Solo

Weapon-Solo #2

by Robert Mason

Dust jacket blurb-The scene is and the central character, who dominates the book, is a young man of fierce, of a sort of bitterly self-conscious, integrity. This man, Virgil Jones, grows and develops before our eyes throughout the pages of a long, rich and extraordinarily dramatic and mere contact with him changes the lives of everyone of a big and highly individualised cast of leading characters. But he himself, though he grows and develops, does not essentially in the deeply moving and utterly unexpected last paragraph- in that dark room, totally deaf, and playing on a soundless piano - he is more himself than ever. The speed, the tenseness, the vitality of the writing are long though the book is, you "cannot put it down". And still we have said nothing about such scenes as the one in which a thug, hired by the power-crazed Paul, tries to smash Virgil's or about the beautiful love of Helen for or about the whole world of jazz-musicians and jazz-addicts, so expertly and so excitingly presented. But Virgil Jones is the we do not think, for our own part, that we shall ever forget him.

This is the first novel of a man in his twenties.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Robert Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book not just because my husband wrote it but because of the inventive funny way his mind works. Who would think of a 300 lb robot carrying a big suitcase full of batteries trying to blend in in NYC. Only Bob. It is a sequel to Weapon.

[Patience Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book not just because my husband wrote it but because of the inventive funny way his mind works. Who would think of a 300 lb robot carrying a big suitcase full of batteries trying to blend in in NYC. Only Bob. It is a sequel to Weapon.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mason knows how to do action, but this book got a bit silly. Once he gets to dope growing country boys, imbecilic military folks, and so on I kept reading, but he'd lost me. The first half was very good, and a nice sequel to "Weapon". Solo is just too powerful, all knowing, and ultimately becomes uninteresting. Most of the plot 'twists' are obvious. Too bad. I was pleasantly surprised by the first book, and 'Chickenhawk' is great, but 'Solo' was a let down.

[Regine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Male, fast-paced.

[Mark Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent follow up to Weapon. Solo is on his own having survived from the first book. Nimrod is his successor and everything is being done to try and not repeat what happened with Solo. It’s amazing that Robert Mason wrote only these two sci-fi books. You wouldn’t know that the other two books are autobiographical. Trigger warning there is mention of a violent rape and attempted rape. The author has self published Solo and Weapon after all these years and while I find the new covers nowhere near as good as the originals the stories still hold up. Some books I have read are not as good as I had first read them but these two books are just as good. I always wished Robert Mason had written more books but I’m glad I have these two to read again.

[Erica Comfort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solo is a gripping high-tech thriller that blends action, artificial intelligence, and moral conflict into a tense, fast-moving narrative. Robert Mason explores what happens when advanced intelligence is shaped by compassion in one case and cruelty in another, creating a compelling contrast between Solo and its dangerous counterpart, Nimrod. The escalating conflict builds suspense while raising thought-provoking questions about control, ethics, and the nature of consciousness. Packed with action and psychological depth, this novel delivers an exciting and thought-provoking ride for fans of techno-thrillers.

[Tony Hinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book out of order. "Weapon" should have come first.

This novel works as a simple action story. The central character is sympathetic and interesting. But if you look at it slightly differently it becomes even better. This is the story of a special child trying to survive as its parents frantically attempt to kill their creation.

[M J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Totally engrossing, pulled me completely into the story which I didn't want to end. The double twists at the end nearly did for me!! Loved, Loved, Loved it 🤗

[keith rafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to weapon

A delightful continuation of solo's story. Well thought out protagonists ,great twist in the tail. I thoroughly enjoyed these bokks

[Debra McCormick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun!

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read a book where the author couldn't stop himself from trying to make every sentence a turn of phrase and it was a real test of perseverance. Not so here, the author tells a story and that is all he does. In doing so, things move right along and when the twist at the end comes you realize it was obvious all along, you were just too interested in the story to pull back and analyze it- or at least that was the case for me.

In the first book of this series the self-aware robot, Solo, escapes the U.S. military by faking his own death. In Solo subsequent investigation has shown that Solo was not destroyed. Also, the military has brought a second robot online, Nimrod, but in a brutal manner meant to curb his intelligence as that is seen as the root of what went wrong with Solo. So Solo now faces the task of finding a way to permanently free himself and Nimrod.

[Ellen Shull · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's sort of as if Tom Clancy started writing cyberpunk. Zoom & enhance trope by the second page. The book exhibits a curious disregard for the killing of cops, federal agents, and military personnel, just reveling in the violence; along with that is a very clear sexist streak that starts with the objectification of women on the very first page. Fairly simple writing, no advanced literature here.

This is a sequel to the author's 1989 work "Weapon" which I have not read; what needs to be recapped seems to be minimal and is done fairly decently. I feel no particular need or desire to read the first book at this point.

[Ronald Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took Weapon one step further. It was better than Weapon. However, it was written in 1992 so science advances have already passed the concept. It is a good read.

[Tomasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

czytadlo, kiedy czytalem pierwszy raz jako nastolatek w latach 90-tych robilo wieksze wrazenie ;)