The Weapon [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Z. Williamson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2007

Kenneth Chinran was a disaffected youth who joined the military and was recruited for an elite deep cover unit, shrugging off training and exercises so tough that several of the recruits did not survive. Then he was sent by his star nation to infiltrate a fascistic, militaristic planet¿Earth. He lived in deep cover for years, marrying and having a daughter. Then the Earth forces attacked his home system, and he and his team came out of hiding, attacking and destroying the infrastructure of the crowded planet, disabling transportation and communications in city after city. As a result of his attacks, billions died for lack of the food, water and power which the ravaged system could no longer supply. His sabotage was successful, but the deaths of so many weighs heavily on his mind, making him wonder if he can stay sane. Then the secret police discovered his identity. With his daughter, the only thing in his life that had so far kept him human, he was on the run, while the resources of a planetwide police state were tracking him down. He could see no way to escape from the planet, no way to keep hiding, and if he and his daughter were caught, death was the very least that they could expect. But Chinran is a warrior to the core, and even if he loses this last battle, he won¿t go down without a fight that his pursuers¿the ones who survive¿will never forget

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Z. Williamson was born in Birkenhead, England and raised in Liverpool, and Toronto, Canada, before moving to Columbus, Ohio. An 18-year veteran of the US Army and US Air Force, he is a state-ranked competitive shooter in combat rifle and combat pistol. His other books include Freehold (Baen), the Target Terror series for Harper-Collins, so far including Targets of Opportunity and The Scope of Justice, and The Hero, a collaboration with New York Times best-selling author John Ringo for Baen. He currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife Gail, their two children, and various cats that are not to be trusted.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Baen (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416521186
• ISBN-13: 978-1416521181
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Z. Williamson is retired military, having served twenty-five years in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. He was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Desert Fox. Williamson is a state-ranked competitive shooter in combat rifle and combat pistol. He has consulted on military matters, weapons and disaster preparedness for Discovery Channel and Outdoor Channel productions and is Editor-at-Large for Survivalblog, with 300K weekly readers. In addition to these activities, Williamson tests and reviews firearms and gear for manufacturers. Williamson's books set in his Freehold Universe include Freehold, Better to Beg Forgiveness, and Do Unto Others. His novel The Hero - written in collaboration with New York Times best-selling author John Ringo-has reached modern classic status. Williamson was born in England, raised in Liverpool and Toronto, Canada, and now resides in Indianapolis with his wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An very nice concurrent sequel to Freehold., July 24, 2005

By 

Leo Champion (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Weapon (Freehold War) (Hardcover)

The second book in Mike Williamson's Freehold universe, The Weapon is less a sequel than a concurrence: the start of The Weapon is actually a good bit earlier than the start of Freehold, as it follows the career of a Freehold Military Forces soldier through some of the backstory and many of the events of Freehold. It helps to have read Freehold first, although this isn't essential; The Weapon is much more of a military book than Freehold, and nothing (about the society or the military) is considered to be assumed knowledge. You can read them in either order.

It'd be fair to say that Freehold is about a society; The Weapon is about a soldier. As in Freehold, Williamson spends a lot of time describing harsh and painful methods of training; unlike Freehold, this isn't such an important part of the book and there's nowhere near as much of it. The main character then goes on to Mtali, described in passing in Freehold but in far more detail (with specifics on how the troubled planet got to be that way), here. There are more training exercises and drills as the main character, Kenneth Chinran, works his way up the ranks; then the Freehold war begins, and Chinran is a black ops man on Earth. If you know the ending to Freehold, you'll already know what he does.

There's bodycount that makes John Ringo look cheap, some sex (less than the profligate girl-on-girl scenes in Freehold, thank God), and a lot less political comparison: yes, it's about a guy from the Freehold going to Earth (as opposed to Freehold, about someone from Earth going to the Freehold of Grainne), so there's a slight mirror-image thing as Chinran views Earth through Freehold-accustomed eyes - but not an in-depth one, because that's not the point of this book. If you were offended by excessive politics or sex in Freehold, you won't have a problem with The Weapon.

Probably the biggest problem Weapon has is, well, the lack of a dynamic plot or any *individual* bad guys. The only antagonists are at the national level, no individuals you can really hate. And the plot is 'course-of-events', not 'action-reaction-action'; Chinran is a soldier who goes where he's sent, and the only decisions he gets to make are at the tactical level. No real suspense in what he'll do next, especially if you've already read Freehold. It's a train ride, not a car chase.

On the other hand, it's also a very *nice* train ride; there's a different view of the Freehold, a highly amusing look at Earth (some of Williamson's description is hilarious), and the combat is great. There's enough personal stuff that you don't know *exactly* how it ends for Chinran, and I do remember wondering towards the end if he was even going to survive- there are devices you can use to allow that in a first-person novel, and the story would work either way.

You don't get military sci-fi like this every day, or (how often does David Drake publish?) many times a year. Williamson isn't Drake, but he's one of the tiny handful of authors who're in his ballpark - different, and not necessarily inferior in every aspect. An excellent work.

43 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mad Mike Marinates Marvelously, July 25, 2005

By 

Walt Boyes "Walt Boyes" (Aurora IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Weapon (Freehold War) (Hardcover)

Mad Mike Williamson's debut novel Freehold was fantastic, with its tale of a woman's journey from patsy to hero, from moral infant to adult citizen. The Weapon is the second novel in Williamson's series about the Freehold War.

The biggest difference between this book and Freehold is that in Freehold there are winners. In The Weapon, there are only survivors. Nobody wins.

Williamson is uncompromising in his portrayal of a ruthless patriot, capable of destroying half of Earth to preserve his planet, yet who shows that he can love and be loved. There is simply no sentimentality in this book.

Thomas Jefferson said, "The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time..." and Williamson explains in detail how that happens.

If you expect a happy ending, you will be disappointed. But if you want the real thing, this is it.

Excellent writing, excellent characterization, excellent plot and vibrant story. When Williamson really gets his career cooking, he is going to be one to watch.

Walt Boyes
The Bananaslug. at Baen's Bar

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars intriguing tale, September 4, 2005

By 

LaughingLion "I am Lion, read me review!" (North of Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Weapon (Freehold War) (Hardcover)

This is set in the same world as Freehold but starts earlier and takes a very different tack on warfare. I found this take on the training of a covert ops soldier very interesting. The book is start to finish a look at the world through the eyes of a character that i was very near to writing off as a worthless, arrogant twit and putting the book down. I'm glad i didn't the book does take some wrenching twists, but it is all part of a tightly written story that is more than it first appears and not your run of the mill sciffy adventure tale. Dark, bleak even but well worth the read.