Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasant surprise, 14 Jun 2004
Someone handed me this book at work and I have to say I was not expecting great things, but while I was waiting for the His Dark Materials trilogy to arrive for my birthday, I thought I'd give it a go.
I'll start by saying that I am a huge fan of T1 and T2, but I never saw T3, so I had no preconceived ideas baout what I was or wasn't getting myself into. I also haven't read either of the other books in this series. I came in blind.
I found this book incredibly easy to get into, and I immediately identified with the characters. I felt that John Connor had been developed well and was a hero that I could definitely root for.
Th first half of the book is gripping stuff. There's a real sense of panic and urgency, and despite the constant shifts between Skynet, Sarah, John, Mary etc, it never became confusing. It feels epic in its scope.
So I was somewhat disappointed by the last 100 pages or so where the author decided to keep skipping through time; seven years later; then another two or three until suddenly John's gone from his late teens to 42 years of age.
But while I was displeased with this aspect, the rest of the book was thoroughly enjoiyable and the ending one of those 'eureka' type moments. I was very impressed with the way the author managed to tie all of the threads together, to keep the story in the tradition of the first two movies, to break down the technical sections into manageable chunks (a bit like Michael Crichton), and to offer up enough suspense and surprise to keep me reading to the end.
If you're a fan of the films but disillusioned with the conclusion of the series then I'd definitely recommend this. I feel now that T3 will be a disappointment if I eventually get around to watching it. Maybe I'll see if I can blag the other books in the series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Needed to be a series of books !, 6 Nov 2007
Third and final book in S.M Stirling's Terminator series.
Readers beware, Stirling's 3 book T2 series takes from the end of the second Terminator film - these books are written as though the movie T3 `Rise Of The Machine's' did not take place. And to be honest, atleast these books do not make John Connor look like such a wimp as he appeared in T3 !
Unlike the first two books in the Stirling's series - which concerned the Connor's battles against Skynets human-terminator hybrids - this book details the events from the outbreak of Judgement day, the rise of the resistance, the second judgement day and the eventual sending back in time of Kyle Reese, `Uncle Bob', as well as the terminators from T1 and T2.
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I felt that Stirling's first two books had a consistency which connected them far more than with this book. If Stirling had released the first two books as a stand alone series and then written a couple of books entitled `The Future War' then both myself and other avid readers of all things Terminator would have felt less aggrieved at only 350 odd pages covering all the events from outbreak to conclusion. Years pass to quickly in this book, and Stirling could have made so much more of these events with more books in a prolonged series.
I liked the introduction of the Reese family, from the getting together of Kyles parents, the birth of Kyle, his upbringing and Sarah's sad reluctance to go anywhere near him as he grows to an adult. It also explains how Kyle got Sarah's picture.
Many years have passed since I saw the original Terminator movie in a now defunct cinema - now turned into an office complex - but I still find myself wanting to read and watch more Terminator material. I think like most people, I want more about the real 'Future War', with HK crushing skulls in a battle ridden city, and the surviving populace battling the machines. This book could have delivered more in this respect, and I can only hope that both Stirling and Cameron will address this with further reading materials in the not too distant future - well atleast before artificial intelligence gets hold of the nukes !!
Excellent reading, but leaves you too hungry for more !
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable read if you consider Ciaran's comments, 1 Dec 2003
I sort of agree with Ciaran with regard to a few dead-ends sub-stories and skipping of chunks in time, however I personally enjoyed the book and finished it in less than 1 week (very quick for me as I'm a slow reader).I've now read all three of Stirlings Terminator books and enjoyed them all, it's probably best to read the others in sequence before reading this one as the characters and Sterlings interpretation of the ongoing Terminator story is built up in those.
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