Dances with Wolves: A Novel - Softcover

Blake, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593974530 ISBN 13: 9780593974537

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2025

Synopsis

The world-renowned American epic that inspired the incredible Oscar-winning film Dances with Wolves, the eternal story of one man’s search for his place in the world—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Blake

In 1863, Lieutenant John Dunbar is ordered to an abandoned army post where the war-weary soldier finds himself alone with only his horse and a wolf for company. The desolate and deserted outpost soon becomes the springboard for contact with his wild neighbors, the Comanche. 

Survival forces Dunbar into the Comanche camp, where he strikes up an unlikely friendship and begins a dangerous adventure that changes his life forever.

Each day in the wilderness, Dunbar becomes more and more like the Comanche, learning the ways of a proud and glorious people. But when his past comes back to haunt him, Dunbar must decide who he really is and where his loyalties lie.

Relive the adventure and beauty of the incredible Academy Award–winning film Dances with Wolves.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Blake was an award-winning screenwriter and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dances With Wolves. His other novels include Airman Mortensen, Marching to Valhalla, The Holy Road, and Into the Stars, along with the nonfiction books Like A Running Dog, Indian Yell, and Twelve, The King. Michael Blake died in 2015 and is survived by his wife and three children.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Lieutenant Dunbar wasn't really swallowed. But that was the first word that stuck in his head.

Everything was immense.

The great, cloudless sky. The rolling ocean of grass. Nothing else, no matter where he put his eyes. No road. No trace of ruts for the big wagon to follow. Just sheer, empty space.

He was adrift. It made his heart jump in a strange and profound way.

As he sat on the flat, open seat, letting his body roll along with the prairie, Lieutenant Dunbar's thoughts focused on his jumping heart. He was thrilled. And yet, his blood wasn't racing. His blood was quiet. The confusion of this kept his mind working in a delightful way. Words turned constantly in his head as he tried to conjure sentences or phrases that would describe what he felt. It was hard to pinpoint.

On their third day out the voice in his head spoke the words "This is religious," and that sentence seemed the rightest yet. But Lieutenant Dunbar had never been a religious man, so even though the sentence seemed right, he didn't quite know what to make of it.

lf he hadn't been so carried away, Lieutenant Dunbar probably would have come up with the explanation, but in his reverie, he jumped right over it.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593974530
• ISBN 13: 9780593974537
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304