Dino Buzzati

"For his first commission, infantry lieutenant Drogo is stationed at a remote desert garrison on the mist-shrouded border of the North Kingdom. Filling their days with endless drilling, the soldiers of Fortezza Bastiani spend the long nights wondering about an enemy no one has ever seen. As the days stretch into months, the strain of waiting for attack takes its toll on Drago's comrades: sadistic major Mattis, sardonic Lieutenant Simeon, cynical medic...