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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
Just like Drood a year ago, Simmons ruins what is otherwise a good book with a horrible ending. Instead of "...and it was all just a dream", Black Hills winds up the action with an overwrought speech about the destruction of the Great Plains due to climate change, corporate farming and ranching, and overpopulation (there's also a tedious bit of family history that feels totally out of place). Environmental degradation is an important issue for America to face in the 21st century, sure, but not one this reader needed to be clubbed over the head with for 30 pages.
Although it's fiction, it reads very much like a true story. The use of the Lakota language was overdone and an obstacle to enjoying the book. I do not recommend this book.
DNF @ 19% this book just did not catch my attention and felt like a caricature of native culture
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've loved all of Simmons's earlier historical novels so I had expectations going into this one. Unfortunately, it was a rough beginning. The first couple of chapters (detailing the thoughts of Custer's ghost) were mainly explicit, detailed descriptions of his sexual history with his wife. I saw no point in including this and, in fact, the majority of the "possession" sub-story was thin and added nearly nothing until the last chapters. The content in those chapters was more informative, interesting, and nicely illustrated what it could be like to have a ghost inside you.
Outside of that, the story was excellent and entertaining. I especially liked the large amount of Lakota used in the book. This might put off some people but it was accurate and really helped the verisimilitude of the story.
Outside of that, the story was excellent and entertaining. I especially liked the large amount of Lakota used in the book. This might put off some people but it was accurate and really helped the verisimilitude of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After reading the synopsis of Black Hills, I was anxious to read it and so glad to win a copy from FirstReads.
Paha Sapa, a Lakota, has spiritual gifts that allow him to see the past and future of those he touches. Not only that, he carries the ghost of Custer throughout his own fascinating life.
The writing is superb. The character of Paha Sapa (which means "Black Hills") is extraordinary, rare and yet entirely human.
The history is well researched and spans the period of Custer's battles with the Sioux, Cheyenne and other tribes in the 1870's to Borglum's masterful work on Mt. Rushmore during the 1930's. Mixed throughout the story with ease are interesting historical facts covering things such as the World's Fair in Chicago and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The main setting of the Black Hills is almost as important as the main character. Simmons writes beautiful descriptions of the incredible, transforming landscape. After reading a biography on Theodore Roosevelt, I'm anxious to visit the Bad Lands. Now, I'll insist that we spend time in the Black Hills as well.
Simmons shifts time periods with ease in spite of not writing in chronological order. And ultimately the story takes precedent. It is, of course, most importantly about the story.
My only criticisms and the reason for giving the book only four stars as opposed to five are the semi-gratuitous and fairly ridiculous sex scenes near the beginning between Custer and his wife (who apparently had zero inhibitions, according to Simmons). However, they are short, possibly character defining and would not prevent me from recommending this book to most of my friends. And the ending is overly fanciful and Simmons spends too much time ranting about his agenda.
Paha Sapa, a Lakota, has spiritual gifts that allow him to see the past and future of those he touches. Not only that, he carries the ghost of Custer throughout his own fascinating life.
The writing is superb. The character of Paha Sapa (which means "Black Hills") is extraordinary, rare and yet entirely human.
The history is well researched and spans the period of Custer's battles with the Sioux, Cheyenne and other tribes in the 1870's to Borglum's masterful work on Mt. Rushmore during the 1930's. Mixed throughout the story with ease are interesting historical facts covering things such as the World's Fair in Chicago and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The main setting of the Black Hills is almost as important as the main character. Simmons writes beautiful descriptions of the incredible, transforming landscape. After reading a biography on Theodore Roosevelt, I'm anxious to visit the Bad Lands. Now, I'll insist that we spend time in the Black Hills as well.
Simmons shifts time periods with ease in spite of not writing in chronological order. And ultimately the story takes precedent. It is, of course, most importantly about the story.
My only criticisms and the reason for giving the book only four stars as opposed to five are the semi-gratuitous and fairly ridiculous sex scenes near the beginning between Custer and his wife (who apparently had zero inhibitions, according to Simmons). However, they are short, possibly character defining and would not prevent me from recommending this book to most of my friends. And the ending is overly fanciful and Simmons spends too much time ranting about his agenda.
For a story about a Lakota Indian that doesn’t talk much, this book was a mighty word festival. Simmons is an excellent writer, and I never knew I’d like historical fiction so much until I started reading his work, but good grief the man needs to edit himself more. It was very entertaining though, despite its lengthy explanations and overwrought “natural free human beings” speak. Paha Sapa’s life story spans seven decades, starting with his life in the Black Hills of South Dakota as a boy in the 1870s, to his work as a powder man during the carving of Mount Rushmore in the 1930s. Lakota culture, language, and spirituality are explored throughout. Simmons also likes to add a touch of the mystical, which in this case involves Paha Sapa’s abilities to touch someone and “see things.” This talent, or curse as is sometimes the case, makes for some interesting story lines.
Black Hills--Paha Sapa in Lakota--is the name of a place as well as the protagonist of Dan Simmons new novel. As a ten year old boy, arriving at the very end of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Paha Sapa seizes the chance to count coup on one of the last survivors of the fight. When he touches the blond man at the very moment of the man's death, the spirit of George Armstrong Custer enters the boy's body.
This is not the first time such a thing has happened to this kid, but it is different to have a spirit in the back of your head constantly mumbling in a foreign language. None of the ceremonies designed to banish the ghost ever materialize, and Paha Sapa and Custer roll into a future that includes the 1893 World's Fair, the building of Mount Rushmore, and the Ghost Dance.
Black Hills is finely written and filled with interesting events and a multifaceted character. How do I explain why the novel never grabbed me? I cannot find any fault in the book except to say that it did not compel me to rush back and pick it up to find out what happened next. It did not move me as did, say, James Welch's Heartsong of Charging Elk. Nonetheless, I recommend Black Hills. I may come back to it in the future and find the experience I hoped for.
This is not the first time such a thing has happened to this kid, but it is different to have a spirit in the back of your head constantly mumbling in a foreign language. None of the ceremonies designed to banish the ghost ever materialize, and Paha Sapa and Custer roll into a future that includes the 1893 World's Fair, the building of Mount Rushmore, and the Ghost Dance.
Black Hills is finely written and filled with interesting events and a multifaceted character. How do I explain why the novel never grabbed me? I cannot find any fault in the book except to say that it did not compel me to rush back and pick it up to find out what happened next. It did not move me as did, say, James Welch's Heartsong of Charging Elk. Nonetheless, I recommend Black Hills. I may come back to it in the future and find the experience I hoped for.