T2: Infiltrator (GollanczF.)
Fans waiting for a new instalment of the Terminator saga can stave off the cravings a little longer with T2: Infiltrator, an official sequel to the film franchise. The adventure kicks off after the end of the last film, with Sarah and her son John, who was hunted by the last Terminator unit, settling in Paraguay. Things are fine and dandy until one day Sarah encounters another "Arnold" unit in the town square. He"s not, however, another killer robot but a former terrorist who served as the physical model for the Terminators. He tells Sarah that Cyberdyne, the company that created the killer cyborgs and was thought destroyed by Sarah in the film, has backup systems that must also be eliminated if they are to prevent the destruction of the human race. Predictably, another evil Terminator unit is hot on their heels but this one is slightly different to its predecessors--it has taken the form of a beautiful woman and is the deadliest yet. Heavily rumoured to follow the proposed plot of the third film (should it happen), Infiltrator is a solid story and well-written by genre veteran SM Stirling, though it does sag in places. The action is competently handled but never matches the adrenaline-pumping special effects of the big screen outings. The characters are well handled, especially Dieter whose path to redemption is sound and logical, and the female Terminator offers plenty of feisty femme-fatale action. The ending has a little less "whizz-bang" than the build-up suggests but paves the way for further promised "book" sequels. --Jonathan Weir