The
Weapon The
Weapon
Format: Paperback: 480 pages.
Publisher: Baen Books
ISBN: 1416508945
Review by Larry Stanley
I have to be honest and say that this book hits you like a fist in the gut. Then it hits you again, just to make sure you are getting the message.
This sucker reads like a primer on why we need to re-think our way of government to why we need to get out of the U.N. before it is to late to the fact that certain middle-eastern religious factions will still be fighting 300 or 400 years from now.
And all of it done with a page turning force that almost scares you to read, worried about what happens if some nut gets their hands on this book and tries to use it as an instruction manual.
“The Weapon” is the second book in the Freehold, this one dealing with youthful Kenneth Chinran who joins the military hoping for training and excitement. He got both when he was recruited for a Special Forces type unit. After surviving training and exercises so tough that some of his fellow recruits washed out and some simply did not survive, he becomes something to be feared even by his fellow military.
He becomes a ‘weapon’, realizing that guns, knives and bombs are simply tools and that the greatest weapon is one that is carried with you at all times. After years of battles and training, he is sent on his most important mission; he is to infiltrate a planet that for hundreds of years has lived under a fascist, military ruler.
He is to take a team and go deep undercover, and when he receives his orders he is to attack the enemy from their own world, destroying the security of the people and thus the very infrastructure of the target world. His target world is Earth, and their attacks left millions dead. Many more died for lack of medical help, food and water.
And into all this, Ken is forced to flee from the retribution of this angry world with his newborn daughter in his arms. With his team dead or captured, his lover gone, Ken is tracked by the police and even the citizens around him as he scrounges for food, clothes and safety for his little girl. He is alone against a whole planet of soldiers and a hateful population. It isn’t hard to be worried for him, but it is also hard to not feel sorry for his opponents.
Since this story is told from the point of view of Ken Chinran, it shows his emotional distress and his personal value system as it becomes jaded and abused by the things he is forced to do and the things he sees. As the story opens on his recruitment into the military and his training in both boot camp and the special warfare section, we watch as he turns into the warrior he needs to become. Ken is that special breed of warrior, one who fights not because they like it or want to, but because they can and because they are actually good at it. He is also a patriot who believes in his world and the way of life they lead.
And when he is ordered into a fire zone, he goes in with the intent to destroy his enemies and stop them from waging war against Freehold and his people ever again. I did take umbrage with the authors remark to one of the Marines on a ship. One of Ken’s crewmates is talking with an Earth spacer, and when asked if they were as good as Marines, replies “No. We are better.”
Now, maybe in 300 years the Marines will not be what they are today, but I think Mr. Williamson could have put some sort of qualifier on this paragraph. Heehee Still the story does show what those men and women who understand that sometimes a nation is worth a life can do. This book is going to be considered racist by some, because of the image of Islamic terrorism it portrays.
However, what Williamson shows can be seen on any of the network news programs if you tune in for a few minutes. Car bombs, rape, murder and repression has been around for centuries. There is no reason to think that they will go away anytime soon. However, I did like the fact that Iraq was now a Jewish state. Go Jews!!
And, this sucker is also showing us lots of reasons to get out of the U.N. while we can. Keeping people uninformed, lying to the people, misinformation, ridiculous laws and regulations (even to the point of letting someone die because you are not allowed to perform CPR on them) and making sure society is ‘equal’, whatever that is, shows just what can and probably will happen under U.N. rule.
There is no concern for the person, for the individual. All that is important is society and what it can do for everyone. There is no personal chance for real growth under the repressive regime ruling the people of Earth, no opportunity to discover who you are and what you can do. Williamson makes varied social comments throughout the book, showing his feelings about religion, abortion, gun control, racism and ‘political correctness’.
And like I said earlier, he hits you solid and hard to get his point across. What is that point? That war is dirty? Or that it hurts the innocent? I don’t think so. I think everyone knows that. So, what was the point? It is a combination of two actually. One, the most dangerous weapon is not a machine gun or a bomb.
It is the man or woman using it, who knows how to use it and is willing to use it to defend something they honestly believe in. Two, the lengths that a Father will go to in order to defend their child from harm; how far would you go? Could you kill to defend your own child? I know people who wouldn’t.
The Weapon is an emotional and spiritually draining book, one that shocks the reader by showing an honest face of guerilla warfare and how it sometimes has to work. It holds back on none of the feelings or pain that Kenneth Chinran experiences. That is what makes it so good.
Michael Z. Williamson is an immigrant from the UK and Canada, and a veteran of the US Army and US Air Force. His works include the SF novels Freehold, The Hero (with John Ringo) and The Weapon (pending) as well as the military adventure series Target: Terror. The first title, The Scope of Justice is in stores worldwide now. When not writing, Mike is a professional bladesmith who enjoys shooting competitively, kung fu, and skydiving. His websites are www.MichaelZWilliamson.com and www.SharpPointyThings.com