The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski
The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski tells the story of one man’s opportunity to stop the Titanic from sinking and the devastating consequences it has on the world.
Synopsis
When a safe is lifted from the sunken, rotting wreck of the Titanic, all the jewels, heirlooms and items of value are whisked away. The man behind the dive is thrown what is thought to be a worthless diary as a small token of appreciation. Suitably underwhelmed, he plans to give it away. After reading it, he realises he owns a world-changing diary.
The diary tells the story of Dr Wells, a surgeon who’s called into a military base to help a severely injured man with his pioneering techniques. He’s whisked across America and down into the depths of a desert to a secure bunker. There he operates on a man with a false spine, a technology not yet invented. The dying man’s injuries are a result of the pressure from time travel. The doctor knows he has seen too much and won’t be left to walk away. When he realises the time machine is his only escape, he makes a run for it.
Hurtled back to the early 1900s, he decides he has the perfect opportunity to right the wrongs in history. He decides, that on the 15th of April 1912, he will start by single-handedly saving the Titanic.
The man reading the Dr Well’s diary is living in the reality that Wells created. A world of war and conflict. A crew of men come together to undo Well’s changes in an attempt to save the work from atomic devastation.
The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski review
I was expecting numerous time jumps in this immense 750-page novel, but it approaches the genre from a different angle to many works of speculative history. The main characters are already set in the alternate history and the story follows their attempts to undo the changes rather than create them. Time travel only takes place at the beginning and end of the novel. Most of the story is set around the crews epic journey across the country to get to the time machine. It follows them hiding from government bodies, being framed for murder and fighting in battles.
The first fifty pages of The Company of the Dead had me utterly gripped. However, the next fifty had me utterly confused due to the sudden influx of characters and alternate world history. Eventually, I got to grips with the crucial personalities and I found myself completely absorbed again. Due to the alternate history style of this book, I am sure it will get comparisons to Stephen King’s, 11.22.63 or Shift by Tim Kring. But after reading all of them, The Company of the Dead is definitely my favourite.
The Company of the Dead really is like three novels in one; a concoction of sci-fi, thriller and war novel, and it does each style superbly. It may not be a book for people who only manage a page every now and then due to its length and complexity but for readers who love in-depth twists and turns this exquisite piece of alternate history fiction ticks every box.
If you liked The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski, you’ll love 11.22.63 by Stephen King.
Read an excerpt of The Company of the Dead now.
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