Trial By Fire by Timothy Zahn - REVIEW

Posted on 11th September 2010:

DESCRIPTION:

"The fourth Terminator movie, Terminator Salvation, starring Christian Bale and directed by McG was a summer box office hit, grossing over $400 million worldwide. In this brand new spin-off novel which follows on from events in the movie, a recovering John Connor grants Barnes permission to return to the destroyed VLA lab and bury his brother who was killed in the explosive opening of the movie. At the ruins Barnes and pilot Blair Williams search through the debris for the remains of their comrade. During their hunt they uncover a half-buried cable, that was clearly a data transmission line, leading up into the mountains. The two Resistance fighters head northwest to investigate. Amid the forests on the slopes of the mountains, the pair uncover an entire village that appears to have been largely untouched by Judgment Day and its aftermath. Suspicious of the villagers, Barnes and Blair decide to dig deeper..."

REVIEW:

The opening pages to this novel struck some wrong chords with me but managed to pull itself back from the brink to create an almost constant attack of shock and awe which left me addicted and thoroughly sleep-deprived.
Timothy Zahn has added yet more flesh to the story of Salvation without appearing convoluted or unnecessary. Blair, Barnes, Kyle Reese, Star, John Connor, Kate Connor and the late brother of Barnes (played by Terry Crews in Terminator Salvation) all make a reappearance (the latter not in a reanimated form), with some new faces thrown into the mix; the town of Bakers Hollow brings with it the revelatory character of Hope Preston,- a teenager with hunting expertise (bow and arrow, yes it can be done) and her father, the mayor of eighty-odd refugees seeking a safe haven from the world post-apocalypse and SkyNet.
Mr. Zahn cleverly allows the reader to follow as many red-herrings as he can lob at 310 pages but manages to make them all stick in a coherent and intelligent Terminator Novel.
Everytime you think you have it all pegged some new surprise (which, to be honest, had me deep in frustrated thought wondering why thses ideas are only present AFTER Salvation... !?) jumps up to slap you in the face!
If you haven't read this book, I suggest you do whatever you have to to get your grubby, clammy little hands on your very own copy a.s.a.p because THIS is a Terminator story worth all the effort (and exhaustion) of reading.

SUMMARY;

Own it. Read it. Read it again.

I now need a nap.

ENDO MORGAN