The author of The Revenant is returning to the world of fiction after a 19-year break.
Michael Punke, whose 2002 novel formed the basis for the critically acclaimed movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, will publish his second novel next year, the Associated Press reports.
Henry Holt and Company will release Punke’s Ridgeline, which the publisher says “interweaves the perspectives of key U.S. Army officers, the family members they brought with them to settle the West, and the indigenous people who fought off the invasion of their land, including the legendary Crazy Horse.”
Punke’s debut novel, The Revenant, followed Hugh Glass, a frontiersman seeking revenge on two trappers who left him to die after he was mauled by a bear. A reviewer for Kirkus called the book “a good adventure yarn, with plenty of historical atmosphere and local color.”
The film version of the novel was a box office hit, and earned three Academy Awards, including one for DiCaprio and one for director Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
The success of the film might have turned Punke into a literary celebrity, but he was forced to shun the spotlight. His day job as deputy U.S. trade representative and ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Switzerland meant that he was legally forbidden from even talking about the book. (He currently works as a vice president for Amazon Web Services, so he’ll likely be able to promote his new novel, though.)
Ridgeline is slated for publication next summer.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
