Trial by Fire

Terminator Salvation

by Timothy Zahn

Trapped underground, Kyle Reese struggles to stay alive and prevent the ultimate Skynet infiltration. Amidst the ruins of the VLA lab, Resistance fighters Barnes and Blair sift through the remains of their fallen comrades, searching for the body of Barnes’s brother. On the forested slopes of the mountains, a man battles through the trees relentlessly pursued by the Terminator.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In, Robots, Post Apocalyptic

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a second novel by Zahn which completes a kind of mini trilogy within the Terminator Salvation storyline. It's set after the events of the film and From the Ashes is before. It's a nice addition to the franchise, though Zahn will of course always be most remembered for his Star Wars works, even before his considerable original output. (My favorites are the Quadrail series.) This one features some rather different terminators, some of which are intriguingly ignorant of their true nature. It's primarily set in a secluded forest settlement with two factions disagreeing on how to best survive when Barnes and Willliams literally drop out of the sky and shake things up. I didn't buy the idea of a rope bridge over a river lasting for four years, much less forty, but it's a good story with some nice moral ambiguities. I believe it can be enjoyed without reading From the Ashes first, but I think you'd be lost if you hadn't watched the film previously.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book of a trilogy that inserts the film in the middle. The events of Terminator Salvation lead to some characters getting into their own adventures against Skynet.

We have an isolated small town hiding from Skynet, two of John Connor's people landing near by in a helicopter, and a lone man headed that way with a Terminator on his trail.

Zahn captures the flavor of his characters nicely.

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy Zahn's fame amongst Sci-Fi fans was secured by the highly entertaining, best-selling novel trilogy that told the chapter to follow after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. His status has been ably continued by his 6 other contributions to the Star Wars mythology, as well as a raft of original fiction.

While Zahn rarely deals with A-list sci-fi issues or advances the narrative craft - his work usually offers tense page-burning action with characters who are at least a layer deeper than common pulp-fiction cardboard cutouts. No disappointment; Terminator Salvation: Trial by Fire delivers both.

Zahn's first Terminator Salvation novel, the official movie prequel titled From the Ashes, established several of his own characters while advancing the backstory of Resistance Leader John Connor and Resistance Fighter Kyle Reese. The new novel, Trial by Fire, doles out a bit more of Reese's story, and advances minor characters Barnes and Blair.

Reese, the father of Connor in the famous movie-series's convoluted time-travel plot, is still just a late-teen-become-a-man-all-too-soon in the horrific post-Judgement Day setting. However, Zahn is apparently constrainted to leave John Connor untouched - not even moving the inspiring hero from the medical recovery tent he occupies as Terminator Salvation closes.

While likely interesting only to Terminator Salvation fans, Trial by Fire provides an enjoyable quick read for those trying to fit in one more summer action story. For fans of the Terminator Saga, Zahn offers tantalizing backstory to the development of the T-800 (aka. Arnold Schwartzenegger's Terminator). I liked it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

About as good as you can reasonably expect from a novel based on the weakest entry in the Terminator movie franchise, Trial By Fire has some neat concepts, including a John Connor impostor and--my personal favorite--a Skynet apologist who argues that deep down Skynet is a benevolent entity which people simply haven't tried taking the time to understand. It reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a coworker who argued that Kim Jong-Il was less scary a leader than Dick Cheney, and that the only reason North Korea gets so much bad publicity is because the U.S. unfairly badmouths it in retaliation for not sharing intel with the American government. Overall, the book is well-written and clever, but still very cheesy in places, such as when a little girl basically takes down a new Theta Terminator with her bow and arrow. The worst thing, though, is that the plots of these "official" Terminator novels are always ignored, forgotten, and utterly contradicted whenever the next movie is released. Still, reading this book is bound to make you esteem Terminator Salvation a lot more highly, as it admirably takes some of the worst plot points of TS and subverts them into something clever.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the Terminator series this is a must read follow up to the Terminator Salvation movie. The resistance has won a major battle by destroying Skynet central in San Francisco but the war is far from over. Skynet has continued to work on their infiltration terminators and continue to test them so they can one day become fully operational. Back at the field base the salvage operation of Skynet central is well under way but unknown to the Resistance there is still a huge reserve force of terminators waiting to strike. Fortunately they were discovered by Kyle Reese and after a long battle the Resistance carrys the day on both fronts. This book is a thrilling read with plenty of action.

[Aidan Owen-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

For about the first half of this book, I was expecting to give it a four star review. It was well written, the story was intriguing, and the setting was exploring something a bit more personal which liked. However, around 2/3 of the way through the book kicks it into top gear. Fights are tense, plot twists are surprising and make you worry, and it really hit a stride where I wanted to know what happened next. The short length does lend itself to what has been written here, with its smaller scale and focus giving it an intimate feel that would only be hurt by a long book, nevertheless, I still wish I had more to read.

[Scotwithone_t · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story using the characters from the movie.

I actually found this book (along with "Cold War" by Greg Cox) to be much more interesting than the T:Salvation movie. The sub-plot with Kyle didn't really grab be, and it seemed like it was pretty disconnected from the main plot with Barnes and Blair. Seemed like it was just there to add some meaningless action/suspense and fill some pages.

[Nathaniel Irvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun, easy read. Zahn displays his usual literary prowess and engaging characters.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation of the salvation story which gives a bit more information on the background of Marcus Wrights model terminator, nothing groundbreaking but a good yarn nonetheless.

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy Zahn’s Terminator: Trial by Fire is third and final book in the Terminator 4: Salvation tie-in media book series.

The plot Focuses just a few weeks after the Terminator 4: Salvation movie, Zahn’s story brilliantly fills in some gaps the film overlooked whilst creating two twin plots that are both as gripping as the other. Recovering from his near death escape at Skynet central, John Conner is a peripheral but (as ever) centrally important character, albeit in the background. Instead, Trial by Fire focuses on Kyle Reese on one hand and on Blair Williams and Barnes on the other.

Now with the Resistance, Kyle (and Star) are helping the clean up process after the bombing of Skynet Central. Sent off with a crew on an ammunition scavenge, Kyle is soon caught up in a deadly game of hide and seek as his team investigate a tunnel. After their leader sustains an injury and subsequently sacrifices himself to ensure the others escape, Kyle realises the tunnel is a Skynet plot to dug under the Resistance base and launch a fatal attack on John Conner.

Barnes wants to bury his brother whose body lays out in the desert (where the opening battle in T: Salvation took place). Conner only agrees if he takes Blair. The bad blood between the two, based on the hybrid Terminator Marcus Wright, is still simmering and Connor insists they work it out. During their excursion the pair investigate a small mountain town only to become embroiled in a Skynet plot with frightening consequences.

Of the two plots, Blair and Barnes is the more complex yet both intertwine to show just how tricky Skynet really is. Timothy Zahn does an excellent job of covering over some story issues from the film (such as why Conner was only attacked by one T-800 Terminator in a complex full of the machines) as well as illuminating Skynet’s constant calculating and far-sighted plans. Kyle Reese is shown developing on his path to become the man we saw in the original 1980s Terminator film and it’s great to see him make mistakes and learn along the way, fulfilling that excellent time loop premise of the franchise.

However, it’s the twist in the end of the novel that really nails it for me. It paints the whole world of the Terminator story and it shows Zahn’s creativity. An effortlessly written story and a true page turner, Terminator: Trial by Fire is just that for its protagonists and it’s sheer entertainment for the reader. Overall, I would highly recommend to any fans of Terminator or Post-Apocalyptic sci-fi books.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok ok these are fun concepts to play with I won't lie
but also there is a part of me that's just bored of some characterso ehhh
like I do like it as a Terminator fan bc ohh more lore and fun concepts to think about but omgggg some of these guys annoy me

[Daniel Kupres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Theta

Great sequel to the movie. We get to see Kyle grow and a side mission for Barnes and Williams that goes south real quick. They’re barely able to avoid being killed by a couple T700s but they may not be a match for Skynet’s new secret weapon.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read. Zahn makes you feel like you are right there dodging arrows and ducking bullets!

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

[Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If ever there was a plot-line for a new Terminator movie I would say this novel is it. It's sad that the spin-off media tie-ins of the 'Salvation' brand have turned out a lot better than the initial film, but it's fans who want to pick up the book and read that will reap the benefits. I have reviewed every Salvation novel, and thoroughly enjoyed each one: The Prequel 'From The Ashes' by Zahn; The official novelization by Alan Dean Foster; and 'Cold War' by Greg Cox. Each one progressively got better, and I thought Cold War was brilliant. Zahn came back and rose above that with an amazing sequel to Salvation, one that really trumps the movie.

[Molly Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an alright book and a very interesting continuation of the Terminator Salvation series. I will say that there was quite a lot going on throughout,which was fine, but it got the point where it was hard to determine what was actually going on/ the main plot until half way through the story. Regardless I found the hybrid Terminators and all of their plans to be really interesting to read.