Customer Reviews

Terminator Salvation: Trial by Fire

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Out of EVERY Terminator book I've read (And that encompasses T3/Terminator Dreams/Terminator Hunt and Terminator Salvation/From The Ashes/Cold War/), this is tops! Timothy Zahn takes off where 'Salvation' left off, and puts together a story that blows its predecessor out of the water. It's perhaps the best use of license and, dare I say, a perfect sequel to the movie. Not only does it quickly jump into the action, it carries several different themes and elements to keep you guessing, throw you off and shock you.

The war against the machines rages on...and The "Salvation" series of books is laying it out perfectly.

Well I am writing this review with only a couple of hours of sleep and I put the blame entirely on this new literary installment in the The Terminator series, originally created by James Cameron. I started this book the previous night around 11:00 pm and literally was unable to put it down. I told myself several times that I would just read a couple of more pages and then I would get some sleep, well 6:45 am rolled around and I finally did put the book down, after I had finished reading the entire thing. And I am fairly certain that if there would have been the next book available in the series, then I would have started reading that one as well. Although last weekend I did the same thing with Terminator Salvation: Cold War by Greg Cox, and I would highly recommend that you pick up that book as well.

This book flowed so well and literally picked up mere days after the end of the movie Terminator Salvation (Widescreen Edition) with Barnes and Blair being send back to the radar installation base where Marcus first appeared in order to bury Barnes' brother who was killed when the base was destroyed by Skynet. You also get a glimpse into the new TH or Theta project and some familiar Terminators and the reinforced fact that there are actual humans helping Skynet to eradicate other humans, something that was really alluded to in the films.

You will be introduced to a small group of humans living in a small isolated community that turns out to be a focal point for Skynet activity, although nobody in the community really knows it, or do they? I really liked the characters that were introduced and some of them show some real potential for popping up in future Terminator novels, especially Hope and perhaps her father Preston, who play a quite significant role in this story, although I am not going to give you any details and spoil the fun of finding out for yourself.

I fervently hope that Zahn and other sci-fi authors continue the Terminator stories as they are really enjoyable and about the only fix us machine-junkies are going to get since the cancellation of the brilliant television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season, in order for another one of those stupid "reality series" show to be shown. With brilliant decisions like that (sarcasm totally intended) perhaps Skynet is right!

Shawn Kovacich
Creator of numerous books and DVD's.

I was not sure what to expect when I decided to read this book. I am a big fan of the Terminator series as well as Timothy Zhan's Star Wars novel series. This is by far the best Terminator book out and one of the best Sci-fi books that I have ever read.
I don't want to spoil the story because it so well put together, but things start off with three separate plot arcs that eventually all come together in the end masterfully. The events take place right after the Terminator Salvation movie. All of the events and mood of the movie are carried over very smoothly to this book. There is a ton of intrigue, character development, suspense, and action. This is one of those stories that keeps you glued in from start to finish.
I would highly recommend this book. Timothy Zahn is on his game big time with this effort. Anyone who is a fan of science fiction in general should check this book out.

I always get nervous about reviews when there's effectively all 5 star ratings. I start reading those reviews with an eye for fakery. But this book got a 5 star rating from me and more than deserves. My desire for any "extended universe" book (or other form of content, for that matter) is to walk away with a deeper connection, understanding, and emotional edge to the "universe" in which the book lives. Zahn does to Terminator what he's done so well to the Star Wars universe: makes you get a vastly better picture of what it would be like to live in this particular universe. He helps give you background and emotional understanding of characters from the movie, and he helps you understand the hardships humans would have had to endure to survive, as well as a few of the ways they did survive, post-Judgement Day.

Oh, and he's weaved all that inside a wonderfully riveting story. Great work. I'm crossing my fingers he isn't done with the Terminator franchise yet!

When I picked this up, i had seen how good this series could be. Terminator Salvation was a great read and this, in turn, was something I wanted to check out. Still, i was a bit concerned with what would happen. In a lot of ways this is where these series fall off, with the addition of a number of books to get the idea flowing. Many times you either have the human interest pieces kill it, or you have some complex Skynet solution dilute the waters. That happens too much, but it did not happen here. From the way the characters came together to the way the story flowed, everything really arched into one place and everything fit. It made me lose sleep and it made me want to continue, and this was a great thing because it all had some sort of meaning. The people in it were complex and the idea in the book was great, leading to one place. It all said "read me," and it all said "i can be understood by anyone, regardless of their Terminator knowledge." I liked that.

I have been a fan of the series for a while, and I did like the books and the newest movie. I think that is good to add on because it does matter when you read these, and I think it matters when it comes to the books because it says that I have read other books as well. The complexities of Skynet are not dumbed down here, adn the sleep lost here is not because this is my first metal rodeo. On the contrary, this is one of many reads and this is one of many connections to the Terminators and I can say it is one of the best thusfar. True, there are others thta connect into the first and the second series with more fluid motion but this is one of the best to get the beginning set up and to get it moving. It does not speak down to a read, either, but you do not have to follow the books to read it. It speaks either way.

As a fan I give this a 4.8 or more on the read, and easily a 5 on the read. It does have a few little places where, overall, the people who want to debunk something can always find something to do it. Stl, this is more than that. It is humanity and it is the end, only it is about more than that. It has struggle and it has clawing, and it has the machines coming back and killing. The older machines, the ones you see evolving, and I like that. I always wanted this, all out of flashbacks, and it came true. What a writer to bring it to life, too. It is good and then some.

Timothy Zahn, having already written an excellent prequel novel to TERMINATOR SALVATION called FROM THE ASHES, returns to the series in a sequel capacity. Following close on the heels of the film, TRIAL BY FIRE follows Kyle Reese, Blair Williams and Barnes on separate adventures that bring them into direct conflict with the machine enemy. Along the way, Zahn takes some time to further explore the Terminator/human hybridizing technology that created Marcus Wright and shows a little of how Kyle Reese became the hardened guerrilla fighter we met in 1984's THE TERMINATOR.

TRIAL BY FIRE is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but it does lack some of zest Zahn displayed in FROM THE ASHES. Some character dynamics are recycled and the action can occasionally be murky and hard to follow. I would have appreciated more involvement from the major actors of the storyline, specifically John Connor, but given the time frame in which the book takes place, that's impossible.

Ideally this would be the jumping-off point for a whole series of sequel novels, some of which would doubtless scratch my itch for more Connor-centric action. But sadly it appears as though Titan Books, which did a full-court press on TERMINATOR SALVATION around the film's release, has moved on to other things. As a consequence, we have only this and Greg Cox's COLD WAR as follow-ups to the movie.

Lest it seem that I'm being uncharitable, I will say that if you enjoyed TERMINATOR SALVATION you're likely to enjoy this book, as well. I find my perception colored somewhat by my affection for FROM THE ASHES, which ended on an obvious cliffhanger for which we will likely never get a resolution. I'd hoped that TRIAL BY FIRE would provide the settlement of that storyline and (maybe) push the TERMINATOR SALVATION plot further. Instead I got one and not the other, which couldn't help but disappoint.

After the battle in at Skynet VLA lab, Barnes and Blair Williams are back looking for Barnes's brother remains. After discoving a cable in the ground. Tracking the cable they find a small community of people trying to keep out of Skynet's way. But something is wrong, everyone is not what they seem. Things at the resistance base are not much beter. Kyle Reese is trapped underground and trying to stay alive. Kyle must stay alive. If he doesn't the furture will die with him.
"Trial by Fire" by Timothy Zahn was a great book. I thought that story was great. Mr. Zahn is a great writer. He does a great job in brings the characters and actions. I hope that there will more books in the "Terminator Salvation" universe.

Immediately following the events in Terminator Salvation, Barnes and Blair Williams discover a strange cable in the ground while searching through the debris of the destroyed Skynet lab. The two follow the cable to a secluded village whose inhabitants hold a dark secret. Meanwhile, Kyle Reese and his team uncover a hidden tunnel where Terminators are still hard at work on a plan to destroy the resistance.

Fans of the movie Terminator Salvation or those that have read the adaptation will enjoy this follow-up story. Written by a favorite science fiction author, I had high expectations for the characters and adventure in this story. And I wasn't disappointed. With plenty of surprises and shocking revelations, this was an exciting continuation of the series. The story revolves around several returning characters as well as the discovered village. The character development was great for such a short novel with so much action and suspense. This fast-paced thriller left me hoping for another story to follow in the series soon. As a Terminator fan, this post-apocalyptic series continuation is a must-read.