The Company of the Dead, by David Kowalski

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**I won this book from Goodreads as a First Reads giveaway**

I was really excited when I learned that I had won this book. Such an awesome premise and very timely as we remember the Titanic's sinking one hundred years ago. What would happen if someone went back in time and changed the course of history? One small change on the night of April 14, 1912 changes the world. How could I not absolutely love this book?

I'll tell you how. First of all, it was long. And I don't mean long as in "wow, there are a lot of pages" (though there ARE a lot of pages), I mean long as in "omg this book is taking me forever to read." It either should have been cut into thirds and made into a trilogy or cut by 25%.

I went back and forth between wanting to read more and wanting to stop reading completely.

This review has two parts: 1) the beginning & the end; and 2) the middle.

Part 1: I really liked the first and last 150 pages of the book. The minute change, the alternate reality, and how it all came about. I felt that the characters lacked motivation at some points, but overall it was quite enjoyable. Four stars.

Part 2: The middle 450 pages left me scratching my head. Now, it's possible that I just didn't "get it" because I am nowhere near knowledgeable about the military and war. I have no clue what a Jackson is. Nor an eighty-eight, nor a Mauser. Do I care? Not really. But for a book to have all of these military references and for me to not understand them made for a boring read. Two stars.

The other thing that bothered me is something that I see in a lot of books: the author tells the reader what the character is doing and/or feeling, rather than showing.

Overall, a three-star book. Pretty good, but not something I'll read again.