KCR: The Weapon (war, terrorism, scifi)

The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson is a companion book to Freehold. In Freehold, the Graine Colony is getting invaded. In The Weapon, a special operations team had been spread around the cities of Earth. At one command, they will cause so much havoc (and civilian casualties) on Earth cities that will make people cringe...

The book raises a very interesting question: in what circumstances is terrorism a valid tactic? This book postulates a situation that such tactics may be justifiable if there is no other hope. And this is not a few incidents of terrorism... This is coordinated full-scale layered attack aimed at causing MILLIONS of casualties, and full breakdown of a city's support structure (which will cause even MORE casualties in the rioting, and other aftermath). UN security forces aren't going to take this lying down, of course, so the members are hunted, and safehouses destroyed one by one, and only this one member manage to make it off Earth...

The action is interesting, as the attack are intricately planned. Electricity grid is buzzed with an EMP bomb, then thermobaric explosives were detonated in glass buildings to spread tons of shrapnel all around, THEN the explosives in basement collapse the foundation... then random fire trucks and ambulances blow up... then add poison gas in subways, hallucinogen in water, and multiple teams in multiple cities, cities are not ready for huge number of casualties. It's scary. And it forces you to ask the question: does the ends justify the means?

Rating: get it