Name: The Company
ISBN: 9780316038539

K. J. Parker

Setting out to colonize an abandoned island in the hopes of a better life, five war veterans find their company threatened by a dark secret that reveals that the war is far from over. By the author of the Engineer Trilogy.

The Company

Janice Hopper

Boy howdy.

I like K.J. Parker's writing a lot, but his STORIES can be somewhat daunting. Like this one: a formidable group of fighters from the war have gone their separate ways. Then their nominal leader comes back and gets them to come with him to set up an outpost of "civilization" on an uninhabited island. And things happen. And old stories and failings and misdeeds come to light and stuff gets dark.

I agree with another reviewer who said the ending seemed mostly inevitable. Like, what else really COULD have happened?? With all that transpired on the island, there was never going to be a Happily Ever After here. 

Alas.

[One kinda goofy side note, pertinent only to me: The title of the book is The Company (definite article). But throughout the book, the group the soldiers belong to is referred to as A Company. It took me a bit to realize that the author wasn't using the "A" as an indefinite article*, but rather as a designator, as for example A(lpha) Company, B(ravo) Company, etc. )

*Or WAS he????