Terminator II: Judgement Day

Terminator Movie Novelisation #2

by Randall Frakes

Colossal tales that fit in the palm of your hand, Mighty Chronicles capture all the excitement of the world's favorite stories in action-packed mini-volumes. Hardcover on the outside, thrill-a-page on the inside, each Mighty Chronicle leaps to life with 150 original illustrations. This season we are excited to add brave, beautiful Xena, ultra-potent, ultra-popular Hercules, and new Mighty Chroniclizations of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Terminator 2: Judgment Day to the Mighty Chronicles line-up. It's just more proof that the world's biggest Stories make the best little books.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In, Time Travel, Horror, Action, Robots

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

Reviews

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it just me, or did anyone else wonder while watching Terminator 2 why future generations would program a cyborg with a thick accent, then have the nerve to make the cyborg say that he continually learns from his environment?

~ a grammar snob



And consider this: Given his learning abilities, he actually could have said "I'll be BACH!".

In fact, given his learning abilities, that must be what he meant all along. The accent just doesn't make sense.

Could it be that there was some confusion about the mission?


Original disc: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike Randall Frakes' novelization of the first film, this was more of a straight retelling with very little added. Still solidly told and fast-paced though.
3.5/5

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good book. A faithful rendition of the movie, by a writer who was apparently involved with the script. A nice touch was that there were a couple of details from the movie that were clarified in this novelization. Enjoyable. Frakes is a good writer. I found out he also apparently wrote the script for "Hell comes to Frog Town," which was a fun movie.

[Hugh Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

He said he was going to come back, and he did! Or rather a different Cyberdyne Systems model 101 (or T-800 if you prefer) comes to the same past as in the first terminator book. The time-lines in the Terminator series of books can get confusing but this one is pretty straight forward. It is the sequel to just regular The Terminator and it takes place a teenager number of years after the first Terminator. John Connor is in this one and his mom, and they go on a rip-roaring journey to save the future…and their relationship. This is a coming of age tale so if you dont like those probably dont read it but otherwise buckle your straps up for a crazy ride!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit, I'm still yet to read the very first Terminator novelization, but considering it is also written by Randall Frakes, it might be something I have to buy/read as soon as. (There's also one by Shaun Hutson, if you're interested - however I don't know what the difference is between the two.)

What I loved about this book is that, even though it's only 240 pages, I found it to be a very dense 240 pages. There's so much description in it, and there's also more of an insight into the characters, that didn't come across as so in the movie. Rather than just being a bare bones cash-in, like so many novelizations can be, this is a wonder to read, and makes me interested in watching all the Terminator films again - back to back.

The description of some of the scenes is absolutely immense, including the motorbike/truck chase when the Terminators first find John Connor, there is a sentence where a normal person would describe it as a crash, the author describes it as an "earth shattering orgasm", which just blew my mind. That is a particular one that stands out for me, the scene where I knew that this novelization was going to be one of the best. Certain scenes are also extended - the introduction is extended past what it is in the movie, and there's a couple of extended/additional scenes. Especially ones where we see what is going on in the characters heads, which cannot come across in the film. There's more of an insight into the mind of Dr Silberman, as well as an insider's account of when the Terminator first walks into the bar. There's also more about what makes Miles Dyson tick, and his home life as well. There is also an extra bit, which wasn't in the second film but was included in the third film.

Normally, most novelizations are lifted straight from the screenplay, without any additional extras, and you can normally zip through them in hours, rather than days, particularly if you know the movie well. I was expecting to read this in a couple of hours, but instead it took me a little over 48 hours, and I found myself completely sucked into the world of Sarah and John Connor and the Terminator. I almost wish I had read them in order now, rather than reading the second one, simply because I hadn't bought the first one yet. I'm also surprised there was only one other review for this - it definitely deserves many, many more 5-star reviews, and well done to Randall Frakes, for turning what I was expecting to be a simplistic book, into a mind blowing version of an equally brilliant film.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Terminator written by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd and William Wisher, and directed by the former must be one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made…I say this because I cannot check now, internet is out, maybe the Russians with their cyber and mixed warfare – in the meantime, we have access online – Insha’Allah, forever, not until the next hour – and Titanic is not on that NYT list I am happy to say, because even if I see merit there, it is not overwhelming, and as for The Terminator, well, it is alright and it may be all I have to say about this, spoiler alert from the headline, this looks as if it will be about another Terminator, not the original one – I have to include my self-promotion, although it is not getting anywhere, traffic is still meagre: you find more than five thousand notes on films from that NYT and other lists, and reviews of magnum opera from The Greatest Books of All Time site and other compilations on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...



8 out of 10
James Cameron has made some of the most successful motion pictures, indeed, it looks as if he is the one who brought the biggest pile of cash, what with Titanic https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and the others breaking records

I am not a great fan of James Cameron, just like Arnold Schwartzenegger is not exactly my favorite actor, on the contrary, I used to see the Austrian as the epitome of the dilettante, what with that accent and wooden appearance – this role is now played by The Rock and many others, the latter did the Smashing Machine, which I started but I don’t think I will finish, good reviews, box office failure, still, he is not really a thespian worth watching for this cinephile - nonetheless, the picture is much more complex now:
James Cameron has gone all the way and moved across the world to…New Zealand, I was reading in Variety about this, and it is because he cannot accept what happens in America, with MAGA, the Orange Fool (my label, not his, I am really pressing for Goodreads to kick me out again I see, they did it to me once, I think because of my disgust, frequently, obsessively expressed in these pages, which probably had me flagged, and then given the yellow card, until the final push) and that made me admire this film maker

Abou the same thing with Arnold Schwartzenegger: he opposed the Orange Woland, even if they are in the same party (well, in a manner of speaking, one belongs to the old, sane outfit, the other is the creator of a cult, a god damn Smashing Machine that may end up doing a lot of harm to the lot of us, they are already guilty for many dead, from alleged drug dealers in international waters to those dead because of hunger, USAID terminated and so much more) and exposed the stupidity of marching behind this Joker
I think he has taken a different line, the former governor seemed less critical recently, so let us say goodbye to him here…let me mention Avatar https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... which bored me to death, or nearly, this goes to show how shallow, thick I am, for it was so praised

The point is not about those features, I have thought about doing this note more because of the Governor Terminator, a buddy we have at the club, it was a coincidence (MAGA would swear this was a conspiracy theory, those lasers in space that start fires in forests, the ‘lunatic left’ that has stolen the 2020 election from their painted (literally, and they reject drag queens) idol) that they aired The Terminator on one of the film channels on the same day I realized that our friend has a lot of the cyborg in him
The Governor is a smart fella, cinephile too, probably somewhat insecure, emotional, and hiding this vulnerability with a more acid, cynical attitude – da’I in pula mea is a leit motif – he also has something of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... especially that scene at the table, with ‘what do you mean funny? Funny how?’ and then Jules in Pulp Fiction…I will get back to this, stay tuned

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – I am on Goodreads as Realini Ionescu, at least for the moment, if I keep on expressing my views on Orange Woland aka TACO, it may be a short-lived presence
Also, maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the benefits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

[Tucinkata · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

"Джон бързо мина покрай синтетичните тела на един от редовете и се поколеба. Гледаше лицата. След това се загледа в съседния. Еднакви. Непознати за него. След това… отиде до следващия и спря. И те бяха еднакви, но този път познати за него лица. Бруталните, но хубави черти го разтърсиха.
Беше той. "

"И да спечелиш, и да загубиш войната, децата все едно ще умрат."

"Времето е само отлагане на неизбежното."

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

He said he'd be back...and he's back. But this time there are two. Same make. Same model. New mission.

I'm a huge Terminator fan, and one of my all-time favorite sequels is also the best sequel film and the best Terminator film of all time. In this 1991 sequel set in the mid-1990s, several years after "The Terminator", which occurred in 1984 (not to be confused with the bestselling book of the same name by George Orwell), young John Connor, the key to civilization's victory over a future robot uprising, is the target of the shape-shifting T-1000, a Terminator sent from the future of 2029 to kill him. Another Terminator, the reprogrammed T-800, has been sent back to protect the boy. As John and his mother Sarah Conner go on the run with the T-800, the boy forms an unexpected bond with the robot. This sequel terminates...again. It succeeds in turning the Terminator into a heroic character as he's re-programmed to protect John Connor and even tries to learn about human emotions. Speaking of John Connor, he proves himself to be cunning and witty, initially showing why he's the leader of the Resistance. This is the first time we meet this character. Sarah Conner is much better here turning her from a scared girl to a hardcore badass, essentially turning her into the legend Kyle mentioned in the predecessor. The storyline is amazing, where the T-800 protects John Connor from another Terminator and helps him stop Judgement Day (August 29, 1996). There are also amazing action scenes, whether it involves the T-800 fighting the T-1000, or defeating the police without killing any of them! It even includes lots of iconic scenes like the Mall scene and memorable dialogue, including "There is no fate, but what we make" and my personal favorite, "Hasta la vista, baby!" The T-1000, by the way, is such a terrifying and intimidating villain, where he is instead made out of liquid metal and can make his hands into swords and can mimic people's appearances and voices. As for the ending, well...the ending is considered one of the saddest endings, where the T-800 sacrifices himself to destroy his chip so Judgement Day never comes. It's also VERY heartrending to see John pleading with the T-800 not to go. Even after you consider that it was the closest he ever got to have a father figure. It also initially ended off on an ambitious note with the idea of the viewer speculating whether they actually stopped Judgement Day or not. Sadly, the sequels kind of ruined that idea, but several fans consider them non-canon. Also, an extended/alternate ending exists where after stopping Judgement Day, Sarah and John lived a normal life where Skynet is destroyed and never existed. While this ruined the previously mentioned ambitious note idea, I actually consider this to be the REAL ending, with many others. Something that still bothers is this: How is it that the T-1000 wasn't destroyed after time traveling if he's actually made of Liquid Metal instead of being wrapped in human flesh like the T-800?

The film has amazing acting, especially Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarznegger. In fact, it was this film where Arnold Schwarzengger started winning people over with the idea that he was more than just a body-builder-turned-action-hero-movie-star, but an actual actor. Carrying the bulk of the film with the same restrained, machinelike, uncanny valley-invoking performance he gave in the first film, delivering several important expository speeches, and gradually adapting and evolving to more effectively mimic humanity, and perhaps even gain humanity in some small measure by the end. For all the fantastic action setpieces, many of the film's most memorable moments are its emotional ones, many of which hinge on the characters' and/or audience's emotional connection to the cyborg killing machine played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. A connection that simply wouldn't exist believably if Schwarzengger wasn't a capable actor. In addition, part of what makes the T-1000 terrifying is Robert Patrick's excellent performance. The extended cut, which includes the alternate ending, is just as good, if not better. The cinematography is amazing as is the direction from the same man of the first film. Brad Fiedel's soundtrack of this film is awesome. The movie also featured "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers and "You Could Be Mine" by Guns N' Roses. The CGI effects were considered revolutionary at the time, and still look great today; however, the CGI on the Terminator going back in time may not have aged well by today's standards. In addition to the CGI effects, most of the film's practical effects, such as the T-800's animatronics and make-up, also look excellent, and are a big step up from the first film's special effects. For some reason, there is a lack of blood in certain scenes, such as the scene in the bar where the T-800 stabs a guy in the arm, or the scene where the T-1000 impales a truck driver. The trailer at release is terrifying, as it has revealed lots of plot twists in the movie, such as the T-800 being a good guy this time.

So, the next time you meet Terminator, come with him if you still want to live.

[Kiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the movie with some extra events.

Those extra scenes were taken from deleted scenes. The book also has a slightly different ending.

A fun read if you like the Terminator mythology and if you aren’t familiar with the deleted scenes.

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel and also another good addition with the extra story stuff adding to what the movie introduced. I like this book series, as well as the movie series itself (including Genisys) and look forward to reading the others in this series. I'm curious to see what the authors do with this world and its characters. And to find out what else will be added to an interesting world and universe.

[Marlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after I had seen the movie. The book expands on a lot of the things in the movie. Things in the movie that didn't seem like it meant much. The ending is different than the movie. I like the ending in the book much better. It seems more touching an believable.

[Amar Pai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but probably cos I've seen the movie. It's really just the movie in book form.

[Артюхин Алексей · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cult action movie for all time
Having and reading a book about the second appearance of the legendary Terminator in our world was a requirement for me from myself. You bet. A gorgeous movie that I've loved since childhood, a great story that continues the first one. After that, I really wanted to read Freix's work.
It must be said that the book is as close as possible to the events described in the James Cameron film. There are practically no digressions here. There are, however, some sluggish attempts by the author to describe several episodic characters, their inner world and experiences. Although, given the fact that they carry practically no load for the plot, such attempts seem somewhat strange. But an author is an author, and he himself decided that it was necessary.
The book is easy to read, here the motives of the main characters, their experiences, their missions are described in such a way that you immediately see the nerve of the whole story. When watching a movie, this effect was achieved for me by repeatedly reviewing the picture. The twist with the good and bad terminators is described somewhat sparsely in the book. When watching the movie, as I remember, it was a shock. There are 2 aspects here - you already know the story and understand that the hero of the T-800 has become good and this is not news to you, and the second point is too cardboard description of the scene. Well, I don't feel the nerve.
You compare a book to a movie one way or another. There's no getting away from it. But the work on the pages is very worthy. I liked. At the time, it was from the book that I learned about many things that were not in the film. It's only later that you come across the director's version with inserts that weren't in the theatrical version, and you couldn't just see them.
"Terminator 2" is a good book that will allow you to enjoy the amazing love story between mother and son. Here, the main character has changed a lot, which is repeatedly demonstrated by her actions. She is ready for anything for John, understands her role and even scolds the boy for trying to save her, risking his life. John suddenly realized that all the years of his life his mother had been telling the truth about a terrible future. And he believes that he owes her an apology by rescuing her from prison. Well, the Terminator, in the short time that he fulfilled his mission, learned to understand what people are by nature and thereby realizing this, became a bigger person than some representatives of the human race.
These thoughts and conclusions do not let the reader go after the last page ends, they leave a warm trace in the soul and hope for a better future. After all, "if a robot, a machine has understood the value of human life, maybe one day we will also be able to understand..."
10 out of 10

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just as I like Terminator 2 the film more than The Terminator, this novelization was better than the previous one.

Since the story is more focused on Sarah, John, and the Terminator, there’s less time spent on characterizing random background characters. There is a fun bit where a trucker at the bar the Terminator first appears at is also the trucker who gets killed by the T-1000 near the end of the story, but for the most part the words spent on expanding on characters is spent on the ones that matter. Much of the Sarah and John development is like what’s in the film, but Miles Dyson gets some backstory about being from Detroit and finding his calling as an engineer that helps to flesh him out. And the T-800 gets some nice exploration, showing how being in learning mode changes him from the one in T1. There’s descriptions of him correlating and recording information, such as when talking to John, and there’s even some more stuff at the end about what his new understanding of humanity means. (Some Cyborgs Go To Heaven, coming to a bookstore near you.)

As I said last time, much of the fun in reading novelizations is seeing the extra or different stuff. This is a case where it generally would’ve given me more of that if I read this in 1991, as a lot of the extras are the exact scenes included in the slightly expanded cut of the film that’s the main one I’m familiar with. But there are also two chapters depicting the climax of the future war with Skynet and John sending Kyle back in time. It was cool to see that that was depicted prior to Terminator Genisys showing it on screen. And I like how this book uses the John as a senator in 2029 ending, especially since it creates a nice parallel with the future war stuff showing how history is changed. (I attribute this to the fact that the novel explicitly shows them destroying the T-800’s torn off arm, as opposed to the film skipping that.)

Otherwise this is basically what you’d expect - the plot of Terminator 2 in book rather than film form. I don’t know how much it’s worth seeking this out these days - it adds some things to what’s in the film, but nothing truly mind blowing. It’s just a fun adaptation that tells the story well and moves along at a better pace than the first book did. Now that I’ve read it, I’m excited to move on to the unexplored territory of the T2 spinoffs, which will all decide that this novel’s happy ending doesn’t count.

[Kakha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novelization of the unforgettable film "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" by film and science fiction writer Randall Frakes is on the same level as the first novelization of the inimitable masterpiece, the original film. Like the first book, it does not have a soul, it does not have that great spark that is always present to one degree or another in a good literary work. The book simply retells very accurately what happens in the movie. It can be seen that an author is an intelligent person, that he is a very perceptive spectator who sees everything deeply, but for a really good original fiction work, this is not enough.

[theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my first 5 star read of this year. it took 13 books to get here, but im very happy terminator got to be my first 5 star read, because this series holds a special place in my heart. this book gave me enormous wave of nostalgia. probably my favourite thing in books is combination of robot of some sort and human. seeing the robot being confused when for example the human is crying and asking 'whats with your eyes?' is just so funny and hella interesting. or seeing the robot feel something for the first time and not knowing what does it mean or what to do feels amazing to me.
overall i loved this book and im very happy i got to read it

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I've seen the movie countless times, even the extended version, and this book gave so much background information, including some to fill the gap between the first and second movies, I suppose for readers who hadn't seen the first Terminator. I also enjoyed hearing more about plot points like Sarah meeting Enrique and family and things from both Terminator's perspectives. Well worth reading for me, I'm glad I came across a used copy of this paperback online, complete with a receipt from its original purchase in the UK.

[Petre · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no point in writing a long review of a book based on the biggest movie of all time.
So I will right a short one.
This book delved into the love Sarah has for Reese more so than the movie ever did, which I liked, its what fueled her hatred and it beautiful reason why Sarah often did what she did.

A few other nuances into the machine mind of both terminators was expounded upon sometimes which added more depth to the story.

A great read.

[AgentOrange87 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is my all-time favourite movie. It was impossible not to enjoy this novelization, reading it, I had the movie envisioned because I watched it so many times!

Liked the backstory of Miles Dyson, Enrique and the ending. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the sequels but deep down, I know this is how the story should have ended.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

As expected, just like the film, but more descriptive. I would have liked to have read it before watching, to see what my imagination might have conjured up. In terms of writing, easy enough and with short enough chapters to pick up and get through fairly quickly, could be done in one sitting on a rainy day.

[Jiries Hijazin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for terminator 2 fans. At times seems to be line-for-line from the movie, but also adds depth to various characters and is great for exploring their minds.

Also includes deleted scenes from the movie + extra unseen scenes which are interesting.

Solid read.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty decent novelisation of the film. There were not many changes between the two. It was interesting that Connor's terminator was referred to as Terminator and not The Terminator. It bugged me a bit.
A great read if you can't watch it.

[Antonio Meridda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro sul famosissimo film. Molto più profondo, anche se, essendo incentrato sugli effetti speciali, perde molto.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know Mr. Terminator, sir. Should you really be waving those guns around? What if you just waved and made a friend instead?

[Gary Pointon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun had a great time

[Stephen Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest sequel novel ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ranette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great terminator story

[Authorized Podcast]

Discussed on the pod with guest Dan Kuan Peeples!

https://anchor.fm/authorizedpod/episo...

[Tarash_bulba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun novelization of the classic movie.

[Chris Boutin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good "I'll be back"