Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days [Hardcover]

Michael Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

The author of Dances With Wolves turns his creativity and imagination toward America's doomed romantic hero, George Armstrong Custer--the youngest general of the Civil War, trailblazer, Indian hunter, passionate lover, obsessive husband, and tormented, guilt-ridden soul. A wonderful merger of fact and fiction, Marching to Valhalla is soon to be a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like a vampire who won't die, Custer rises once again from the grave. In the 1970s, a wave of books and movies, most notably the film "Little Big Man" and the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, seemed to have finally driven a wooden stake through the heart of that particular myth, transforming Custer from legendary hero to monstrous megalomaniac and racist. March to Valhalla hauls Custer back out of the coffin, seemingly as good as new. Written by Michael Blake, author of Dances With Wolves, March to Valhalla comes in the form of a diary that Custer supposedly wrote in the five weeks before his death. In Blake's incarnation, Custer rides again, a fearless, noble, warrior with a flair for romance. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Dances with Wolves returns to the Old West for a startling novel about this year's most popular literary subject, the inimitable George Armstrong Custer, focus to date of at least four novels and three nonfiction books. Every author has his own Custer, and Blake's is wholly unexpected: not a glory-hungry martinet but a rational man and passionate romantic. Blake's approach is refreshing. He presents Custer by imagining the general's journals, written during the last seven weeks of his life, from May 18, 1876 to the morning of June 25, 1876, date of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. As he pursues the Sioux, Custer reveals his private thoughts about the military, his Indian opponents, his plans for the upcoming battle and his destiny. He also ventures at length into his past, making it clear that, although "I have always aspired to greatness," it was his remarkable battlefield achievements in the Civil War, as well as his ardent love for his wife, Libbie, that proved key to his later military successes and his popularity with the public. He also coolly explains his court martial conviction and his sordid affair with a young Indian woman. Though revisionist in its sympathy for Custer, the narrative seems rigorously authentic in its period detail, down to the flowery nature of Custer's prose. Blake's fascinating tale may not convince readers that its hero was a paragon of humanity, but it likely will persuade many that, for all his faults, Custer was a warrior who died with his boots on. 100,000 first printing; major ad/promo; film rights sold to New Line Cinema with Brad Pitt scheduled to play Custer; simultaneous Random House audio; author tour; foreign rights sold in Japan, Germany and England.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679448640
• ISBN-13: 978-0679448648
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,007,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction, April 4, 1998

By 

Bob Joyner (Scottsdale, AZ. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days (Hardcover)

Thoroughly enjoyed a story about a memorable American icon that didn't need Little Big Horn in order to have closure. A personal look at a VERY personal character. His love for his wife is almost beyond poetic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A soul-wrenching journey., July 3, 1999

By 

"webwords2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days (Hardcover)

_

Don't expect a nice guy who dances with wolves. This one kills with "Wolverines."

Penned by the best-selling author/Academy Award-winning screenwriter of DANCES WITH WOLVES, in Michael Blake's MARCHING TO VALHALLA we again journey West to the savage frontier of post-Civil War days. Only this time our guide's no Indian lover -- he's an Indian fighter. And an immortal legend. George Armstrong Custer.

But as we accompany him on this journey through uncharted territory, we discover -- soul-wrenchingly -- he's as mortal as the rest of us.

It is 1876. On a long march to what Custer hopes will be his most glorious campaign, he decides to record his daily thoughts and observations, as well as the events that led him here, in his Journal. It is through this Journal that we enter the secret catacombs of his "true heart."

The skeletons of fallen Confederate soldiers unearthed by rain. The dark entombment of Custer's dreams during his court martial and suspension from military duty. The taste of blood-lust, more satisfying than the finest wine, when he commands the brigade known as "Wolverines" on the battlefield. And piercing the mists as magically as the rainbow-colored suns he glimpsed during the Washita Campaign, the love Custer shared with his wife, Libbie.

Through Custer's eyes we see the beauty of the prairie flowers, the way light "dances" through the cottonwood leaves. And through his eyes we see the horrors of war. Battlefield carnage. Three mutilated bodies found at a stage station. The senseless burning of a Cheyenne village.

Michael Blake's a master, and his imagery flows like warm, golden honey. His words ambush us and hold us captive. But secretly we hope he'll never let us go.

When Blake sends us riding across the plains to that final destination, Custer's thoughts whisper tragically through our own hearts. And for that brief, flickering moment we know the name of the horse we ride -- Fate.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This a thoughtful, meditative journal of Custer's destiny..., February 10, 1998

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days (Paperback)

As the noble Lt. Col. of the U.S. 7th Cavalry approaches his destiny, he meditates on his life as a warrior, a husband,a leader of men in war,a "boyish cavalier"; a man still evolving, maturing even as his life and death merge in the last 39 days of his meteoric life on earth. Custer understands the value of his 'union' with his beloved wife, Libbie; his dedication to honor and the desire for greatness;his fullfillment of his destiny; and his desire to be allowed the honor of entering 'warrior's heaven' (Valhalla) as his reward for valour, commitment, and noble courage, here on earth. Blake searches for the "spiritual' GAC as he himself evolves from Lt. Dunbar (Dances With Woves) to the 'Boy General' of the CW and the scapegoat for 'Manifest Destiny'. One can see the realization Michael Blake has in his true understanding of the greatness of the boy who fought like a 'god' and died like a hero among men! Each moment as the hero of the Civil War approaches his destiny; his past 'glory' and life with his 'soul-mate' (Libbie) merge upon the alter of "Valhalla"! Blake honors himself, his country, and the soul of Custer/Libbie and the true courage of every great known and unknown warrior who approaches death with fearless and devoted passion for life! As in the final scene, Custer sends Dandy,( his favorite mount)to the rear, and rides "Vic"(Victory) with his bugler, and guidon bearer and each side charging at the head of the his men. As he had done from Aldie, Gettysburg, and the Washita to the plains of Montana into the halls of 'Valhalla' and the hearts of men and women who will echo his name into infinity! Michael Blake blends history accurately with myth, romance,tragedy,and intelligence into a story that brings tears to the eyes and opens the heart. His story elevates the pages of our past to a level of honor for all who face death on the 'battlefield' with royal courage! The angels of the 'warrior heaven' have written the story through Blake as he channels the last days of the man 'America Forgot!'-George Armstrong Custer, the blazing fire of our memories past!