The Weapon is a science fiction novel by Michael Z. Williamson. (481 pages. ISBN 9-781416-508946 Published by BAEN Books.) This is sort of a “intra-quel” storyline to Williamson’s novel Freehold, which I previously reviewed. (See my Sunday, February 12, 2006 post.) Like Freehold, this novel is a fast-paced Libertarian think piece. It is a tale of interplanetary colonization, set some 500 years in the future. The descriptions of the bureaucratic totalitarian central Earth government are contrasted with the “Freehold” colony planet, Grainne. The main character is a Grainne special operations soldier that is sent on a “deep cover” mission to Earth. The story heats up when Earth decides to invade Grainne, to “civilize” it. I enjoy Williamson’s writing. I enjoyed this novel even more than I did Freehold. I highly recommend it. There is quite a bit of violence and some adult situations, so it is definitely not a book to let your kids read. I should also mention that Michael Z. Williamson is a SurvivalBlog reader.
Book Review: The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson
