Terror. I thought the performance was good, and if the pronunciation of the Sioux words was incorrect, I'll never know, but it sounded authentic to me.

An amazing journey

This was a truly wonderful story about the Lakota indians of the Black Hills. It's told in flash-forwards and flash-backs of an 11 year old indian boy named Paha Sapa. It left me with a sadness for the losses of the "natural free human beings" who lived near the Black Hills, known by them as "the Six Grandfathers". It is one of the best books that I've read in a while.

Timeline gimmick annoying

Any additional comments?

When I listened to this author's Hyperion trilogy, I got the 2nd and 3rd books out of sequence (It's sometimes hard to figure out which book comes next in Audible's offerings), which was annoying but my fault.

This story is like that. The timeline is mangled. This gimmick that the author uses is distracting at best, and adds nothing to the story. At least with Hyperion, the story was about timeline perturbation. On the positive side, you could listen to the chapters at random and as long as you listened to all, the experience would be the same as going from beginning to end.

So good

This was one of the best books I’ve ever read and now among my all time favorites. The narration was superlative. Listen and enjoy!

Wow!

I totally fell in love with this story. I am from the Black Hills and was completely impressed by significant history that I didn’t even think about or was aware of. The physical descriptions took me to many places that I visit often or have seen. I’ve studied the 7th cav and the battlefield. I have guided officers in training across and by those monuments. I think my next trip there will be much different for me. I went to high school with Bear Butte outside our doors and looked at the mountain daily. I loved this book!

Mega-treat for locals

Definitely one of my favorite Simmons books. About a native named Paha Sapa that absorbs peoples' life stories by touch and somehow gets the ghost of General Custer tapped in his mind with him.

Great story wrapped around fascinating history.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I have, because it's an especially interesting story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, Black Hills, or Paha Sapa. He is a common man, with uncommon powers, that he himself doesn't entirely understand. Faced with a life full of joy and hellacious hardships, he has a faith that he follows to the end.